Seeger Power: Now Showing in Selected Theaters   by Mike Hall, Sep 23, 2007

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Some of you may be fortunate to live in the handful of selected cites where the movie “Pete Seeger: The Power of Song” will have limited runs (see below) this fall. Don’t miss it.

Norman Lear, the movie’s executive producer, says:

Pete Seeger is the true mythic American hero. He fought to bring music and song to political movements, even when it was unpopular and, at times, dangerous….It is an inspiring tale of how one person’s voice can make a difference.

(Click here to read an appreciation of Pete Seeger.)

Directed by documentary filmmaker Jim Brown, the movie uses new interviews, archival footage, old television shows and home movies to document the close connection between Seeger and the progressive movement from the 1930s through today. It explores the 1940s and 1950s “red scare” of black lists and Joe McCarthy, the civil rights movement, the war in Vietnam, the environmental movement and today’s continuing struggle for justice. Performers, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen, Arlo Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt, Peter Yarrow, Mary Travers and Natalie Maines, talk about Seeger’s influence and legacy.

The movie has been shown in festivals and limited releases and is expected to be broadcast on PBS early next year. It is already drawing rave reviews from those who have seen it. Both reviewers and regular folks.

Jeff Blum, the executive director of USAction, who alerted us to film, says:

As a child of the 1960s, this movie reviewed big elements of history, much of which I got to participate in— the civil rights, anti-Vietnam-war and environmental movements. It gave us Pete’s personal history from childhood, including the incredible toll that the blacklist took on his family—he was banned from television for 17 of the best years of his life. It showed his amazing impact, as one of the leading music makers throughout a turbulent era in America’s storied history

Best of all, it made my 22-year-old daughter and her boyfriend go make a list of causes they wanted to work harder to support—just what we all dream of and work for.

Roger Ebert says the movie is

a tribute to the legendary singer and composer who thought music could be a force for good, and proved it by writing songs that have actually helped shape our times (”If I Had a Hammer” and “Turn, Turn, Turn”) and popularizing “We Shall Overcome” and Woody Guthrie’s unofficial national anthem, “This Land Is Your Land.”

What I feel from Seeger and his music is a deep-seated, instinctive decency, a sense of fair play, a democratic impulse reflected by singing along as a metaphor.

Says director Brown:

Pete Seeger’s ethics are pure. He believes that everyone is equal. He is an American patriot who built his own log cabin and lives simply in the woods. Pete has a complete distrust of commercial forces, pop culture, technology, greed, fame and the corporate and military influences on democracy. He hates the word career, and has no interest in personal gain, shuns publicity and works tirelessly with his wife, Toshi, because he believes we are blindly destroying the world. He might be right. There are lessons to be learned by exploring his life and music.

The move will open for one-week runs in Seattle and Madison, Wis., on Friday and will have limited runs in Detroit (Oct. 5), New Orleans and Philadelphia (Oct. 12), Austin, Texas (Oct. 19); New York City (Oct. 26) and Westchester, N.Y. (Nov. 2.)

For showtimes, visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

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