‘Amazing Grace: Aretha Franklin,’ screening at the Rosendale Theatre

In January of 1972, at the height of her career, the multi-Grammy-winning Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, returned to her church roots. She decided her next album for Atlantic Records, “Amazing Grace,” would be a collection of traditional gospel songs. The recording, appropriately, would take place in the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in the Watts section of Los Angeles in January 1972. Over a period of two nights, backed by the Rev. James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir, Franklin sang her heart out. The audience was composed of family, the church community, and VIPs like Mick Jagger. The footage for “Amazing Grace” was originally shot by noted director Sydney Pollack. However, the emerging filmmaker forgot to use clapper boards to ensure synchronicity between the visual and audio parts of the 20 hours of film. The footage was shelved. Almost four decades later, Alan Elliott, a former member of Atlantic Records, painstakingly synched the film to the soundtrack. However, Franklin refused to grant permission for the film to be released publicly, threatening to sue. It was only after Franklin’s 2018 death that Elliott convinced her family to allow him to share this explosive footage with the world. Five screenings of “Amazing Grace” will be shown: 7:15 p.m. Sunday and Monday, May 19 and 20; 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 22; and 1 and 7:15 p.m. Thursday, May 23, at the Rosendale Theatre, 408 Main St., Rosendale. Evening tickets are $8/$6 for Rosendale Theatre members. Matinee tickets are $6. For more information, call 845-658-8989 or visit rosendaletheatre.org.