Film

Soul to Soul

Name: Soul to Soul
Genre: Music
Released: 1971
Cast: Tina Turner, Ike Turner, Roberta Flack, Wilson Pickett, Carlos Santana

Musical
Light-hearted

A 1971 concert film shot in Ghana celebrating the country's independence. American soul, funk and rock artists perform in front of thousands under African sun—Ike & Tina Turner, Roberta Flack, Santana, Wilson Pickett. It's urgent, joyful, historically charged. A document of music and diaspora at a particular moment.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love concert films where the music itself does the storytelling, and you're happy to sit in a crowd at a festival and let the performances wash over you one after another.

Skip it if you want a documentary with interviews, context and narration explaining the history; this is mostly the stage, the crowd and the songs, with little told to you directly.

What it asks of you: Roughly ninety-six minutes of mostly uninterrupted performance, with the pace set by the bands rather than by a plot, so it rewards patience and an open ear.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Woodstock1970

The definitive concert film template. Captures festival energy, cuts between stages and crowds, finds the spiritual dimension in live music. Essential viewing if you want to understand what Soul to Soul is doing.

But Nearly four hours long, and the early acts feel dated in a way the headliners don't. Demands patience and comfort with slow pacing.

The Last Waltz1978

Martin Scorsese directing The Band's farewell concert. Intimate, elegantly filmed, treats rock performance as an art form worth serious cinematic attention. Shows what concert films became.

But Very focused on one band and their famous guests rather than the carnival energy of a festival. Much more buttoned-up.

Monterey Pop1968

D.A. Pennebaker's loose, joyful predecessor. Rock and soul artists in their prime, informal and spontaneous. Captures the exact spirit and era that birthed the early seventies.

But Image quality is noticeably soft and often hard to see what's happening. The pacing is leisurely by modern standards.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Soul to Soul

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Wattstax1973

Both are concert films rooted in African-American celebration and community—one diasporic, one local—made in the same moment, with the same urgency and joy.

A concert film from the same era, same spirit—but all Black artists in Los Angeles celebrating the Watts community. Isaac Hayes, Staple Singers, Bar-Kays. Uses the concert as a celebration of Black power and resilience. Equally vital, equally filmed with love.

But It came two years after Soul to Soul and is sometimes harder to find. Some performances are brief; pacing is looser than you might expect.

Amazing Grace2018

Aretha Franklin singing in a church in 1972, captured on film but buried for decades. Raw, spiritual, the greatest voice ever recorded in ideal conditions. A religious experience.

But It's a church performance, so the energy is meditative rather than celebratory. No setlist variety—all one register, however transcendent.

Let It Be1970

The Beatles' final performance film, messy and behind-the-scenes. Shows the chaos underneath concert films, the tension and exhaustion. A fascinating counterpoint to polished live recordings.

But Depressing in places. The band is fracturing on camera. Not the joyful experience Soul to Soul offers.

Shine a Light2008

Scorsese directing the Rolling Stones in concert. Visually inventive, uses multiple camera formats, treats rock music with operatic seriousness. A master class in how to film a band.

But The Stones in 2008 are not the Stones in their prime. Feels like watching legends rather than witnessing something vital.

Stop Making Sense1984

Jonathan Demme directing Talking Heads in the ultimate concert-as-theater experience. Innovative, energetic, endlessly inventive visually. Every shot means something. Pure cinema.

But Very arty and deliberately artificial. Not a document of a real moment—it's a constructed experience. Some find it cold.

Muscle Shoals2013

Documentary about the legendary Alabama recording studio and the soul musicians who made it sacred ground. Interviews, studio footage, genuine love for the music. Contextualizes everything Soul to Soul celebrates.

But It's a documentary about the studio, not a concert film. Slower paced and more interview-heavy than performance-heavy.

Bob Dylan – Don't Look Back1967

D.A. Pennebaker following Dylan on his 1965 UK tour. Raw, intimate, occasionally contentious. Shows you a major artist in private and public, exhausted and alive.

But Dylan himself is often difficult and sometimes cold on camera. Very focused on one artist's neuroses rather than collective joy.

Burning an Illusion1981

Both films use music not just as entertainment but as a language of cultural identity and diaspora—who we are, where we belong.

A narrative fiction film, not a concert, but suffused with soul and reggae music as its emotional backbone. Shot in London, starring Black British musicians and actors. The music isn't performance—it's woven into the fabric of life and resistance.

But You're not getting a concert experience; it's a slow, intimate drama about relationships and identity. Some find the pacing glacial by American standards.