Macky Alston reviews the film Amazing
Grace.
“Amazing
Grace”
The Story of a Song that Makes a Difference
Hosted by Bill Moyers
Amazing
Grace, how sweet
the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see.
Through
many dangers, toils
and snares
I have already come
‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home.
Is
it the lyrics or the
tune that conveys the
power of reconciliation
this well known song
brings to so many individuals
around the globe? Ask
Jessye Norman. Ask
Reverend Hereward Cooke.
Ask Judy Collins. Ask
Johnny Cash.
Bill Moyers does ask,
and in this film each
performer, and a number
of religious leaders,
share thoughts about
“Amazing Grace”
that are both highly
personal and universal.
The Boys Choir of
Harlem performs the
hymn in New York and
Japan. The soaring
voices are juxtaposed
with those of individual
inmates at Huntsville
Prison in Alabama who,
to a man, are transported
by “Amazing Grace.”
“That song has everything
going for it,” one
prisoner who’s in for
murder says. “That
three minutes that
the song’s going, everyone’s
free.”
Folk singer Jean Ritchie’s
extended family lets
the camera in to record
an annual clan gathering.
Each year, Ritchie’s
relatives visit the
family graveyard and
sing this spiritual
song.
Moyers traces the
journey of “Amazing
Grace” from England
to America and focuses
on the man who penned
the tune, John Newton
(1725 – 1807). It’s
the ironic story of
a slave trader who
found G-d during a
storm at sea and came
to regret his seafaring
career as a slave trader,
which he came to call
a “disagreeable service.”
Newton repented, and
late in life fought
for legislation to
ban slave ownership.
This feature documentary
film in stereo sound,
which aired nationally
on PBS, provides a
quiet interlude for
the exploration of
why “Amazing Grace”
affects so many people
in such varied ways.
This film can serve
as a useful pastoral
resource in a range
of settings, as both
a reflection on grace
and on the healing
spiritual power of
music. This is a story
of the song, the idea,
and the people who
draw strength from
it.
Macky Alston is the
director of Auburn Media,
a division of the Center
for Multifaith Education
at Auburn Theological
Seminary committed to
supporting, cultivating
and promoting powerful,
engaging, balanced and
responsible media on
religion, spirituality
and ethics. He is a graduate
of Union Theological
Seminary and an award-winning
documentary filmmaker.
Completed: 1990
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Producer/Director: Elena Mannes
Editor: Donna Marino
Principal Photographers: Gary Steele and Greg Andracke
If you are interested in purchasing the film, you can do so at www.hartleyfoundation.org.
Just click on “Masterworks” on the homepage for more information. The VHS version
of the film is priced at $24.99.
Do you have thoughts
about reviews you’d
like to share with
your colleagues? Send
an e-mail to info@PlainViews.org.
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