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Tina
She's among a handful of vocalists...Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Freddy Mercury, Rod Stewart...a voice that doesn't sound like anyone else. She was known as the woman who taught Jagger how to dance. The late John Denver once introduced her on the Grammy Awards as the woman who taught all other women how to walk in high heels. The unprecedented life and career of rock and roll legend Tina Turner is lovingly brought to the screen in a 2021 documentary called Tina.
This HBO film produces facts coming from the lips of the lady herself, effectively blended with people who were part of her life, and the expected materials that documentaries implement, but one thing that co-directors and co-screenwriters Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin do is they don't present Tina's story in chronological order. The story of the 82 year old legend is chronicled pretty thoroughly but not with the formality of most celebrity documentaries, which demands attention from the viewer, which is not hard to give due to the fascinating subject.
Needless to say that the meat of the documentary focuses on Tina's stormy relationship with Ike Turner, who passed away in 1991. Ike and Tina's story was previously brought to the screen in 1993 as What's Love Got to Do with it which earned its stars, Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne Oscar nominations. Loved learning here that the release of the film was not exactly a cathartic experience for Turner. This film features a clip of a press conference Tina did with Bassett shortly after the release of the film where she told the press straight out that she hadn't seen the film yet.
The film not only documents the Svengali grip that Ike had on Tina, but Ike's complete denial about it, long after their marriage ended. I was surprised to learn when Phil Spector wanted to sign Tina to record without Ike actually happened before Ike and Tina recorded "Proud Mary". Watch the press interview where Tina sits silently while Ike offers his theory as to why the Phil Spector record failed. It's as telling about Ike as is his reply when he is asked directly about his abuse of Tina.
My favorite parts of the film were the stories of Ike and Tina's first move to Hollywood where the stories were accompanied with shots of the empty house now. Shots of the bedroom were chilling and heartbreaking while Tina's son Craig recalled an incident where Ike threw hot coffee on his mother. Also loved the whole story of how Tina had to be roped into recording the biggest hit of her career "What's Love Got to do with It". Was fascinated by the shots of some British bubble gum group who recorded it first with no success.
Commentary is provided by, among others, Angela Bassett, Oprah Winfrey, Roger Davies, who managed Tina from 1979 to 2000, a former Ike and Tina backup singer named Le'Jeune Fletcher, and Tina's current husband Erwin Bach. A riveting and heartbreaking tribute to a rock and roll legend.
She's among a handful of vocalists...Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Freddy Mercury, Rod Stewart...a voice that doesn't sound like anyone else. She was known as the woman who taught Jagger how to dance. The late John Denver once introduced her on the Grammy Awards as the woman who taught all other women how to walk in high heels. The unprecedented life and career of rock and roll legend Tina Turner is lovingly brought to the screen in a 2021 documentary called Tina.
This HBO film produces facts coming from the lips of the lady herself, effectively blended with people who were part of her life, and the expected materials that documentaries implement, but one thing that co-directors and co-screenwriters Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin do is they don't present Tina's story in chronological order. The story of the 82 year old legend is chronicled pretty thoroughly but not with the formality of most celebrity documentaries, which demands attention from the viewer, which is not hard to give due to the fascinating subject.
Needless to say that the meat of the documentary focuses on Tina's stormy relationship with Ike Turner, who passed away in 1991. Ike and Tina's story was previously brought to the screen in 1993 as What's Love Got to Do with it which earned its stars, Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne Oscar nominations. Loved learning here that the release of the film was not exactly a cathartic experience for Turner. This film features a clip of a press conference Tina did with Bassett shortly after the release of the film where she told the press straight out that she hadn't seen the film yet.
The film not only documents the Svengali grip that Ike had on Tina, but Ike's complete denial about it, long after their marriage ended. I was surprised to learn when Phil Spector wanted to sign Tina to record without Ike actually happened before Ike and Tina recorded "Proud Mary". Watch the press interview where Tina sits silently while Ike offers his theory as to why the Phil Spector record failed. It's as telling about Ike as is his reply when he is asked directly about his abuse of Tina.
My favorite parts of the film were the stories of Ike and Tina's first move to Hollywood where the stories were accompanied with shots of the empty house now. Shots of the bedroom were chilling and heartbreaking while Tina's son Craig recalled an incident where Ike threw hot coffee on his mother. Also loved the whole story of how Tina had to be roped into recording the biggest hit of her career "What's Love Got to do with It". Was fascinated by the shots of some British bubble gum group who recorded it first with no success.
Commentary is provided by, among others, Angela Bassett, Oprah Winfrey, Roger Davies, who managed Tina from 1979 to 2000, a former Ike and Tina backup singer named Le'Jeune Fletcher, and Tina's current husband Erwin Bach. A riveting and heartbreaking tribute to a rock and roll legend.