Aretha Franklin: the biopic “Respect” starring Jennifer Hudson airs on RaiMovie

Aretha Franklin, her music and her life are at the heart of Liesl Tommy's “Respect”, airing tomorrow, Wednesday 18 February, at 9:10 pm on Rai Movie. The story begins in 1952 in Detroit, where young Aretha lives with her sisters and her father, a Baptist preacher. Her mother's death deeply marks the child, who stops speaking until her father, during a church service, urges her to sing. It's the moment when an early, extraordinary talent emerges. From there, the film follows a complex and often painful path, through children, husbands, addictions and frustrations, all the way to the global stardom of the woman who was the greatest gospel singer in history and one of the central figures of American music.

Ambitious and thorough, the biopic "Respect" was made in the very year that Aretha, at 76, died of pancreatic cancer: before her passing, Franklin had managed to give her blessing to the film's magnificent lead, Jennifer Hudson, already an Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actress for "Dreamgirls", who also took on the demanding task of reinterpreting the original songs.

The cast of "Respect" (USA/Canada, 2021) also includes Forest Whitaker and Audra McDonald.

Aretha Franklin died on 16 August 2018 at 76, in her home in Detroit. She had long been seriously ill, suffering from a form of pancreatic cancer that she had already revealed a few years earlier.

Between the Sixties and Seventies in particular, she recorded some of the most famous soul songs of all time, such as "Respect", "Think" and "You Make Me Feel (Like A Natural Woman)" (written by Carole King), collaborating with countless artists across every genre.

Also surprising were her forays into film, such as in "The Blues Brothers" by John Landis, in which she played a stern fast-food restaurant owner. The previous year she had announced her decision to almost entirely stop performing live, and at the start of this year she had been forced to cancel several concerts – including one in Newark for her 76th birthday – on doctors' advice.

Aretha Franklin was not only the greatest soul singer of all time, but also a performer with a sublime and at the same time devastating voice. When Aretha sang, she made the song her own, her voice and delivery pushing the material towards new meanings.

Take Otis Redding's "Respect", which in her rendition gains fresh vitality and energy. While other Black female singers of the period were sugary and romantic, Lady Soul was instead fierce, gritty, or genuinely sorrowful. Aretha was a true queen of Black music, perfectly embodying the new Black generation's need for spirituality, and illuminating every song with her talent.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google