| The People Speak | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Howard Zinn Chris Moore Anthony Arnove |
| Produced by | Matt Damon Josh Brolin Chris Moore Anthony Arnove Howard Zinn |
| Written by | Howard Zinn Anthony Arnove |
| Release date(s) | 2009 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The People Speak is a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans. The film gives voice to those who, by insisting on equality and justice, spoke up for social change throughout U.S. history and also illustrates the relevance of this to today's society.
The film is narrated by historian Howard Zinn and is based on his books A People's History of the United States and, with Anthony Arnove, Voices of a People's History of the United States.
The People Speak is produced by Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting, The Bourne Identity, Invictus), Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men, W., Milk), Chris Moore (Good Will Hunting, American Pie, Project Greenlight), Anthony Arnove, and Howard Zinn. It is co-directed by Moore, Arnove and Zinn.
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The movie was shot on location in Boston, in front of live audiences at Emerson's Cutler Majestic Theatre in January 2008 and at Malibu Performing Arts Center, Malibu.
Allison Moorer, Benjamin Bratt, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Robinson, Christina Kirk, Danny Glover, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, David Strathairn, Don Cheadle, Eddie Vedder, Harris Yulin, Jasmine Guy, John Legend, Josh Brolin, Kathleen Chalfant, Kerry Washington, Lupe Fiasco, Marisa Tomei, Martín Espada, Matt Damon, Michael Ealy, Mike O'Malley, Morgan Freeman, P!nk, Q'orianka Kilcher, Reg E. Cathey, Rich Robinson, Rosario Dawson, Sandra Oh, Sean Penn, Staceyann Chin, Viggo Mortensen
Clips from the film were screened at the Democratic National Convention in August 2008 and at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008.[1]. The movie opened MoMA's Documentary Fortnight in New York [1] in February 2009 and was screened on April 16, 2009 at the Atlanta Film Festival. [2] In November 2009, the movie premiere was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.
The People Speak premiered on The History Channel on Sunday, December 13, 2009.
The film was well received by the critics. The Los Angeles Times [3] described it as "Striking, exhilarating... the performances are thrilling”. According to the Boston Globe, "The documentary... works beautifully... Each passionate reading flows out of the previous one."
USA Today [4] reported Damon as saying: "This is the perfect format for a history lesson. You’re getting the actual historical text verbatim, so there’s no spin, performed by these great actors. History is intimidating. There’s so much to know. If I could go back to college again, I would be a history major." According to the newspaper, Springsteen taped at his ranch in New Jersey while Brolin was at work and Brolin said: “They ended up spending five or six hours. And I got this little card from Bruce Springsteen that said: ‘Josh, thank you so much for making my childhood dream come true. I had the greatest day of my life.’"
The People Speak soundtrack on Verve Records features Bruce Springsteen, who performs with just a guitar and harmonica in his New Jersey home recording studio, and John Legend who sings solo backed by a piano at a Boston theatre, as well as others (including Taj Mahal, Allison Moorer, The Black Crowes' Rich Robinson and X's Exene Cervenka and John Doe) at the Malibu Performing Arts Center, where they perform both vintage and recent protest-music classics.
Springsteen reprises the John Steinbeck/Woody Guthrie-inspired “The Ghost of Tom Joad” from his 1995 album of the same name; Dylan sings Guthrie's “Do Re Mi”; and two early Dylan songs “Masters Of War” and “Only A Pawn In Their Game” are performed by Eddie Vedder and Rich Robinson, respectively.
One of the best-known songs of the Great Depression, “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?”, is sung by Moorer; Newman is at his piano for “Sail Away”, the title track from his 1972 album; Legend performs Marvin Gaye's 1970s anthem “What's Going On”; Mahal plays “Blues With A Feeling”; and Cervenka and Doe revive X's roots rocker “See How We Are” from 1987. More recent protest songs are Fiasco's “American Terrorist”, first heard on his 2006 debut album; Pink's “Dear Mr. President,” heard on her album of that same year; and Browne's “The Drums Of War”, which debuted on his 2008 album.
The soundtrack, on Verve Records, features new songs by Allison Moorer, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Exene Cervenka, Jackson Browne, John Doe, John Legend, Lupe Fiasco, P!nk, Randy Newman, Rich Robinson, and Taj Mahal. More info at: www.peopleshistory.us/news/people-speak-soundtrack-CD-on-Verve [5]
Colin Firth (A Single Man, Love Actually) developed the British version of the film together with History UK and the film’s US producers Anthony Arnove and Chris Moore. Like the original, the UK version draws on writings that have influenced British history and it includes performances by British screen and stage actors. These include Ian McKellen, Joss Stone, Saffron Burrows, Mark Strong, Celia Imrie, Noel Clarke, Sir Ben Kingsley and others.
The documentary aired on History UK on October 31, 2010.
Other international versions of A People’s History are also being developed. These will be based on the same format, exploring people's histories in other countries.
An educational version of The People Speak is in production, in association with Voices of a People's History of the United States (http://www.peopleshistory.us/).