Product Details

• Actors: Leon, Jenifer Lewis, Carl Lumbly, Tamala Jones, Mel Jackson
• Directors: Robert Townsend
• Writers: Bill Kerby, Daniel Taplitz
• Producers: Iain Paterson, J. Todd Harris, John Davis, Little Richard
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Live / Artisan
• DVD Release Date: October 22, 2002
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006JMPU
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #103,183 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The Richard Penniman (better known as Little Richard) depicted in this 2000 film was a flamboyant, larger-than-life character, not to mention a vital figure in pop music history--perhaps even "the architect of rock & roll," as he's called here. The fact that both of those portraits are accurate is a tribute to the makers of this TV movie, especially director Robert Townsend (Hollywood Shuffle) and Leon in the title role (Little Richard himself was an executive producer). Sure, it's a bit heavy on the melodrama, especially Richard's volatile relationship with his demanding father, and light on the music ("Tutti Frutti," "Lucille," and Richard's other hits are heard, with Leon lip-syncing to the original recordings, but there's no clue as to how Richard actually forged his style), but hey, that's TV for you. By and large, Little Richard is an entertaining ride, even without any DVD bonus material. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Moving Tribute to a Living Legend!!, October 24, 2004

By	B. Robyn Donison (Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Little Richard Story is a credible account of the man who, more than any other individual artist, erased the word "race-music" and created popular music. Although only a small part of his life and 55 year (and still counting) career was highlighted, the DVD really captures the essence of the man - the battle between his faith in the Lord and the temptations of the world, and the development of the most important musical art form of the twentieth century - rock music. Leon is amazing in the title role, bringing to the screen the attractive, sensual black musician with the raspy, force-of-nature voice, that racist parents in America fought so hard (and so unsuccessfully) to keep from their children's senses. If you love rock, r&b or rap, and are interested in the roots of the music (the black church), this DVD is a must to add to your collection.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enough With The Pancake 31!, December 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Little Richard [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Little Richard had been talking about a movie of his life as far back as 1962. Around the time of his critically acclaimed *book* biography, "The Life & Times of Little Richard" (Charles White, Crown, New York), he mentioned Michael Jackson, Prince, or Eddie Murphy as his celluloid self. About fifteen years later Leon got the job. I'm not familiar with the gentleman's work, but I strongly believe that he did the best possible job of all. Murphy would have been great if the story took us into the late '60s/early '70s, but the younger actor managed to capture the "soul" of the early Penniman, as he achieved worldwide fame on his first major record release, and nearly saw it taken away, or at least tarnished by unfair competition and by a perfectly legal but unfair recording contract. And by his own offstage indulgence. By the way, if you look at the 45 rpm picture cover of LR's "Ooh! My Soul"/"True, Fine Mama" you'd think for a second that it was this actor. The resemblance actually does help here.
In some ways we can compare Richard's biopic with Jerry Lee Lewis' biopic. They both disappointed the deep fan, the historian, but served the purpose of introducing a Legend to those who knew very little about them. The movies got alot of folks interested. "Little Richard" wins out by the strength of the acting.
Those who read the Charles White book need to (almost) forget the book while they watch the movie. There's a large amount of distortion and exaggeration. There's a certain amount of invention: "By The Light of the Silvery Moon" was his first RCA release, complete with *1956* arrangement? - okay...Tutti Frutti" was recorded in 1953? - it may have been first *performed* in 1953, but it sure wasn't recorded that year! (In record business years, *two* years is like two lifetimes!) The lady companion he found after his fame was named...Lucille? More than one source mention a free-spirit named Lee Angel.
Ofcourse most musical biographies exaggerate to make the "story" work. Too bad, however, that in this case we have an incredibly influential musical genius portrayed as an incredibly influential gender-bending eccentric who sent the kids into orbit. How about a minute or two on how he changed the way music sounded and the way musicians performed? In short, the movie is too image conscious.
Another concern is in the portrayal of two Richard contemporaries, Sam Cooke and Pat Boone. Cooke, who was a very close friend of Richard and who wrote for him in the early '60s, for some reason gets a disparaging comment in the dialogue, and Boone, the good Country ballad singer/poor Rock and Roll singer who ofcourse recorded third-rate covers of LR's first two classics, is shown in a crass split-screen: the great "Long Tall Sally" versus the terrible "cover version" as Pat struggles with the intricacies of the composition at a studio mike.
Altogether the real Little Richard did a fine job as Executive Producer. Just like in his recording career, whenever he took the reins as Producer, or Co-Producer, we got something special.
Strangely, however, just as critics and fans have neglected his most important contributions over the years, the Architect himself seems to have gotten caught up in the same confusion.
[Longtime fans and historians note that the soundtrack recording of "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" and an unidentified folk/work song are *new*].

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars je suis le jeune le plus fou de little richard, December 20, 2004

By	cedrick (val des bois) - See all my reviews

je suis un garcon qui adord chanter et dancer du little richard jai deja vus votre films et je le recherche a nouveau pour pouvouir chanter et rocker comme lui jàime sa voie car il chantais,criais et pouvais faire vibrer des coeur comme le miens

MERCI

cedrick chapman un veritable fan