Muscle Shoals
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: September 27, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesDave HoekstraOct 3, 2013
Do not leave the film until the last credit rolls by. Read full review
88
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 17, 2013
A mesmerizing documentary. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerDan DeLucaOct 11, 2013
Muscle Shoals isn't perfect. Neither Bono nor Alicia Keyes has any business being in the movie, though Bono does wax poetic about the genius of the music recorded there, and Keyes teams with the Swampers for a strong performance of Dylan's "Pressing On." Read full review
88
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreOct 2, 2013
To fans who know the tunes by heart, hearing their history is never less than thrilling. And if you’ve heard that line about “Swampers” and never new who they were, you should. They have been known to pick a song or two. Read full review
85
NPRMark JenkinsSep 27, 2013
Only the genre's most studious followers will be able to watch Muscle Shoals without being regularly astonished: Even if it sometimes gets lost in its byways, Greg "Freddy" Camalier's documentary tells an extraordinary story. Read full review
83
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezAug 13, 2013
While Muscle Shoals and its presentation doesn't reinvent the wheel—this is your standard talking heads documentary—the treasure trove of stills and found footage makes for a compelling and effortlessly watchable film that even the casual music fan should find themselves totally engrossed in. Read full review
80
The GuardianChris MichaelOct 24, 2013
A stubborn charmer whose life was a magnet for tragedy, Hall is the emotional centre not only of the Muscle Shoals sound but of this film. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 24, 2013
The movie is more a collection of cool people telling great stories than it is a structured documentary (despite Camalier’s attempts in that direction). But in this case, that’s enough. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonTrevor JohnstonOct 22, 2013
Occasionally baggy, always sincere, this is an essential document of a defining era when ‘soul’ really meant something. Read full review
80
EmpirePhil de SemlyenOct 21, 2013
A stomping good documentary. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinOct 10, 2013
Director Greg "Freddy" Camalier skillfully, unhurriedly unfurls a wealth of classic music-biz tales as told by a who's who of R&B, soul and rock 'n' roll royalty and various other players and purveyors. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeSep 27, 2013
A trove of great stills and movie footage accompanies the colorful anecdotes, but the film's most consistent pleasure is the way interviewees recall the moments before the tape rolled on an immortal recording. Read full review
80
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlSep 24, 2013
Greg "Freddy" Camalier's engaging new doc Muscle Shoals stands as a winning tribute to the coastal Alabama studio, musicians, and engineers who laid down some of the greatest pop tracks of the late '60s and early '70s. Read full review
80
The TelegraphDavid GrittenAug 13, 2013
Overall, it’s joyous, uplifting – and as funky as the music at its heart. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsOct 24, 2013
After we hear the hit parade that poured from rural Alabama and meet the men who led it to the top of the charts, we realize that Muscle Shoals could call itself Hitsville, USA. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoOct 10, 2013
The hits just keep on coming in Muscle Shoals, a hugely entertaining, perhaps overlong, documentary about the renowned recording studios in the small Alabama town of the film's title. It's mandatory viewing for fans of the classic rock, soul and rhythm and blues of the 1960s and '70s. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyOct 10, 2013
Maybe the biggest problem with Muscle Shoals is that it doesn’t dig deeper into something even more miraculous than the music. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireSep 27, 2013
With such great music coming, one hit after after another, it's always a joy to watch. Read full review
70
The DissolveKeith PhippsSep 25, 2013
Muscle Shoals’ story has needed telling, and Camalier packs that telling with memorable stories and music—though the film sometimes substitutes admiration for investigation, paving over conflicts and moving on to the next amazing piece of music to get recorded in town. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisOct 16, 2013
Muscle Shoals may not appeal to every generation’s musical tastes, but for those of you who love that sweet soul music and crave that ol’ time rock & roll, believe me: It’s just the ticket. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskySep 25, 2013
Although the intriguingly named first-time director Greg “Freddy” Camalier makes the twice-told tales of the film’s second hour watchable, they end up paling in comparison to its essayistic first half. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfSep 24, 2013
The film manages to span from feisty Wilson Pickett to Confederate-flag-flaunting Lynyrd Skynyrd, but if ever a music doc needed insight from the fans who went along for the ride and forgot their troubles, it’s this one. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisSep 26, 2013
At once overstuffed with interviews and intellectually underdeveloped, the movie charts the area’s music industry and what is lyrically if elusively called the Muscle Shoals sound. Read full review
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