Rejoice and Shout
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: June 3, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJun 23, 2011
Rejoice provides both a melodic education and a once-in-a-lifetime concert in one soul-stirring package. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJun 10, 2011
Says Lauro: "This is about as close as you can get to the way it sounded during slavery days." Lauro and McGlynn understand, too, that these clips must be experienced whole. They let the music unfold in real time, not snippets. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanJun 8, 2011
The film is a bit too chronological, but its historical reverence is true to gospel's joyful insistence on locating the spiritual in the everyday. Read full review
90
The New York TimesStephen HoldenJun 2, 2011
Your religion or lack of one doesn't matter. At some point while watching the film, you may feel that music IS God, or if not, a close approximation of divinity. Read full review
80
VarietyLeslie FelperinMay 29, 2011
An overview of African-American gospel sounds whose dazzling talent-display should exhilarate viewers regardless of religious leanings. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerDan DeLucaJun 23, 2011
Anyone with a casual interest in gospel music stands to learn a lot by seeing Rejoice & Shout; a true fan won't want to miss it. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertJun 15, 2011
A consistently entertaining documentary bringing together a remarkable variety of surviving performances on films and records, going back to circa 1900. Read full review
75
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJun 10, 2011
McGlynn's film clocks in at just a shade under two hours, which normally would be a little long for a documentary. In this case, the length not only is warranted but welcomed. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesJun 23, 2011
This documentary on the history of gospel music can't measure up to George T. Nierenberg's colorful "Say Amen, Somebody" (1982), but it's so jammed with great archival performances, most of them included in their entirety, that it's worth seeing. Read full review
70
Village VoiceNick PinkertonJun 1, 2011
The best bits - the powerful instrument called Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, for example - more than speak for themselves. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttMay 29, 2011
For anyone with a keen interest in this unique American musical form, Rejoice and Shout is a must-see and see-again. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanJun 3, 2011
Its straightforward approach is notably lacking the divine inspiration of its subject. But Don McGlynn's gospel documentary delivers so many moments of artistic ecstasy, we can forgive the plain wrapping. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineTim CogshellMay 29, 2011
Some of the performances in the film (from Mahalia Jackson to The Clara Ward Singers) are deeply affecting and the historical context the film provides is as impressive as the music itself. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayJun 2, 2011
The smartest move that McGlynn makes in Rejoice And Shout is to let those old performances run on at length. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerMay 30, 2011
One is left wondering what exactly the now moldy "anything is possible" sentiments of our 44th president have to do with a music whose history and cultural meaning we've just spent the last two hours not learning nearly enough about. Read full review
40
Time OutSam AdamsMay 31, 2011
No movie that includes Tharpe's blistering electric guitar and the soaring falsetto of the Swan Silvertones' Claude Jeter can be all bad, but it's astonishing how little this time capsule adds to its phenomenal source material. You might even call it a miracle. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithJun 3, 2011
Only rarely does the film present a genuine insight, such as the observation that many black people loved to dress up in their finest for church because, during the week, they were so often dressed as servants and manual laborers. Read full review
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