Pick of the week: 20 Feet from stardom
Last year’s Oscar-winning documentary, 20 feet from Stardom, is getting even more attention as time passes.
“Sheer perfection” according to Rolling Stone magazine and inspired by Leonard Cohen’s backup singers, it pays tributes to those who have added the fairy dust to acts like the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen.
Directed by Morgan Neville, these are the voices who bring sparkle to a song, but whose names nobody remembers – professionals who make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, without whom the world of music wouldn’t have been the same.
As you would expect it’s filled with great music, offering a glimpse into the creation of some of the world’s biggest hits, from Ray Charles to the Stones.
All in all, the documentary is trying to answer one question: whether as an artist, you must be worldwide famous to be truly happy. You’re either doing it with real passion or you’re just a frustrated lead singer. This is for you to discover. Enjoy!
Best of the rest
British drama Foyle’s War (DR1, Mon 22:30) has got better since the Second World War ended, claims the Guardian – maybe they should just call it ‘Foyle’? Now in its eighth series (from 2015), it is “more intriguing, shadowy and complex than before".
The who’s who of the music industry are shadowy enough, but most made their way to the 57th annual Grammy Awards (DR3, Fri 21:00) to watch performances from AC/DC and Beyonce … and Kanye West embarrass himself.
Elsewhere, learn how to save on your food bill with Save with Jamie (TV3 Puls, Thu 21:00); watch kids set loose in the kitchen on Junior Masterchef (TV3 Puls, Sat 20:00); find out how it all went wrong in the European economy on SOS Europe (SVT1, Wed 23:35); don’t miss the shocking but sensitive incest documentary Brothers and Sisters in Love (DR2, Thu 00:40); take a look at the impact that war has on the lives of those on the front line in Afghanistan on Hell and Back Again (DR2, Tue 23:00; and finally, there’s another chance to catch the entire seventh season of Californication (Zulu, Sat 12:10), the whole of season 4 of White Collar (Zulu, Sun 08:30) and the apocalyptic miniseries Ice (3+, Sat 11:45). (LH)
Coming Soon: Fresh off the Boat
Set in the ‘90s and inspired by the memoirs of Taiwanese-American celebrity chef Eddie Huang’s childhood, this show follows a 12-year old and his family as they open a steak restaurant in Orlando, Florida, having moved there from Chinatown, Washington DC.
Huang provides the voiceovers as the sitcom centres around the family’s attempts at assimilation and their pursuit of ‘the American Dream’, which may have a different meaning depending on the family member. (MD)
Sport of the week
What’s the betting on Crystal Palace’s new signing Keshi Anderson emulating his boss Alan Pardew by completing his journey from non-league footy to the big-time by knocking Liverpool out of the FA Cup (K6, Sat 18:00)? And can Boro join them by seeing off Arsenal (K6, Sun 15:30) and Tottenham beat Fiorentina in the Europa League (K6, Thu 21:00). (BH)
Film of the week
Andrew Garfield gives a haunting performance in Alex Garland’s unsung adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel about compulsory organ donation, Never let me go (TV3 Puls, Sat 23:40). But haunting isn’t always good as Colin Farrell’s performances in the remake of Total Recall (TV3, Sun 21:00) and Ondine (DR2, Sat 00:00) demonstrate with aplomb. (BH)
