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20 Feet from Stardom

20 Feet from Stardom

Documentary · Music · 2013

Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.

Movie details

20 Feet from Stardom

“Meet the unsung heroes behind the greatest music of our time.”

2013 Documentary · Music 1h 29m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over 20 Feet from Stardom?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Morgan Neville

Written by

Morgan Neville

Darlene Love

Darlene Love

Self

Lisa Fischer

Lisa Fischer

Self

Merry Clayton

Merry Clayton

Self

Judith Hill

Judith Hill

Self

Claudia Lennear

Claudia Lennear

Self

Táta Vega

Táta Vega

Self

Patti Austin

Patti Austin

Self

Court is in session

Put 20 Feet from Stardom on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.