'70s Band's Story Questlove Felt Had To Be Told in New Documentary

The Tribeca Festival opened with Earth, Wind & Fire: To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World, a new documentary by Academy Award-winning filmmaker and musician Questlove. 

This new documentary film follows Summer of Soul, which depicted the long-overlooked Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969 and Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) which was praised for portraying the complexities of Black geniuses in the industry.

His new film Earth, Wind & Fire: To Be Celestial vs That’s the Weight of the World, sees Questlove explore the groundbreaking group that inspired generations of musicians around the world. The film heavily focuses on the visionary bandleader Maurice White and the fact that the band found fame in the Civil Rights Movement.

While the film praises Maurice White’s musical genius, it also avoids neglecting his faults, including serial adultery, and depicts the low point in the band’s career that led numerous members to quit.

Alongside the many past and present band members, the new movie also includes commentary from icons such as Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, and Flea. Even Barack and Michelle Obama were interviewed in the documentary, where they talk about slow dancing to Earth, Wind & Fire’s music.

Why Queslove Felt It Important To Make The Earth Wind & Fire Documentary

Questlove told Variety that he felt there was a need to make a movie about Maurice White and how he “walked into situations in which he didn’t have a safety net.”

“He could have just played it safe — he was making good money and had popularity playing with Ramsey Lewis, and he could have just stayed there and become rich and successful. But he had another mission, and those are the people I want — the people that feel they want to be a leader,” he told the outlet earlier this month.

The cultural historian admitted he learned a lot about the funk/soul band when making the film. For example, he admitted that the band didn’t come as “ready-made” as they seemed and weren’t always as beloved.

“I was rather shocked to find out that they got booed mercilessly in my hometown of Philadelphia! And their answer to it was to sit in a lotus position for eight minutes straight [before finishing their set],” he recounted to Variety.

What Critics Think About Earth, Wind & Fire: To Be Celestial vs That’s the Weight of the World

After its film festival debut, Earth, Wind & Fire: To Be Celestial vs That’s the Weight of the World has been praised by critics. It has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, at the moment.

“Using a well-edited combination of vintage and recent interviews and copious amounts of archival footage, the documentary recounts the band’s story in compelling fashion, with Questlove providing enough imaginative stylistic flourishes to prevent it from feeling like an extended Behind theMusic episode,” said The Hollywood Reporter in their review.

As a documentarian, Questlove isn’t an innovator; he’s a classicist, almost conventional in his approach. Yet he’s such a sharp director, with such an intoxicating appreciation of his subject, that he’s able to put the audience right inside the music,” said Variety.

Related: Questlove Reveals the Surprising Story Behind Earth, Wind & Fire’s ‘Throwaway’ 1978 Disco Classic