Thunder Soul

Theatrical Release Date: 2011 09 23 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 031398148074

Studio: Miramax Lionsgate

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Smoking, Mild Language]

Summary: Most fans of classic soul and funk don't spend much time listening to high school bands, but mention the Kashmere Stage Band and they'll sit up and take notice. In the 1970s, the jazz band at Houston, Texas' Kashmere High School was one of the best in the nation, and even scored regional hits with their recordings. Comprised of students from one of Houston's roughest neighborhoods, the Kashmere Stage Band was the brainchild of Conrad O. Johnson Sr., the school's band director who replaced the band's staid repertoire with a mix of lively jazz and funk tunes and current R&B favorites, and instilled a powerful work ethic in his students that turned the ensemble into an award winner. Johnson, known to his students as "Prof," transformed an otherwise ordinary band into something ground-breaking, and in the documentary Thunder Soul, filmmaker Mark Landsman offers a telling profile of Johnson and his band, featuring photos and footage of the band in their heyday as well as interviews from a recent reunion in which the Kashmere alumni paid tribute to Prof with their first concert in decades. Thunder Soul received its world premiere at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Music [nf]

Awards: Film Presented – SXSW Film Presented – Hot Docs International Film Festival Film Presented – Seattle International Film Festival Film Presented – Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Best Documentary – Independent Spirit Awards

Features: cc
Audio commentary with director/producer Mark Landsman and film editor Claire Didier
Never-before-seen footage from Prof & The Band documentary (1974)
Theatrical trailer

Thunder Soul

Format: DVD

Release Date: 01/31/2012

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen

Audio: DD-EX Dolby Digital Surround EX (simulated 6.1)

Runtime: 88 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Cast and Crew: Jamie Foxx  Executive Producer 
Jaime Rucker King  Executive Producer 
Mark Landsman  Director 
Mark Landsman  Producer 
Keith Calder  Producer 
Jessica Wu  Producer 
Conrad O. Johnson, Sr.  Composer (Music Score) 
Conrad O. Johnson, Sr.  Actor 
Craig Baldwin  Actor 
Craig Green  Actor 
Bruce Middleton  Actor 
Timothy Thompson  Actor 
Gerald Calhoun  Actor 
Gwen Walker  Actor 
Kirbyjon Caldwell  Actor 
Martha Samson  Actor 
Gaila Mitchell  Actor 

Country: USA