Forgotten Footage of 1972 Collaborative Concert Featuring Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5, And More – Restored and Released by Netflix After Over 50 Years of Being Lost
In 1972, in Chicago, Jesse Jackson hosted the monumental ‘Save the Children’ event as part of his Operation PUSH – a civil rights organization dedicated to battling political and racial turmoil and celebrating Black excellence.
‘Save the Children’ was a project intended to bring together all the biggest names in music of the time, as a way to honor the culture and to exhibit the solidarity of Black musicians and fans alike. The five-day music, arts and culture event was filmed and released to the public as a documentary in 1973 by Paramount Pictures under the title “Save the Children,” but didn’t perform well in theaters and ultimately vanished from the public eye. That is, until this year.
The digitally restored version of the film, which includes performances by The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Sammy Davis, and the Temptations, was presented at the 60th Chicago International Film Festival last month – after being missing for over 50 years. Following the film’s poor performance at the box office in 1973, virtually all versions of it were either misplaced or deliberately stowed away, and few copies were made available to the public. However, after being rediscovered in Paramount’s archives, the film’s original director Stan Lathan (now 79), alongside Jesse Jackson’s son, Yusef, decided to reform the footage in order to make it available to a wider audience. They chose to showcase the film at the Chicago film festival as a full-circle moment, bringing the documentary back to its roots. Following the historic screening, Netflix acquired the rights to the film, and you can now watch it on the streaming platform in its original form, with enhanced visuals and audio.
The groundbreaking re-release of this exclusive footage comes at a time when many documentaries covering Black cultural events of the 20th century are being brought to the surface and developed for streaming services – much like Questlove’s 2021 Oscar-winning film “Summer of Soul,” and the recent “Freaknik” documentary, both of which are available on Hulu. With a blend of historic reminiscence and reclamation, and relevance to the culture of today’s world, these documentaries celebrate the past and point to the power of coming together – and the importance of demonstrating that power.
“Save the Children: A Concert for the Ages” is now streaming on Netflix.
