What The Hell Happened To Blood, Sweat & Tears? (2023)
Director: John Scheinfeld Run Time: 112 min. Release Year: 2023
Country: United States
Language: English
The presentation on Friday, March 31, 2023, will feature an introduction from Danielle Fosler-Lussier and a post-show discussion and Q&A.
Fosler-Lussier is professor of music at The Ohio State University School of Music, where she has taught since 2003. She also served as vice president of the American Musicological Society through November 2022. She is the author of two books: “Music Divided: Bartók’s Legacy in Cold War Culture” and “Music in America’s Cold War Diplomacy”.
About the film:
In June 1970, hot off their spectacular Grammy win for Album of the Year (besting The Beatles’ “Abbey Road”), Blood, Sweat & Tears became the first American rock band to perform behind the Iron Curtain, on a tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Suddenly, they are no longer hip and cool, and they lost support from fans, the media, concert bookers and the recording industry.
It was a period of societal upheaval and culture wars in a polarized America. Like much of the youth in America, band members had been outspoken and critical of the Nixon administration and the Vietnam War. Upon their return from the tour, they found themselves in political crossfire from the Right, who were outraged by the U.S. government footing the bill, and the Left, who criticized their appearance as an instrument of the U.S. government and/or the CIA.
“What happened… 50 years ago is especially gripping because it clearly shows that political and cultural history can and does repeat itself”
—Director John Scheinfeld, Variety
Through documentary footage shot during the Iron Curtain tour (and thought to be lost) and present-day interviews with band members and historians, as well as the unsealing of government records, What The Hell Happened To Blood, Sweat, And Tears? (2023) unravels the details of this extraordinary year in the life of the band.
About the filmmaker:
John Scheinfeld is a critically-acclaimed documentary filmmaker who has helmed projects on a broad range of subjects, particularly in-depth examinations of pop culture icons. He has written, produced, or directed — sometimes all three — acclaimed documentaries over a 20-year period, including films on The Marx Brothers, Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, The Bee Gees, Brian Wilson, Ricky Nelson, and Sergio Mendes. What The Hell Happened To Blood, Sweat & Tears? (2023) is his latest documentary feature.
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