Accomplished filmmaker Bao Nguyen takes us on a trip back to 1985 and the historic recording of one of the biggest charity records of all time, ‘We Are The World’, which united dozens of A-list artists to raise money for the African famine.Produced by Lionel Richie, one of the iconic artists and co-writer of the original song, Nguyen’s film uses archive material and contemporary talking heads (some interviewed in the original studio in which the record was made), including Richie himself.Headed to Netflix one day off of the recording’s 39th anniversary, the film is a nostalgic trip back to the heyday of ’80s music, the year in which the likes of Cyndi Lauper, Prince, Michael Jackson, Huey Lewis, Billy Joel, Journey, Kenny Loggins and more were dominating the American and international charts, and all are included here in some form.

The documentary charts production of the song itself from conception through to release, the majority of the film’s tight ninety-minute run time concentrating on the mammoth all-night-long recording on the track on the night of the 1985 American Music Awards, a date that was chosen as most of the artists were in town to attend the show (which Richie was presenting).We see how Richie wrote the song with Michael Jackson after they couldn’t track down Stevie Wonder to assist them (he performs on the track); how the project snowballed once they bagged the big names, all of the way through the lasting impact and continuing legacy of the song (it has raised a huge $80 million plus – well over $180 million in today’s money).There’s tons of archive footage throughout, some of it never seen before and stand-out moments include Quincy Jones on his podium directing proceedings while Richie controls the.

‘The Greatest Night In Pop’ review: Dir. Bao Nguyen [Sundance]

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