Best movie of this year hands down!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This Documentary depicts some wonderful ladies of music, and their trials and tribulations. It also depicts some fantastic back stage stories and behind the scenes background on some wonderful artists and music, and damn these ladies can sing. A definite recommendation for any music lover with contributions from top artists. Alas the topic holding the thread together - as to why most backing singers are Twenty feet from Stardom - comes as no surprise and is summed up briefly by Sting and even Mick Jagger (who lets face it is a man of an acquired taste regarding voice) in one sentence from each of them. Nonetheless it's a great look at music through the years and you do feel for these lovely warm people, some of which were certainly shafted at times in their careers, however we all kinda know now that's the music business. We'll probably never see their like again so well worth spending some time with them.

"20 Feet from Stardom" is immensely enjoyable, affectionate and profoundly compassionate look at the life and destines of background singers, hence the title. It is something I was aware long ago - probably back in the 1980s when I was teenager listening than-current pop hit "Culture Club" and quickly noted that backing vocals of Helen Terry were far superior to the main singer. Through the years it became kind of hobby to spot great background voices without whom the final results would never be the same, it seems no matter how great stars were, they often shone even better (or were inspired by) when they have brilliant and oh-so-brief support from the background. This documentary finally set the record straight - yes, these anonymous voices are equally important and as someone noted, trough the years stars change but musicians and backing vocals on the stage always stay there constantly present.Tons of famous people here talk about phenomenon of backing vocalists - everybody from Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Sting and Bruce Springsteen theorize about importance of background singers on their albums and that little/huge step that separates musician from a star. Some of those girls are actually far more comfortable in the background than being in the spotlight. Naturally there is a thrill of ambition but also a frustration when promises and plans don't work out. Many of them were so celebrated in the field that they always found work, but even more of them suffered humiliations, cheating and simply quick change of music trends. What is most fascinating is something I always wondered about - some of these backing vocalists are honest-to-God far superior singers than many solo artists.Bette Midler makes interesting statement when she describes music industry in 1950s where backing vocalists were without exception mostly white, sugary and cheerful voices until early 1960s when Phil Spector and the whole girl-group phenomenon finally ushered powerful black voices on the scene. Here is where mighty Darlene Love comes in the picture and she is legendary background singer on whose shoulder everybody else was standing ever since - even with the fact that she was impoverished and anonymous (reduced to cleaning houses) when her hit singles played on the radio, people like Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder paid attention to that girl in the background. Documentary also follows destines of other voices like Mable John (a former Raelette behind Ray Charles), ex-Ikette Claudia Lennear, powerhouse voices like Merry Clayton and Tata Vega (who sang in "Color Purple"), people like The Waters Family (who sang behind every possible project imaginable) up to present time with Judith Hill (behind Michael Jackson) and most fascinating of all, Lisa Fischer who is in words of Chris Botti "a freak of nature" and can sing circles around everybody in the business - just watching her singing is seriously life-changing experience because this girl sings from a deep spiritual place from somewhere inside her and though people in the industry recognize this (she is often not just backing vocalist on Sting/The Rolling Stones/Tina Turner tours but constantly given solo spot to shine) her career never really took off. She got herself "Grammy" for one album and than disappeared in the background again - Patti Austin thinks that no matter how strange this might sounds, some people genuinely prefer camaraderie and joy of group creation to celebrity status. Tata Vega thinks that this is a true, spiritual magic of music and not anything else about the business. Lastly, Merry Clayton is still crushed when decades after her solo albums went nowhere reminisces how she expected that if she gave everything honestly and from the heart, the success will happen automatically. (She was the unforgettable voice behind "Gimme shelter" on The Rolling Stones classic). I truly enjoyed this movie and was even more excited to find out it was awarded with "Oscar" for the best documentary, which gave chance to Darlene Love to stand on the Academy Award podium and raise that powerful voice to the skies. She really unleashed it and its impossible to watch that moment without celebrating it together with her. Raise the glass for all the ladies from the background because they deserve it.

The 2014 Oscar winner for Best Documentary. Good documentary on the lives and careers of some of rock/R&B music's most famous background singers, and the highs and lows of being a background singer.Featured singers include Merry Clayton, who provided probably the pinnacle moment in backing vocal history when she sang on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter". Coincidentally (or not) also includes the current Stones female backing singer, Lisa Fischer.Includes recent interviews with some of the greats they supported: Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Sting.Some good insights into the music industry, and the pluses and minuses of being a support artist vs a lead artist. There is something missing though. While good, the documentary doesn't seem to have that extra something to make it profound, and brilliant. Hard to put the finger on what the missing ingredient is. Maybe it is the lack of glamour in the role: the whole thing just seems so low- key, especially compared to the lives of the people they supported.Ultimately, an interesting look into the lives of the lesser-known, but still important, contributors to the music industry.

"20 Feet From Stardom" has been rightly called the sister piece to "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown". There are poignant moments in history as well as described by those we already know in the spotlight. For those of us whom already have experience the epiphany of identification with the chorus and not the lead, the film acts as validation to a point. Only one of thy stories really attempts to show the lack of real opportunity for those young black singers, but as much as I hate these singing contests on network TV, they are honest in stating they are looking for stars. I only saw one here in Darlene Love. The stories, historical clips and pictures were successful in painting the tapestry of the time ,and were the most entertaining. Claudia Lennear as one of the Ikettes, for example, was appropriate and acute. The Lisa Fischer segment seemed a bit underwhelming and left me unsympathetic. I love the music and the attitudes of the back up singers, but not everyone is a star. Bruce Springsteen is bold enough to state it, but I'm not sure if many of those on screen fully accepted that.