| | | See It! Live It! Spread It!
Features: DVD, Special Edition, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Dolby Digital (5.1); Dolby Surround Sound, Audio Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Photo Gallery, Featurette, English Subtitled
A young singer turns his back on God and his father's church when tragedy strikes. He returns years later to find the once powerful congregation in disarray. With his childhood nemesis creating a "new vision" for the church, he is forced to deal with family turmoil, career suicide, and relationship issues that send him on a collision course with redemption or destruction. Set in the world of the African-American church and gospel music from director Rob Hardy (Trois, Trois 2: Pandora's Box), The Gospel features an all-star cast including Boris Kodjoe (Love and Basketball), Omar Gooding (Baby Boy), Nona Gaye (The Matrix Reloaded), Clifton Powell (Ray), Tamyra Gray (TV's American Idol star), Keshia Knight Pulliam (TV's The Cosby Show) and the hottest names in gospel with Grammy Award winners Yolanda Adams, Donnie McClurkin, and Hezekiah Walker among many more!
"The Gospel is a foot-stomping, hand-clapping good time..." Jawn Murray, AOL's Black Voices
Editor's Note
R&B star David Taylor's (Boris Kodjoe) life at the top of the entertainment industry screeches to a halt when a heavy dose of reality hits him hard in director Rod Hardy's THE GOSPEL. While enjoying the familiar trappings that success brings, David suddenly discovers that his estranged father, Pastor Fred Taylor (Clifton Powell), has fallen ill. Father and son haven't spoken since David's mother died, but when he hears the news, the singing star cancels a tour and returns to Atlanta to see his dad. After Fred dies, it's assumed that David's old school friend, Frank (Idris Elba), who remained faithful to the church while his buddy sought fame and fortune, will take over as pastor. But in a surprising move, it transpires that Fred's last wish was for his son to assume the role. This causes acrimony among members of the church, who are angry that such a highly coveted position is being handed to someone who has lived a life of sin. David responds by bringing some Hollywood glitz to the church, and assumes the position with a vigor that rocks the community. But on rediscovering his faith, and possibly finding true love with choir singer Rain (AMERICAN IDOL's Tamyra Gray), it seems he may turn his back on his old ways for good, much to the consternation of his manager, Wesley (Omar Gooding). Coupling soaring gospel songs with an exploratory look at the way African-American churches operate, THE GOSPEL is both uplifting and educational. Singers such as Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond, and Gray herself are given plenty of screen time to do their thing, with director Hardy getting the balance of music and plot just right throughout.
| Features | Audio Commentary | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Deleted Scenes | | Extended Musical Performances | | Interactive Menus | | Making Of Featurette | | Photo Gallery | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Sony Pictures |
| Release Date: 3/27/2007 |
| Running Time: 111 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2005 | | Catalog ID: 12757 | | UPC: 00043396127579 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Los Angeles Times
"Featuring a number of noted gospel singers, THE GOSPEL is rousing, affirmative entertainment." 10/07/2005 p.E10Entertainment Weekly
"It's a rich portrait of a church in transition..." 10/21/2005 p.56 Variety.com 6 of 10
An ego-maniacal Baptist reverend and a sexy pop star who has drifted from his Christian roots stumble toward redemptions of a sort in The Gospel, a creaky melodrama that wants to be a musical. Mimicking a traditional movie tuner, director Rob Hardy's script allows for plenty of gospel music to bridge the gaps in his slight drama centered around a struggling Atlanta church. - Robert Koehler
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
The Gospel is the first mainstream movie I can remember that deals knowledgeably with the role of the church in African-American communities. It is not a particularly religious movie; the characters are believers, but the movie is not so much about faith and prayer as about the economic and social function of a church: How it operates as a stabilizing force, a stage for personalities, an arena for power struggles, and an enterprise which must cover its costs or go out of business...If the plot wanders through several predictable situations, and it does, the movie never lingers too long on those developments before cutting back to the best gospel music I've seen on film since Say Amen, Somebody. Like an Astaire and Rogers musical, this is a movie you don't go to for the dialogue. - Roger Ebert
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