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What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?

2023

Action / Documentary

1
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 81% · 16 reviews
IMDb Rating 7.1/10 10 229 229

informative

Plot summary

In 1970, Blood, Sweat and Tears was one of the biggest bands in the world. They had exploded on the scene with both daring and promise, selling millions of records, winning multiple Grammy Awards including Album of the Year (beating out The Beatles' Abbey Road) and headlining the legendary Woodstock festival. In demand for concert and TV appearances, BS&T was a darling of the mainstream and rock press, icon of the counterculture and inspiration for a generation of horn-based bands. Their future was limitless. And then it all went wrong.

Director

John Scheinfeld Photo
John Scheinfeld

Top cast

Michael Lang Photo
Michael Lang as Self
David Felton Photo
David Felton as Self
Donn Cambern Photo
Donn Cambern as Self
Tim Naftali Photo
Tim Naftali as Self
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
1 GB
1280*690
English 2.0
NR
us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 51 min
Seeds 4
2.06 GB
1920*1036
English 5.1
NR
us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 51 min
Seeds 6

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by paul-allaer 7 / 10

How a hot rock band got 'canceled' in 1970

As "What The Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?" (2023 release; 112 min.) opens, we are in "Bucharest, Romania 1970", and BS&T is performing, reportedly the first rock band to perform behind the Iron Curtain. BS&T is touring Romania, Yugoslavia, and Poland as part of the US State Department's cultural exchange program, notwithstanding that most of the 9 member group are anti-Vietnam and anti-Nixon... At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the documentary.Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from director John Scheinfeld ("The U. S. v. Lennon"). Here he examines what happened to a band that was at the peak of their critical and commercial success, and ends up being 'canceled" (as we know that term today) after touring behind the Iron Curtain. The film makers have interviewed all the primary characters involved. Amazingly, the State Department had hired a large film crew (including 5 camera men) to document the whole thing, with the intent of releasing a film to the public at large. This documentary does an excellent job in showcasing both the political aspects of this entire episode, and the musical aspects (the concert footage shows BS&T in peak form, and the music is MILES better than what I recall of them)."What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears" was released in early 2023, but I only recently became aware of it when browsing Amazon Prime for something good to watch and Prime recommended it to me. :What the Hell Happened" is currently rated 81% Certified Fresh, which sounds about right to me. If you are in the mood for a slice of rock music history that you probably never even know existed, or simply are a fan of Blood, Sweat & Tears, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.
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Reviewed by jimballentinejb 10 / 10

Not just a Rockumentary

Not just another story about writing songs or going up against 'The Man'. This is a true story of how a rising star-popular rock band was used as a tool by the Nixon Administration; and the accounts by the artists of how seeing life behind the iron curtain changed these musicians viewpoints. They brought back their eye opening message and told of the stark differences between life under communism and life within a democracy. Blood Sweat and Tears suffered cancel culture decades before it became in vogue, simply for being honest. As a Veteran who experienced first hand the fall of the Iron Curtain, I can tell you ... they got this one right!

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