DIMANCHE

By Brad Rhines 

He’s better known as the Bad Lieutenant, but in That’s the Way of the World Harvey Keitel plays a good-as-gold record producer who stands up for soul and funk in a business dominated by family-friendly pop music. Showing tonight at Café Istanbul, That’s the Way of the World is the second film in the “Musically Speaking” series, curated and hosted by DJ Soul Sister. The film features cameo appearances by members of Earth, Wind, and Fire, who also cut the film’s soundtrack—a chart-topping record with two hit singles—making the nearly forgotten cult classic a must see for fans of the funk.

Released theatrically in 1975, That’s the Way of the World was only made widely available when released on DVD in 2006. By contrast, the soundtrack album from Earth, Wind, and Fire was the best-selling R&B record of that year and helped cement their reputation as one of the baddest bands of the era. In the film, members of Earth, Wind, and Fire play a fictional band called The Group. Keitel’s record label executive is forced by the powers-to-be to put the band’s debut record on hold in order to focus on The Pages, a white pop act that the studio believes is more representative of what America wants to hear.

The movie captures Earth, Wind, and Fire’s feature-film debut, but those hoping for long concert sequences and lots of live music might be better served picking up one of the band’s concert DVDs. Still, That’s the Way of the World—directed by Sig Shore, who also produced Superfly—provides a commentary on popular music that’s just as relevant now as it was nearly 40 years ago.

Admission to the film is free and the screening will take place at 7:00pm. Refreshments will also be served, and a cash bar is available. For more information or to rsvp, contact info@press-street.com or visit www.press-street.com/film.