Hitsville: The Making of Motown

2019
12A
1h 52m

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

1.9K

YOUR RATING

Play trailer2:10

1 Video

5 Photos

Documentary Music

Documentary film that focuses on the period beginning with the birth of Motown in Detroit in 1958 until its relocation to Los Angeles in the early 1970s.Documentary film that focuses on the period beginning with the birth of Motown in Detroit in 1958 until its relocation to Los Angeles in the early 1970s.Documentary film that focuses on the period beginning with the birth of Motown in Detroit in 1958 until its relocation to Los Angeles in the early 1970s.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

1.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations

Videos1

Trailer 2:10

Trailer

Photos5

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Diana Ross and Gladys Knight are notable omissions of living Motown artists who only appear in archival footage and not new interviews for this documentary.

Soundtracks
Papa Was A Rollin' Stone
Performed by The Temptations
Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong

User reviews26

Review

Featured review

8/10

astonishing success of the Detroit-based record

This love letter of a doc celebrates the astonishing success of the Detroit-based record label during the '60s, when its artists included The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. British co-directors Benjamin and Gabe Turner conduct interviews with founder Berry Gordy Jr and Smokey Robinson, who explain the assembly-line principles behind the hit factory. If Hitsville feels like a sanitised account, the Motown records featured - which crossed social and racial divides in America - remain gloriously life-affirming.