ReMastered: The Lion's Share

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ReMastered: The Lion's Share
ReMastered- The Lion's Share.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Sam Cullman
Written by Jeff Zimbalist
Michael Zimbalist
Starring Rian Malan
Solomon Linda
Delphi Linda
Distributed by Netflix
Release date
  • May 17, 2019 (2019-05-17)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

ReMastered: The Lion's Share is a 2019 documentary film about the search by Rian Malan, a South African journalist, for the original writers of the famous song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". [1] [2]

Contents

Premise

The documentary takes a look at the controversy and legal battles around the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", which is one of the most recognisable songs in all pop music. [3] The search for the song's roots in this documentary is done by the South African journalist Rian Malan. [4] [5]

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lion Sleeps Tonight</span> 1939 song by Solomon Linda

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda under the title "Mbube" for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. Linda's original was written in Zulu, while the English version's lyrics were written by George David Weiss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mbube (genre)</span> South African music genre

Mbube is a form of South African vocal music, made famous by the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The word mbube means "lion" in Zulu. Traditionally performed a cappella, the members of the group are male although a few groups have a female singer. In this form, groups of voices singing homophonically in rhythmic unison are employed to create intricate harmonies and textures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George David Weiss</span> American songwriter and arranger from New York

George David Weiss was an American songwriter and arranger, who was a president of the Songwriters Guild of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rian Johnson</span> American writer, director and producer

Rian Craig Johnson is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film Brick (2005), which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget. Transitioning to higher-profile films, Johnson achieved mainstream recognition for writing and directing the science-fiction thriller Looper (2012) to critical and commercial success. Johnson landed his largest project when he wrote and directed the space opera Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), which grossed over $1 billion. He returned to the mystery genre with Knives Out (2019) and its sequel Glass Onion (2022), both of which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon Linda</span> Musical artist

Solomon Popoli Linda, also known as Solomon Ntsele, was a South African musician, singer and composer best known as the composer of the song "Mbube", which later became the pop music success "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", and gave its name to the Mbube style of isicathamiya a cappella later popularized by Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Zimbalist</span> American filmmaker

Jeffrey Leib Nettler Zimbalist is an American filmmaker. He has been Academy Award shortlisted, has won a Peabody, a DuPont, and 3 Emmy Awards, with 14 Emmy nominations. He is the owner of film and television production company All Rise Films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds</span>

Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds was a South African vocal group formed by Solomon Linda in 1933. The band is known internationally for their song "Mbube" released in 1939, which is the origin of the hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". During their activity, they often took part in singing competitions, in which they were unbeatable, according to historian Veit Erlmann. The group disbanded in 1949 after Linda's wedding. They are the pioneers of the musical genres Mbube and Isicathamiya.

Hugo E. Peretti was an American songwriter, trumpeter, and record producer.

Rian Malan is a South African author, journalist, documentarist and songwriter of Afrikaner descent. He first rose to prominence as the author of the memoir My Traitor's Heart (1990), which, like the bulk of his work, deals with South African society in a historical and contemporary perspective and focuses on racial relations. As a journalist, he has written for major newspapers in South Africa, Britain and the United States.

Rian is both a given name and a surname,it is also a variant of the name Ryan. Notable people with the name include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Someone Saved My Life Tonight</span> 1975 single by Elton John

"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is a song, with music by English musician Elton John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin, from John's 1975 album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. It was released as a single on 23 June 1975, the only single released from the album. Like the rest of the album, the song is autobiographical, and addresses an attempted suicide by John.

François Verster is an independent South African film director and documentary maker.

A Lion's Trail is a 2002 documentary film by François Verster about the rights for the popular song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", also known as "Wimoweh", "Wimba Way" or "Awimbawe", a song written and recorded by the South African shepherd and singer of Zulu origin Solomon Linda with the Evening Birds as "Mbube".

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girl in the Movies</span> 2018 song by Dolly Parton

"Girl in the Movies" is a song by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was written by Parton and Linda Perry for the soundtrack of the 2018 Netflix film, Dumplin'. The song was produced by Perry and released as the second single from the soundtrack on November 2, 2018. It was nominated for Best Original Song at the 76th Golden Globe Awards and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.

<i>Homecoming</i> (2019 American film) 2019 film by Beyoncé

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ReMastered: Tricky Dick & the Man in Black is a 2018 documentary film about how President Richard Nixon, out of concern for the influence of rock-n-roll to the voters, invited Johnny Cash to the White House seeking the country music star's approval.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spirit (Beyoncé song)</span> 2019 single by Beyoncé

"Spirit" is a song by American singer Beyoncé for the soundtrack of the photorealistic remake of The Lion King and the companion album The Lion King: The Gift. Released on July 10, 2019, it was written and produced by Ilya Salmanzadeh, Labrinth and Beyoncé. Lyrically, the song discusses Simba's, the film's main protagonist's return home and is played during that particular scene in the film. "Spirit" is a gospel ballad that opens with lyrics chanted in Swahili by male choristers.

<i>The Lion King: The Gift</i> 2019 soundtrack album by Beyoncé and various artists

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<i>Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery</i> 2022 American film by Rian Johnson

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References

  1. "'ReMastered: The Lion's Share' looks at the thorny history of a ubiquitous pop song". The Daily Dot. July 10, 2019.
  2. "ReMastered: The Lion's Share – Netflix Documentary Review". The Review Geek. July 10, 2019.
  3. Malan, Rian (May 14, 2000). "In the Jungle: Inside the Long, Hidden Genealogy of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  4. "Who wrote 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'? A Netflix film seeks answers, and closure". Los Angeles Times. July 10, 2019.
  5. "'ReMastered: The Lion's Share' Seeks Justice For African Writer Of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"". Decider. July 10, 2019.