Get on Up tells the story of recording artist James Brown and his journey from a life of poverty to becoming a world class performer. Chadwick Boseman plays the funky, soulful singer, getting his amazing dance moves just right.
42 Movie review: Brave souls steal bases >>
Also known as the Father of Funk, there has never been anyone else like Brown, who combined blues, gospel and social commentary in a time where African-Americans needed a strong voice.
In this clip, we see James Brown as a small child being comforted by his Aunt Honey (Octavia Spencer, The Help). She tells young Jimmy in a nurturing, yet firm, voice, "You special, boy. You've got the spirit in you." It's no stretch to say that if there's ever been "spirit" in anyone, it certainly was him.
Of course, the "Sex Machine" performer had troubles, too. While he started his career with a strict no-drug use policy for himself and his entourage, by the 1980s, he began to use PCP, also known as angel dust. The drug made him increasingly violent, leading him to allegedly hit his wife, Adrienne Rodriguez, with a lead pipe and shoot her.
Get On Up is directed by Tate Taylor, who's best known for the 2011 film, The Help, which examined the conflicts between African-American maids and the white families who employed them during the Civil Rights Movement. Octavia Spencer won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Minny Jackson.
Lead actor Chadwick Boseman is no stranger to playing characters who overcome huge challenges. In 2013, he played Jackie Robinson in the film 42, about the first black player in a major American baseball league.
Coming in 2016, Boseman can be seen as Thoth in the film Gods of Egypt alongside Gerard Butler, Brenton Thwaites and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau discusses Cameron Diaz affair claims >>
Get On Up opens in theaters Aug. 1.