An in-depth look at the life and music of Whitney Houston.An in-depth look at the life and music of Whitney Houston.An in-depth look at the life and music of Whitney Houston.
- Awards
- 1 win & 13 nominations
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Self - Family Friend
- (as 'Aunt Bae')
- …
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Self - Brother
- (as Gary Garland-Houston)
- …
- Self - First Black Mayor of Newark
- (archive footage)
- (as Ken Gibson)
- Self - Family Friend
- (as Reverend Deforest Soaries)
- Themselves
- (archive footage)
- Self - Whitney's Cousin
- (archive footage)
- Self - Whitney's Cousin
- (archive footage)
- Self - Sister-in-Law
- (as Pat Houston)
- …
- Self - Management Team, 1981-1988
- (as Steve Gittelman)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMany of the interviews filmed wound up in the cutting-room floor, like Jennifer Hudson's. The director felt that much of its content was banal and uninteresting.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Whitney Houston: There were times when I would look up to God and I'd go, "Why is this happening to me?" And then these dreams... I'd have these dreams about being on a bridge and the bridge going back and forth and swaying. There's a big storm coming... I'm always running from this giant. I'm always running from this big man. I know I can make it. I know I can make it. I know I can make it. My mother always says, "Oh, you know, that's nothin' but the devil; he's just trying to get you. He just wants your soul." And in a sense it's true. There's been several times the devil has tried to get me. But he never gets me. And it's funny, when I wake up I'm always exhausted, from running.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Entertainment Tonight Canada: Episode #13.204 (2018)
- SoundtracksHow Will I Know
Performed by Whitney Houston
Written by Shannon Rubicam, George Merrill, Narada Michael Walden
Produced by Narada Michael Walden
Additional Production & Remix by Jellybean Benítez
Published by Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Carlin Music Corp
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment
Under licence from Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd.
Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from Scottish writer-director Kevin Macdonald, who's made several other music documentaries including "Marley" (on Bob Marley) and "Being Mick" (that would be Jagger). Here he brings, with full cooperation of the Houston estate, the life and times of amazing singer Whitney Houston. Because he has full access to footage, we get to see a number of home clips previously unseen (and at times very revealing). Macdonald interviews many people who knew Whitney well or were close to her (as, say, bodyguard). Comments someone: "A lot of people around her saw her like an ATM", wow. Yes, even no-good Bobby Brown gets screen time. When asked to comment on Whitney's drug use in the last years of her life, Brown, without the least of irony or regret, responds "I'm not answering that. Drugs have nothing to do with this documentary". Nice one! In fact the last hour of the documentary detail the sad (and drug-fueled) decline of Whitney. Some of those scenes are heartbreaking, frankly. The parallels between this documentary and the "Amy" documentary a few years ago on Amy Winehouse are pretty obvious: the use of the singer's first name for the documentary's title, the questionable role of the respective dads, the respective "bad" boyfriend/husband, the cringe-inducing last tour (for Whitney in 2009), etc. etc. "Whitney" is strong documentary, no question, but in my view "Amy" was a tad better (perhaps because I like Amy's music better). The talent that Whitney had was undeniable (that voice!), even though some of those 80s songs have not aged well. But the waste of that talent makes the passing of Whitney only sadder.
"Whitney" premiered at this year's Cannes film festival to great buzz, and opened this weekend in 4 or 5 screens in Greater Cincinnati. The Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended nicely (and primarily by African-Americans I might add). If you are a fan of Whitney Houston, or music history in general, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.
- paul-allaer
- Jul 8, 2018
- How long is Whitney?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Vitni
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,026,351
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,265,572
- Jul 8, 2018
- Gross worldwide
- $4,605,123
- Runtime2 hours
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1