Cinema: Sounds of Pride

WATTSTAX

Directed by MEL STUART

Last summer in Watts, the Stax records organization sponsored a free concert for 100,000 black citizens, who came to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a day of soul and solidarity. The performers were under contract to Stax, so their appearances were in the nature of command performances. They all showed substantial enthusiasm, however, and judging from this film, the crowd responded with easy joy—and with pride in being there and being black.

Wattstax, a record of the event, is as casually diverting as most rock-concert documentaries, but it is...