Acclaimed doc about ‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin mired in legal fight

When “Amazing Grace,” the long-awaited documentary of Aretha Franklin’s 1972 gospel performance premiered to sold-out audiences in November 2018, first in New York and then Los Angeles, the reception was euphoric.

NPR hailed the film as “transcendent,” calling it “nothing short of a revelation.”

While the L.A. Times rhapsodized that it was “a captivating artifact, the rare making-of documentary that doesn’t just comment on but completely merges with its subject.”

At the time of the concert, Franklin was at the pinnacle of her fame and power, with 20 albums and five Grammys under her belt. The two-night sessions marked a return to her gospel roots. Recorded at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts, Franklin was backed by the Southern California Community Choir. Gospel icon the Rev. James Cleveland presided.

The sessions produced a live album, the double-platinum “Amazing Grace,” and earned Franklin