
That her record company, unenthused about a middle-aged Black woman who wanted to sing rock and roll, nearly dropped her (one former executive recalls his boss using the n-word in reference to her). That Turner felt rejected by her parents, especially her mother, who left the family when she was young. The film reveals things casual fans might not know. Tina the film fills in the details, describing how afraid she was of Ike Turner, how she tried to commit suicide while married to him and how she eventually fled during a trip to Dallas. Left with little more than the stage name her ex-husband gave her, Tina Turner rebuilt her career and her life to become one of the most successful female artists in rock history. He renamed her Tina Turner and they built an act together over about two decades, before his abusive ways led her to run away and then divorce him. Ike Turner, an early pioneer in '50s-era rock and roll, included her in his band after hearing her sing during an intermission at a show. The facts of her life are the stuff of rock legend. There's a wide array of archival clips showing Turner in her performing prime Ike Turner, who died in 2007, is represented through footage from old interviews. Still, Tina convenes an impressive array of sources to re-examine Turner's life, including Bassett friend Oprah Winfrey Kurt Loder, the MTV News anchor who co-authored her bestselling biography I, Tina and playwright Katori Hall, among others.

Which highlights a sad irony: The stories of triumph and perseverance that have led so many fans to adore her – and has fueled so many books, films and added weight to hit records like What's Love Got to Do with It – are often painful for her to recount.

Watching the story of her life unfold in Tina, you get the sense that avoidance is an important part of Turner's survival mechanism. this constant reminder, it's not so good. "I don't love that it's always talked about. "The story was actually written, so that I would no longer have to discuss the issue," Turner says in the clip, as the film's star, Angela Bassett, sits next to her, a tight smile plastered on her face. In another well-chosen clip, the documentary shows Turner at a press conference during the Venice Film Festival for her 1993 biopic What's Love Got to Do With It, explaining why she hadn't actually watched the movie. (One standout moment: when a journalist asks about Ike Turner during a publicity tour for the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, as Mel Gibson sits next to Tina Turner, looking on uncomfortably.)īach recalls how talking about the tough times in her life can lead the singer to relive those moments – even dream about them – like a soldier with PTSD. The film presents one of those clip montages becoming common in celebrity biopics, displaying the cluelessness and blithe cruelty of journalists, this time asking deeply invasive questions about her abuse at Ike Turner's hands. NPR placed her 1984 comeback album Private Dancer at Number 34 on the list of 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women.Īnd yet, Turner herself remains deeply ambivalent about telling her story. She was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with ex-husband Ike Turner this year, she's on the ballot as a solo act. If true, that's a loss for the world – if Tina reveals anything, it's that Turner's life story is one for the ages.Ĭonsider the numbers: Turner has a dozen Grammy awards, many millions of records sold, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Kennedy Center Honor. "She said, 'I'm going to America and I'm going to say goodbye to my American fans, and I'll wrap it up.' I think this documentary and the – this is it. Her husband, Erwin Bach, speaks more bluntly in the film just moments later. But when do you stop being proud? How do you bow out slowly – just go away?"

"Some people say the life that I've lived and the performances I gave.the appreciation is lasting with the people and I should be proud of that," Turner says in an interview. It's an odd message, coming from a woman whose life story and experiences have inspired at least four books, an Oscar-nominated biopic, a Broadway musical and, now, this new film.
#How old is tina turner movie
Near the end of HBO's new documentary, Tina, the movie implies the legendary singer has made a decision: after this film rolls out, Tina Turner just might be done appearing in public and talking about her life. Tina Turner and her children, photographed in 1967.
