Filmography
Sun Ra and his Arkestra were the subject of a few documentary films, notably Robert Mugge's Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise (1980). It interspersed passages of performances and rehearsals with Sun Ra's commentary on various subjects ranging from today's youth to his own place in the cosmos. Space Is the Place (1974) is a feature-length film that stars Sun Ra and his band as themselves. The soundtrack, also by Sun Ra, is available on CD.
In 1995 his influence was a significant factor in the foundation of the Association of Autonomous Astronauts.
More recently Don Letts' Sun Ra—Brother from Another Planet (2005) incorporates some of Mugge's material, and includes some additional interviews.
Points On A Space Age (2009) is a documentary by Ephrahaim Asili. "It's a 60-minute doc along the lines of the talking-head-intercut-with performance clips style. It works because of the interesting and passionate nature of the images of the band as well as of the audio, as the band attempts to articulate what Ra meant to them, and why they are keeping the flame alive. He “left the earth” for his next mission in 1993. The remnants of the band include Marshall Allen, Ra’s greatest disciple and current bandleader and keeper of the flame. Now 86, Allen also serves as recruiter for new members, and potential converts of Sun Ra’s philosophy, once based on space travel and music as a tool for evolution into a new consciousness and tuning into holy vibrations."
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