This fascinating chronicle of Stax Records, the Memphis-based record label that helped redefine both R&B music and race relations, is a bracing true-life success-and-burn story. The mixture of interviews with an impressive array of characters and often scintillating archival footage of the musicians in action creates a powerful portrait of the important cultural role the label played during the ’60s and early ’70s. Thus, more than just a documentary about a record label, Respect Yourself chronicles the slow and painful birth of a new era in American history, with Stax standing as an unlikely yet inspiring trailblazer that left behind much more than just a legacy of great music. (DVD)