Watch Amy Winehouse record 'Back to Black'

The documentary Amy arrived in select theaters last weekend and quickly established itself as a force in the summer movie universe, garnering rave reviews and scoring a healthy box office. The story of Amy Winehouse is familiar but no less tragic or engaging, and Amy is the rare documentary that relies primarily on the words of its late subject, creating a remarkably intimate portrait of an artist at work and at play.

Entertainment Weekly film critic Leah Greenblatt called Amy “a rare thing to watch: neither hagiography nor hatchet job but a full, unvarnished portrait that brings a larger-than-life icon back to earth — and makes her infinitely more interesting for it.”

Amy really does remind the music world of the hole she left when she passed away in 2011. For all her tabloid excess, Winehouse was the real deal: A gifted artist with a truly incredible instrument.

Some of the most compelling and revealing images in the film are of Winehouse working in the studio, and in this clip, Back to Black producer Mark Ronson discusses the distance between the singer’s reputation and her work ethic. Marvel at just how casually Winehouse belts out the now-iconic chorus to the title track from her breakout album.

Amy is in select theaters now and goes wide this Friday, July 10.