Soul Food

Soul Food


Starring:Vanessa L. Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Brandon Hammond, Jeffrey D. Sams, Gina Ravera, Irma P. Hall, Carl Wright, Mel Jackson, Morgan Méchelle Smith, John M. Watson Sr., M.T. Alexander, Lawrence Petty, Marcia Wright, Bernard Mixon, Hamp Clemons, Theron Touché Lykes, Martell Hill Edmond
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Soul Food is the kind of movie that seems to have been blessed throughout its low-budget production, and it's got a quality of warmth and charm that fits perfectly with its authentic drama about a large African-American family in Chicago. Twenty-eight-year-old writer-director George Tillman Jr. drew autobiographical inspiration from his upbringing in Milwaukee, and on a well-spent $6.5 million budget he succeeded where similar films (including Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back) fell short: He depicts his many characters with such depth and sympathy that, by the time they have weathered several family crises, we've come to care and feel for them and the powerful ties that bind them together. As seen through the eyes of Tillman's young alter ego Ahmad (Brandon Hammond), the film primarily focuses on the rivalries and affections that rise and fall among Ahmad's mother (Vivica A. Fox) and her two sisters (Vanessa L. Williams, Nia Long). Through them, and through the weekly Sunday dinners cooked with love by their mother, Big Mama (Irma P. Hall), we witness marital bliss and distress, infidelity, success, failure... in short, the spices of life both bitter and sweet. But when Big Mama falls into a diabetic coma, Ahmad watches as his family begins to fall apart without the stability and love that Big Mama provided with every Sunday meal.

Tillman's touch can be overly nostalgic, melodramatic, and cloyingly sentimental, but never so much that the movie loses its firm grip on reality. As a universal portrait of family life, Soul Food ranks among the very best films of its kind--believable, funny, emotional, and always approaching its characters (well-played by a uniformly excellent cast) with a generous spirit of forgiveness and understanding. As satisfying as one of Big Mama's delicious dinners, Soul Food is the kind of movie that keeps you coming back for more. --Jeff Shannon
Description
Sunday dinner at Mothers Joe's (Irma P. Hall) is a mouth watering, 40 year tradition. As seen through the eyes of her grandson Ahmad (Brandon Hammond), love and laughs are always on the menu, despite the usual rivalries simmering between his mom Maxine and her sisters Teri an bird. But when serious bickering starts to tear the family apart, the good times suddenly stop. Now it's up to Ahmad to get everyone back together and teach them the true meaning of soul food.
Soul Food - The Second Season
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • At Last, At Last , At Last
  • Hooray!!!!
  • The Greatest Show for Our Souls
  • Finally..........
  • Well alright now
 Soul Food - The Second Season

Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Television | Genres | DVD | Video
Soul FoodSoul Food | S | TV Series, A-Z | TV Series | Television | Genres | DVD | Video
TelevisionTelevision | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video
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Similar Items:
  1. Soul Food - The Complete First Season
  2. Martin - The Complete Second Season
  3. Girlfriends - The Complete First Season
  4. Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls (Full Screen)
  5. Martin - The Complete First Season

ASIN: B000PHX5M8
Release Date: 2007-08-07

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars At Last, At Last , At Last .......2007-07-02

This has been a vey long wait to get 1 of the best TV dramas released on
DVD. I am very happy that the price on the boxset is much less then season one. Let's support this great series so that maybe Paramount will release the following seasons in a swift manner

5 out of 5 stars Hooray!!!!.......2007-06-26

I am so happy ! I just ordered my copy.

Now I have to get on the phone and plan a soul food party with my Homies.

5 out of 5 stars The Greatest Show for Our Souls.......2007-06-22

When Soul Food aired back 7 years ago- I was so proud to see us reflected positively and not sterotypical. I am so thankful to the fans who petitioned Showtime to release the highly anticipated Season 2!!! For a long time I had been thinking the same thing like "when are they going to release season 2? Well I'm glad someone stepped up and made a difference in our viewing rights! After all we have kept the season alive during its peak and post its departure.. I'm ordering mine! Assalam Malakum...

5 out of 5 stars Finally.................2007-06-15

Our patience has finally paid off...............they are releasing season two. It's been a hellified long wait, but thankfully it's ending. I sure hope it doesn't take as long for the release of the other seasons.

This was really a great show. I watch the re-runs on BET and get so caught up as if it's my first time and I don't know how it'll end.

5 out of 5 stars Well alright now.......2007-06-15

It's about time I have been waiting for this for awhile now.. I hope the rest of Seasons do not take years to release also.
Soul Food - The Complete First Season
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • SOUL FOOD-1st Season
  • I WANT TO SEE MORE!!!
  • Real issues
  • I am ready for the other seasons.
  • Soul Food Feeds Your Hunger for Good Television
 Soul Food - The Complete First Season
Director: Diane Wynter , Kevin Arkadie , Clark Johnson , Oz Scott , and LeVar Burton
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Television | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Television | Genres | DVD | Video
Soul FoodSoul Food | S | TV Series, A-Z | TV Series | Television | Genres | DVD | Video
Hooks, KevinHooks, Kevin | ( H ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
Hunter, TimHunter, Tim | ( H ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
Surjik, StephenSurjik, Stephen | ( S ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
Townsend, RobertTownsend, Robert | ( T ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
Woolnough, JeffWoolnough, Jeff | ( W ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
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( S )( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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  1. Soul Food - The Second Season
  2. Soul Food
  3. Girlfriends - The Complete First Season
  4. Living Single - The Complete First Season
  5. The Corner (HBO Miniseries)

ASIN: B000094J5Z
Release Date: 2003-06-24

Amazon.com

Soul Food, the richly emotional ongoing tale of three African American sisters and the men in their lives, has no obvious hook as far as the setting or the characters' jobs; it's just well-written, well-acted, and willing to let its characters be difficult, troubled, and pushy, as well as sexy, passionate, and caring--in other words, vividly real. Teri (Nicole Ari Parker), a divorced lawyer and demanding control freak, begins a relationship with Damon (Boris Kodjoe), a much younger delivery guy who's deliberately avoided the kind of high-pressure career path that Teri values. Maxine (Vanessa Williams) has three kids by Kenny (Rockmond Dunbar), including 12-year-old Ahmad (Aaron Meeks), who narrates portions of the show, and whose growing independence often leads to clashes with his strong-minded mother. Bird (Malinda Williams), a beautician, struggles to find trust with her ex-con husband Lem (Darrin Dewitt Henson), whose drive to support his family leads him down some dangerous paths.

The opening episode centers around the birth of Bird's first child, placing family ties at the core of the series--but Soul Food explores a broad spectrum of storylines, delving into class, crime, religion, sex, and more, rarely making race a central concern, yet never ignoring the role race plays in these people's lives. The creators of Soul Food have a keen eye for contrasting innocence (such as Ahmad trying to figure out how to use a condom) and danger (Lem slipping back into the criminal life). Though the show can be melodramatic (one episode features a hostage crisis in Bird's salon), more often it's just concerned with everyday events, made compelling by the charisma of the cast and the propulsive, well-observed writing and directing. The first season of Soul Food is simply a feast, 20 episodes of juicy, enjoyable television. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Focusing on a family full of love, disagreements and a fair amount of drama, SOUL FOOD: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON follows the lives of Teri Joseph (Parker), the oldest sister and a successful lawyer who is overwhelmed by her own success, Maxine (Vanessa Williams), the middle sister who is a stay-at-home mom aching for something more, and Bird (Malinda Williams), the youngest sister and hairdresser who is married to an ex-con who can't seem to get away from his past. All in all a fairly typical American family with issues just like everyone else: they bicker over small problems, and then pull together when confronted by a big crisis which they must work together to overcome.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars SOUL FOOD-1st Season.......2007-02-04

This compilation embodies everything I enjoy in a movie: family, relationships, beautiful people and just "keeping it real" storylines. I subscribed to Showtime just so I can capture Soul Food every week. I've had nothing to replace the void that its entertainment filled. I've looked for subsequent seasons to come to DVD for the last 3 years; disappointing when you see Green Acres or Family Ties end up on DVD's but can't seem to get something we can relate to (modern day). I've even sent a letter to Paramount--to no avail. I'm sure when I stop looking the other seasons will soon show up on DVD. CAN'T WAIT!!!

5 out of 5 stars I WANT TO SEE MORE!!!.......2007-01-27

I really enjoyed the Soul Food- First Season. Some of the episodes I saw on the 5 discs, I hadn't seen before. It was great to catch up on what I had missed.By the time I got to the last disc, I was upset because I knew there were no more discs to watch. I HOPE YOU GUYS WILL BE COMING OUT WITH THE "COMPLETE SECOND SEASON". You definitely have a buyer here!

4 out of 5 stars Real issues.......2007-01-26

Very reflective of what families deal with everyday. Very good show, I'm looking forward to the other seasons decoming available on DVD.

5 out of 5 stars I am ready for the other seasons........2007-01-03

I never watched watched it when it came on showtime. It deals with real family issues which I greatly appreciate.

5 out of 5 stars Soul Food Feeds Your Hunger for Good Television.......2006-12-29

I used to watch this show religiously on Showtime. Unfortunately, as with most cable series, it was complete after four (thought it was five?) seasons. They used to run the show twice a week. The superior cast, excellent script, and production quality were phenomenal. I related to the show because it reminded me so much of me and my two sisters. It was also refreshing to watch a show about an African-American family that was positive and did not play-off ignorant stereotypes; this was, hands-down, better than Friends and when the series ended (the same year Friends did), there was no hoopla. Paramount, do all of us fans across the globe a favor---release the rest of the seasons on DVD! I get my fix on BET, but sometimes the show is not on for whatever reason.
Soul Food
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Food For The Soul
  • It's about the Food
  • Soul Food
  • Big Sunday dinners with the whole family!
  • A Collection of Cliches
 Soul Food
Starring: Vanessa Williams (VII) , Vivica A. Fox , Nia Long , Michael Beach , and Mekhi Phifer
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Romantic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Family GatheringsFamily Gatherings | By Theme | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
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Beach, MichaelBeach, Michael | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Fox, Vivica AFox, Vivica A | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Hall, Irma PHall, Irma P | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Hammond, BrandonHammond, Brandon | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Jackson, MelJackson, Mel | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Long, NiaLong, Nia | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Phifer, MekhiPhifer, Mekhi | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Ravera, GinaRavera, Gina | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Wright, CarlWright, Carl | ( W ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
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  1. Waiting to Exhale
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  4. The Best Man
  5. Set It Off

ASIN: B000059HAB
Release Date: 2001-04-03

Amazon.com

Soul Food is the kind of movie that seems to have been blessed throughout its low-budget production, and it's got a quality of warmth and charm that fits perfectly with its authentic drama about a large African-American family in Chicago. Twenty-eight-year-old writer-director George Tillman Jr. drew autobiographical inspiration from his upbringing in Milwaukee, and on a well-spent $6.5 million budget he succeeded where similar films (including Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back) fell short: He depicts his many characters with such depth and sympathy that, by the time they have weathered several family crises, we've come to care and feel for them and the powerful ties that bind them together. As seen through the eyes of Tillman's young alter ego Ahmad (Brandon Hammond), the film primarily focuses on the rivalries and affections that rise and fall among Ahmad's mother (Vivica A. Fox) and her two sisters (Vanessa L. Williams, Nia Long). Through them, and through the weekly Sunday dinners cooked with love by their mother, Big Mama (Irma P. Hall), we witness marital bliss and distress, infidelity, success, failure... in short, the spices of life both bitter and sweet. But when Big Mama falls into a diabetic coma, Ahmad watches as his family begins to fall apart without the stability and love that Big Mama provided with every Sunday meal.

Tillman's touch can be overly nostalgic, melodramatic, and cloyingly sentimental, but never so much that the movie loses its firm grip on reality. As a universal portrait of family life, Soul Food ranks among the very best films of its kind--believable, funny, emotional, and always approaching its characters (well-played by a uniformly excellent cast) with a generous spirit of forgiveness and understanding. As satisfying as one of Big Mama's delicious dinners, Soul Food is the kind of movie that keeps you coming back for more. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Sunday dinner at Mothers Joe's (Irma P. Hall) is a mouth watering, 40 year tradition. As seen through the eyes of her grandson Ahmad (Brandon Hammond), love and laughs are always on the menu, despite the usual rivalries simmering between his mom Maxine and her sisters Teri an bird. But when serious bickering starts to tear the family apart, the good times suddenly stop. Now it's up to Ahmad to get everyone back together and teach them the true meaning of soul food.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Food For The Soul.......2007-02-28

Excellent movie that shows how families should be and how most African American families really are. Big Mama's are always the most important component to a family. Definitely a collector's item.

3 out of 5 stars It's about the Food.......2007-01-26

I have cerebral palsy, and for the last few months I have had my first African American aide. He laughs at me because nearly all of the films in my collecttion are dark, violent, and depressing. So, he made me watch "Soul Food" and the best part of the movie is the insight it brought to me with regard to his cooking. (I have hardly been to a restaurant since his arrival.) I know nothing about cooking, and that is probably a good thing because he says he wouldn't share his his "secrets" anyway. Though I HAVE noticed that he has NEVER, EVER used a measuring cup. (something that is reflected in this film.) Also, before he came I avoided green beans like the plague. (I'm sure many a Black person has knowingly mocked the rubbery, limp, God-awful things we White people call green beans. White children drench these abominations in ketchup and even then have to be forced to eat them a gunpoint...) However, there is a scene in "Soul Food" in which a child excitedly recites the menu that includes green beans with his smile intact, and there is not a ketchup bottle in sight. (I now have "string beans" with every meal.) I feel free to include these things in a review because it seesms to me that "Soul Food" is largely true to it's title, the movie is ABOUT THE FOOD and it's apparently unifying power, it's also about the kind of food we deprived and deathly bland White Northern dwellers have been missing. (My aide has informed me that a select group of White Southerners have been made honorary initiates into the art.) So, if there are any people out there who have stumbled upon a sampling of Soul Food and are wondering how it's done, this movie will give you a precious glimpse.....

5 out of 5 stars Soul Food.......2006-04-02

This is such a good family movie! It has all the trials and tribulations that people go thru and how they can over come them if they work at it. The movie has a lot of good actors in it that really brought it together, this really is one of my fav. movies of all time. It made me wish that I had a family so close as they did, getting together to have dinners. Not just on holidays but every Sunday.
It's the kind of movie that makes you want to change the "bad" things in your life.

5 out of 5 stars Big Sunday dinners with the whole family!.......2005-12-22

I wish my whole family,aunts,uncles,cousins,yada,yada,yada,would do that on Sundays,even if my grandparents are dead. Big Mama's brother was alive,and he didn't like McDonalds[Everyone loves McDonalds!] He loved only homecooked soul food.I saw this in my class on semester with Nobody's Fool,Home For The Holidays,The Joy Luck Club,Soul Food,Bastard Out Of Carolina,and The Burning Bed. Big Mama didn't want to have her leg or arm amputated,so it killed her.

3 out of 5 stars A Collection of Cliches.......2005-07-15

I enjoyed the performances of the actresses and actors in this film, in particular the subdued fury of Vanessa L. Williams. However I think such good acting goes to waste in this film that simply repeats so many "heart of gold/can't win for tryin'/unfaithful husband" cliches in the way African American life is portrayed on film.

I would have enjoyed this film more if Big Mama had been a more active, integral part of the film, rather than having her exit as she did.

This film was predictable to the point of being boring, although it was beautifully filmed.

Movies With Soul Collection (How Stella Got Her Groove Back / Waiting to Exhale / Soul Food)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • The Best Deal Ever
  • Excellent Movies
  • Wonderful
 Movies With Soul Collection (How Stella Got Her Groove Back / Waiting to Exhale / Soul Food)
Starring: Whitney Houston , Angela Bassett , Loretta Devine , Lela Rochon , and Gregory Hines
Director: Forest Whitaker , George Tillman Jr. , and Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
DramaDrama | African American Cinema | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | African American Cinema | Genres | DVD | Video
Bassett, AngelaBassett, Angela | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Beach, MichaelBeach, Michael | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Devine, LorettaDevine, Loretta | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Faison, DonaldFaison, Donald | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Faison, Donald AdeosunFaison, Donald Adeosun | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Hammond, BrandonHammond, Brandon | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Haysbert, DennisHaysbert, Dennis | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Hines, GregoryHines, Gregory | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Houston, WhitneyHouston, Whitney | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
LeonLeon | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
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Rochon, LelaRochon, Lela | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Williamson, MykeltiWilliamson, Mykelti | ( W ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Sullivan, Kevin RodneySullivan, Kevin Rodney | ( S ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
Whitaker, ForestWhitaker, Forest | ( W ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
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DramaDrama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00006G8J2
Release Date: 2002-10-15

Description

Disc 1: Soul Food Disc 2: How Stella Got Her Groove Back Disc 3: Waiting to Exhale

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars The Best Deal Ever.......2007-03-18

I really enjoyed this purchase these are three of my favorite movies that I did not own on dvd. They really help me alot when I need to get things back into perspective when my life is going a little aray.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent Movies.......2004-06-24

GREAT movies. All three are very entertaining and uplifting. I can watch them over and over again and never get tired of them. They are all about LOVE, FAMILY & FRIENDSHIP.

5 out of 5 stars Wonderful.......2003-07-15

These movies are great! The thing i like the most about them is that you can watch them over and over and not get tired. If you don't have this package you should get it but i will warn you they will be more enjoyable for women.
Food for the Spirit
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Excellent!!!
Food for the Spirit
Starring: Smokey Robinson
Manufacturer: Liquid 8
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001XAQBY
Release Date: 2004-04-20

Product Description

FOOD FOR THE SPIRIT (ROBINSON,SMOKEY)

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Excellent!!! .......2007-04-05

I highly recommend buying this DVD because Smokey gives an indepth insight for the songs on his "Food for the Spirit" CD. He makes it perfectly clear that it is NOT a Gospel CD, but an inspirational CD which is ....'food for the spirit'....just as the title suggests. In addition, this DVD includes a few songs from the CD and a booklet with the lyrics. Based on a few of the CD reviews written here on Amazon, those people totally missed the point which was to LISTEN to the message. This is not an 'OOO Baby, Baby' CD nor was it written as a 'shake your booty' CD. In my opinion, Smokey did just what he set out to do on "Food for the Spirit" which was to give a spiritual message in his own musical style. He says that he purposely steered away from making it a Gospel CD. This is very evident if you listen to the short clips here on Amazon. Gospel is a Shirly Ceasar or Dixie Hummbird's sound. This is the one and only Smokey Robinson sound.

I found this DVD to be very inspiring and a must have.
Country in the City: How to Cook Soul Food
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Country in the City: How to Cook Soul Food

    Manufacturer: E3 Productions
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

    GeneralGeneral | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video
    Diets & Weight LossDiets & Weight Loss | Health | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video
    GeneralGeneral | Cooking & Beverages | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video
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    GeneralGeneral | Fitness & Yoga | Genres | DVD | Video
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    ASIN: 0976258218
    Release Date: 2006-02-28
    Soul Food / How Stella Got Her Groove Back
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		Soul Food / How Stella Got Her Groove Back
      Starring: Angela Bassett , Taye Diggs , Whoopi Goldberg , Regina King , and Suzzanne Douglass
      Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan , and George Tillman Jr.
      Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
      ProductGroup: DVD
      Binding: DVD

      GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
      Bassett, AngelaBassett, Angela | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Casnoff, PhilipCasnoff, Philip | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Goldberg, WhoopiGoldberg, Whoopi | ( G ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      King, ReginaKing, Regina | ( K ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Lawson, RichardLawson, Richard | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Lumbly, CarlLumbly, Carl | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Metrano, ArtMetrano, Art | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Myers, LouMyers, Lou | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Stickney, Phyllis YvonneStickney, Phyllis Yvonne | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Turman, GlynnTurman, Glynn | ( T ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Sullivan, Kevin RodneySullivan, Kevin Rodney | ( S ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
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      ASIN: B0000C2ITE
      Release Date: 2005-08-09
      Soul Food
      Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
      • Food For The Soul
      • It's about the Food
      • Soul Food
      • Big Sunday dinners with the whole family!
      • A Collection of Cliches
      		 Soul Food
      Starring: Vanessa Williams (VII) , Vivica A. Fox , Nia Long , Michael Beach , and Mekhi Phifer
      Director: George Tillman Jr.
      Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
      ProductGroup: DVD
      Binding: DVD

      GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
      GeneralGeneral | Romantic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
      Family GatheringsFamily Gatherings | By Theme | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
      GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
      Beach, MichaelBeach, Michael | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Fox, Vivica AFox, Vivica A | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Hall, Irma PHall, Irma P | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Hammond, BrandonHammond, Brandon | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Jackson, MelJackson, Mel | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Long, NiaLong, Nia | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Phifer, MekhiPhifer, Mekhi | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
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      ASIN: B00066FAQW
      Release Date: 2001-04-03

      Amazon.com

      Soul Food is the kind of movie that seems to have been blessed throughout its low-budget production, and it's got a quality of warmth and charm that fits perfectly with its authentic drama about a large African-American family in Chicago. Twenty-eight-year-old writer-director George Tillman Jr. drew autobiographical inspiration from his upbringing in Milwaukee, and on a well-spent $6.5 million budget he succeeded where similar films (including Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back) fell short: He depicts his many characters with such depth and sympathy that, by the time they have weathered several family crises, we've come to care and feel for them and the powerful ties that bind them together. As seen through the eyes of Tillman's young alter ego Ahmad (Brandon Hammond), the film primarily focuses on the rivalries and affections that rise and fall among Ahmad's mother (Vivica A. Fox) and her two sisters (Vanessa L. Williams, Nia Long). Through them, and through the weekly Sunday dinners cooked with love by their mother, Big Mama (Irma P. Hall), we witness marital bliss and distress, infidelity, success, failure... in short, the spices of life both bitter and sweet. But when Big Mama falls into a diabetic coma, Ahmad watches as his family begins to fall apart without the stability and love that Big Mama provided with every Sunday meal.

      Tillman's touch can be overly nostalgic, melodramatic, and cloyingly sentimental, but never so much that the movie loses its firm grip on reality. As a universal portrait of family life, Soul Food ranks among the very best films of its kind--believable, funny, emotional, and always approaching its characters (well-played by a uniformly excellent cast) with a generous spirit of forgiveness and understanding. As satisfying as one of Big Mama's delicious dinners, Soul Food is the kind of movie that keeps you coming back for more. --Jeff Shannon

      Description

      Sunday dinner at Mothers Joe's (Irma P. Hall) is a mouth watering, 40 year tradition. As seen through the eyes of her grandson Ahmad (Brandon Hammond), love and laughs are always on the menu, despite the usual rivalries simmering between his mom Maxine and her sisters Teri an bird. But when serious bickering starts to tear the family apart, the good times suddenly stop. Now it's up to Ahmad to get everyone back together and teach them the true meaning of soul food.

      Customer Reviews:

      4 out of 5 stars Food For The Soul.......2007-02-28

      Excellent movie that shows how families should be and how most African American families really are. Big Mama's are always the most important component to a family. Definitely a collector's item.

      3 out of 5 stars It's about the Food.......2007-01-26

      I have cerebral palsy, and for the last few months I have had my first African American aide. He laughs at me because nearly all of the films in my collecttion are dark, violent, and depressing. So, he made me watch "Soul Food" and the best part of the movie is the insight it brought to me with regard to his cooking. (I have hardly been to a restaurant since his arrival.) I know nothing about cooking, and that is probably a good thing because he says he wouldn't share his his "secrets" anyway. Though I HAVE noticed that he has NEVER, EVER used a measuring cup. (something that is reflected in this film.) Also, before he came I avoided green beans like the plague. (I'm sure many a Black person has knowingly mocked the rubbery, limp, God-awful things we White people call green beans. White children drench these abominations in ketchup and even then have to be forced to eat them a gunpoint...) However, there is a scene in "Soul Food" in which a child excitedly recites the menu that includes green beans with his smile intact, and there is not a ketchup bottle in sight. (I now have "string beans" with every meal.) I feel free to include these things in a review because it seesms to me that "Soul Food" is largely true to it's title, the movie is ABOUT THE FOOD and it's apparently unifying power, it's also about the kind of food we deprived and deathly bland White Northern dwellers have been missing. (My aide has informed me that a select group of White Southerners have been made honorary initiates into the art.) So, if there are any people out there who have stumbled upon a sampling of Soul Food and are wondering how it's done, this movie will give you a precious glimpse.....

      5 out of 5 stars Soul Food.......2006-04-02

      This is such a good family movie! It has all the trials and tribulations that people go thru and how they can over come them if they work at it. The movie has a lot of good actors in it that really brought it together, this really is one of my fav. movies of all time. It made me wish that I had a family so close as they did, getting together to have dinners. Not just on holidays but every Sunday.
      It's the kind of movie that makes you want to change the "bad" things in your life.

      5 out of 5 stars Big Sunday dinners with the whole family!.......2005-12-22

      I wish my whole family,aunts,uncles,cousins,yada,yada,yada,would do that on Sundays,even if my grandparents are dead. Big Mama's brother was alive,and he didn't like McDonalds[Everyone loves McDonalds!] He loved only homecooked soul food.I saw this in my class on semester with Nobody's Fool,Home For The Holidays,The Joy Luck Club,Soul Food,Bastard Out Of Carolina,and The Burning Bed. Big Mama didn't want to have her leg or arm amputated,so it killed her.

      3 out of 5 stars A Collection of Cliches.......2005-07-15

      I enjoyed the performances of the actresses and actors in this film, in particular the subdued fury of Vanessa L. Williams. However I think such good acting goes to waste in this film that simply repeats so many "heart of gold/can't win for tryin'/unfaithful husband" cliches in the way African American life is portrayed on film.

      I would have enjoyed this film more if Big Mama had been a more active, integral part of the film, rather than having her exit as she did.

      This film was predictable to the point of being boring, although it was beautifully filmed.

      Soul Food/How Stella Got Her Groove Back
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        		Soul Food/How Stella Got Her Groove Back
        Starring: Angela Bassett , Taye Diggs , Whoopi Goldberg , Regina King , and Suzzanne Douglass
        Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan , and George Tillman Jr.
        Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
        ProductGroup: DVD
        Binding: DVD

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        ASIN: B0000C23EQ
        Release Date: 2003-11-04
        Puerto Rican Cuchifritos Soul Food Cuchifrito Shack
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          		Puerto Rican Cuchifritos Soul Food Cuchifrito Shack

          ProductGroup: DVD
          Binding: DVD

          GenresGenres | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
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          ASIN: B000ST99PK

          Product Description

          Cooking with Freddie Rivera

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