Movies of Color - Black Southern Cinema

Starring:Cathryn Caviness, Eddie DeBase, Alva Fuller, Rogenia Goldthwaite, Reather Hardeman, The Heavenly Choir, James B. Jones, Frank H. McClennan, Juanita Riley, Rev. R.L. Robertson, Spencer Williams
Director: Spencer Williams
Studio: Winstar
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

A fairly obscure topic--independent African American filmmaking in the decades leading to World War II--is given a thorough and informative treatment in this 55-minute documentary, produced and directed by Tom Thurman. Various scholars and historians discuss the factors that were brought to bear on these endeavors--including the church and Christian morals (damnation and the devil, often literally depicted, are recurring themes), life and prejudice in the Deep South, the simple need for entertainment, and so on--and the ways that they influenced the black community. Clips by such artists as Oscar Micheaux, Spencer Williams, and Eloyce Gist are provided, while among the DVD bonus features are two complete films, The Blood of Jesus and Go Down Death (each about an hour long). And while they tend towards the crude and stereotypical, these filmed morality plays are fascinating to watch. --Sam Graham

Description

A portrait of independent African-American filmmaking in the southern region of the United States prior to World War II. An incredible body of truly independent filmmaking made under the most hostile set of circumstances, including racial prejudice, unima

Customer Reviews:

an answer I would happily email to J. but Amazon not set for that.......2005-12-14

Actually there were color films (real as opposed to hand-tinted ) as early as the 20's and the first tech. equivalent was Becky Sharpe in the mid-thirties. But it was expensive - and expense affected all true black film of the period covered in this DVD heavily (expense of sound left Micheaux as the only really indepent black filmmaker after 1930 and it affected strongly reshooting, etc. which resulted in lower quality films). As per the black/white thing - my suspicion is that was left out due to the Micheaux standard that lighter skin was superior to darker (not my theory - see Bowser, Bogle,+ on Micheau)- a feature of both his books and his films. He used the "drop of black blood" about his heroines but he also had his villains darker skinned (for a wonderful modern version of that see Frank's Place episode where Frank is informed that a club he has been invited to join uses the paper bag test.)

Wonderful documentary with extras!!!.......2004-08-21

This is a wonderful documentary about early African-American cinema. Why the subtitle "Black Southern Cinema"? I'm not sure but perhaps it is due to the fact that these movies were made during the Great Northern Migration of Southern-born African-Americans who made up the majority of the audience for these films. The two bonus films, "The Blood of Jesus" and "Go Down, Death" make this DVD a bargain if you are interested at all in early Black Cinema. I just hope that some one will do some restoration on other films from this period and get them out on DVD. Film is such a perishable medium. Getting them into digital form is so important!!! Before they're gone!!!

Black Movie History: Excellent.......2004-07-08

This documentary examines films created by black directors and actors, for black audiences from the start of the 20th century to the Second World War. Here, black and white (plus female and male) film critics discuss various movies from one director to the next. It's jumping off point is that Black Americans not only protested the ultra-racist "Birth of a Nation," but they also produced cinematic work to counteract it. It ends by saying that this film history died with segregation. Who could have known that something so wonderful depended on something so oppressive?

Two things about this film surprised me. First, it oddly enough had "Southern" in its title. Though many of the movies discussed spoke of the North and cities as dens of evil and the South as innocent and pure, these films were made during the Great Migration. At no point in the film do they say only Southern black audiences watched these works. Instead of pointing out region, they should have pointed out the time period in the title. All the films discussed were in black and white (being that technicolor wasn't invented until the decade after WWII). Surely, they could have made some catchy title using the term "black and white."

Secondly, when discussing Micheaux, they did not focus on interracial romances. I once met a descendant of Micheaux's who gets a paycheck every month based on his ancestor's ouvre. He said most of his films dealt with that topic. In articles on Micheaux, I heard that a classic plot of his movies is that black men and white-looking women can continue their romances once the women find out that they are part black in some way. In this century, decades after the Loving v. Virginia decision, I am surprised that this is omitted. Those type of relationships are generally no longer taboo. So why avoid bringing it up here?

As far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as too many African-American documentaries. Thus, I definitely encourage all black folk, but also any film or history enthusiasts to see this work. We have a history that goes way beyond rappers-turned-actors, Spike Lee, Poitier, and even blaxploitation flicks. This work truly made me proud.

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