If Criterion24/7 hasn’t completely colonized your attention every time you open the Channel––this is to say: if you’re stronger than me––their May lineup may be of interest. First and foremost I’m happy to see a Michael Roemer triple-feature: his superlative Nothing But a Man, arriving in a Criterion Edition, and the recently rediscovered The Plot Against Harry and Vengeance is Mine, three distinct features that suggest a long-lost voice of American movies. Meanwhile, Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Antiwar Trilogy four by Sara Driver, and a wide collection from Ayoka Chenzira fill out the auteurist sets.
Series-wise, a highlight of 1999 goes beyond the well-established canon with films like Trick and Bye Bye Africa, while of course including Sofia Coppola, Michael Mann, Scorsese, and Claire Denis. Films starring Shirley Maclaine, a study of 1960s paranoia, and Columbia’s “golden era” (read: 1950-1961) are curated; meanwhile, The Breaking Ice,...
Series-wise, a highlight of 1999 goes beyond the well-established canon with films like Trick and Bye Bye Africa, while of course including Sofia Coppola, Michael Mann, Scorsese, and Claire Denis. Films starring Shirley Maclaine, a study of 1960s paranoia, and Columbia’s “golden era” (read: 1950-1961) are curated; meanwhile, The Breaking Ice,...
- 4/17/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Do you remember what you were doing the evening of May 16, 1983? Well, you may have been one of the 47 million people tuned into NBC’s landmark special “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever.”
It was the star-studded celebration hosted by Emmy nominee Richard Pryor which saw Michael Jackson reuniting with his brothers for a medley of their Jackson 5 hits including “I Want You Back,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There.”
But it was Jackson’s solo performance of his blockbuster No. 1 hit “Billie Jean” from his breakthrough album “Thriller” which galvanized the audience. It was an electrifying turn where he introduced the fedora, black sequin jacket and glove and his momentous moonwalk routine during the bridge of the song, all of which became his trademarks when performing “Billie Jean.” The New York Times described the routine as “astonishing. He is clearly the heir apparent to the dazzling androgyny...
It was the star-studded celebration hosted by Emmy nominee Richard Pryor which saw Michael Jackson reuniting with his brothers for a medley of their Jackson 5 hits including “I Want You Back,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There.”
But it was Jackson’s solo performance of his blockbuster No. 1 hit “Billie Jean” from his breakthrough album “Thriller” which galvanized the audience. It was an electrifying turn where he introduced the fedora, black sequin jacket and glove and his momentous moonwalk routine during the bridge of the song, all of which became his trademarks when performing “Billie Jean.” The New York Times described the routine as “astonishing. He is clearly the heir apparent to the dazzling androgyny...
- 5/15/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Max Julien, best known for his starring role in the 1973 blaxploitation film The Mack, died Saturday on his birthday at his home in Los Angeles, according to his friends. He was 88 and no cause of death has been revealed.
“A statement from his public relations team praised his character. “During Julien’s decades-long career, he was known for being bold, honest and straightforward. He would live and speak his own truth both professionally and privately. He was thought of as a rare ‘man among men.”
Julien’s role in The Mack became a classic, snips of it oft-quoted in hip-hop by such stars as Too Short, Snoop Dogg, Public Enemy and LL Cool J, among others.The film saw Julien play the part of “Goldie,” an ambitious young pimp from Oakland who faces off with corrupt cops and drug dealers after his release from prison. Richard Pryor plays his sidekick,...
“A statement from his public relations team praised his character. “During Julien’s decades-long career, he was known for being bold, honest and straightforward. He would live and speak his own truth both professionally and privately. He was thought of as a rare ‘man among men.”
Julien’s role in The Mack became a classic, snips of it oft-quoted in hip-hop by such stars as Too Short, Snoop Dogg, Public Enemy and LL Cool J, among others.The film saw Julien play the part of “Goldie,” an ambitious young pimp from Oakland who faces off with corrupt cops and drug dealers after his release from prison. Richard Pryor plays his sidekick,...
- 1/2/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
After the global success of “Small Axe,” the BBC and acclaimed British filmmaker Steve McQueen are teaming again for documentary series “Uprising.”
The three-part series will explore three seminal events of 1981 that changed race relations in the U.K. and defined them for a generation. In January 1981, a fire at a party in the London suburb of New Cross killed 13 Black teenagers. In March, more than 20,000 people joined Black People’s Day of Action, the first organized protest by Black Britons. And April was when the Brixton riots took place.
Some of these events formed the backdrop for the “Alex Wheatle” episode of “Small Axe.”
James Rogan, who directed the BBC documentary mini-series “Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation,” about an epochal racially-charged U.K. killing, will co-direct “Uprising” with McQueen. Rogan and McQueen previously co-executive produced BBC’s Black-themed documentaries “Black Power” and “Subnormal.”
The BBC One series was commissioned by Charlotte Moore,...
The three-part series will explore three seminal events of 1981 that changed race relations in the U.K. and defined them for a generation. In January 1981, a fire at a party in the London suburb of New Cross killed 13 Black teenagers. In March, more than 20,000 people joined Black People’s Day of Action, the first organized protest by Black Britons. And April was when the Brixton riots took place.
Some of these events formed the backdrop for the “Alex Wheatle” episode of “Small Axe.”
James Rogan, who directed the BBC documentary mini-series “Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation,” about an epochal racially-charged U.K. killing, will co-direct “Uprising” with McQueen. Rogan and McQueen previously co-executive produced BBC’s Black-themed documentaries “Black Power” and “Subnormal.”
The BBC One series was commissioned by Charlotte Moore,...
- 5/11/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Steve McQueen will further cement his creative partnership with the BBC by co-directing a documentary series on three dramatic events in the UK in 1981 that defined race relations for a generation.
Titled Uprising, the three-part series will examine the intertwined events of the New Cross Fire that killed 13 Black teenagers at a house party in January 1981; the Black People’s Day of Action mass protest in March of that year; and finally, the Brixton riots in April.
McQueen will helm Uprising alongside James Rogan (Stephen: The Murder That Changed a Nation), with the latter’s Rogan Productions housing the series. It is the second project McQueen and Rogan are collaborating on after teaming for BBC films Black Power and Subnormal, which were conceived during production on anthology drama Small Axe.
McQueen said: “It is an honour to make these films with testimonials from the survivors, investigators, activists and representatives of the machinery of state.
Titled Uprising, the three-part series will examine the intertwined events of the New Cross Fire that killed 13 Black teenagers at a house party in January 1981; the Black People’s Day of Action mass protest in March of that year; and finally, the Brixton riots in April.
McQueen will helm Uprising alongside James Rogan (Stephen: The Murder That Changed a Nation), with the latter’s Rogan Productions housing the series. It is the second project McQueen and Rogan are collaborating on after teaming for BBC films Black Power and Subnormal, which were conceived during production on anthology drama Small Axe.
McQueen said: “It is an honour to make these films with testimonials from the survivors, investigators, activists and representatives of the machinery of state.
- 5/10/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
The image of “One Night in Miami’s” Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) huddled together in the Hampton House is an evocative snapshot of Black Power in 1964. The four friends came to celebrate Clay’s historic heavyweight championship defeat of Sonny Liston, but the night evolved into a soul-searching conversation about race, success, and social responsibility. Yet the strongest visual impression that director Regina King wanted to convey was that they looked like friends, which crucially carried over into the costume design of Francine Jamison-Tanchuck (best known for “White Men Can’t Jump” and “Glory”).
“When production designer Barry Robison and cinematographer Tami Reiker and I met with Regina, we discussed the color palette to know that it’s going to work for each character, and certain colors had to be considered because of their complexion,...
“When production designer Barry Robison and cinematographer Tami Reiker and I met with Regina, we discussed the color palette to know that it’s going to work for each character, and certain colors had to be considered because of their complexion,...
- 2/19/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
First, history: In December 1968, almost exactly a year before the murder of Black Panther chairman Fred Hampton by the FBI, Paramount Pictures released what remains one of the most curious artifacts in the history of Hollywood — hardly a hotbed for radical views of black politics. It is a film titled Uptight. Its subject: a black former steel-mill worker played by Julian Mayfield, now an unreliable alcoholic who, in his desperation, in the confused ideological haze that besets him upon the death of Martin Luther King Jr., does an extraordinary thing.
- 2/12/2021
- by K. Austin Collins
- Rollingstone.com
‘Small Axe’ Filmmaker Steve McQueen to Executive Produce BBC Films on Black Power, Education Scandal
Steve McQueen, currently riding a wave of global acclaim for his BBC/Amazon anthology “Small Axe,” will executive produce two Black-themed documentaries for the BBC.
“Black Power,” which originated from an idea McQueen had while filming “Small Axe,” will examine how the Black Power movement came into being in the late 1960s and fought back against police brutality and racism.
The films features rare archive of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael’s activities in Britain, as well as footage of leading figures in the movement in the U.K., Altheia Jones-LeCointe, Darcus Howe and Roy Sawh. They shed fresh light on the stories of Black youth in the ’60s and ’70s who challenged the British establishment and helped to shape a new political and cultural landscape in the U.K.
BAFTA-nominated George Amponsah will direct the documentary, which will play on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
“Subnormal,...
“Black Power,” which originated from an idea McQueen had while filming “Small Axe,” will examine how the Black Power movement came into being in the late 1960s and fought back against police brutality and racism.
The films features rare archive of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael’s activities in Britain, as well as footage of leading figures in the movement in the U.K., Altheia Jones-LeCointe, Darcus Howe and Roy Sawh. They shed fresh light on the stories of Black youth in the ’60s and ’70s who challenged the British establishment and helped to shape a new political and cultural landscape in the U.K.
BAFTA-nominated George Amponsah will direct the documentary, which will play on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
“Subnormal,...
- 1/29/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Steve McQueen is to executive produce two documentaries for the BBC that were conceived while shooting Small Axe. One will examine Black power in Britain, while the second film investigates how Black children in the 1960s and 1970s were disproportionately sent to schools for the so-called “educationally subnormal.”
Black Power (working title) is directed by BAFTA-nominated George Amponsah (Hard Stop) and looks at how the movement came into being in the late 1960s, when it fought back against police brutality and racism. The film will include rare footage of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael’s activities in Britain, as well as footage of leading figures in the movement in the UK, including Altheia Jones-LeCointe, Darcus Howe, and Roy Sawh.
Subnormal is helmed by new talent Lyttanya Shannon. It tells the story of the UK schools scandal through the eyes of Black parents, teachers, and activists who banded...
Black Power (working title) is directed by BAFTA-nominated George Amponsah (Hard Stop) and looks at how the movement came into being in the late 1960s, when it fought back against police brutality and racism. The film will include rare footage of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael’s activities in Britain, as well as footage of leading figures in the movement in the UK, including Altheia Jones-LeCointe, Darcus Howe, and Roy Sawh.
Subnormal is helmed by new talent Lyttanya Shannon. It tells the story of the UK schools scandal through the eyes of Black parents, teachers, and activists who banded...
- 1/29/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Our perception of the Forest City having only seen it on screen.
All this week, Cleveland, Ohio, is being overrun with politicians, their supporters, and protestors of their platforms as the Republican National Convention is being held at the Quicken Loans Arena through Thursday. To help get a better sense of this “Cleve-Land,” as Howard the Duck calls it, we’re looking to entertainment, specifically movies and television, for what it can tell us about this city. If there’s anything we miss or misunderstand, blame Hollywood.
Cleveland Rocks
It’s the Rock and Roll Capital of the World, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so it’s not surprising that, to an outsider, Cleveland primarily looks like a city where music reigns. You could make a nice concert with all the fictional bands based there, including Cherry Bomb from Howard the Duck, The Barbusters from Light of Day, the...
All this week, Cleveland, Ohio, is being overrun with politicians, their supporters, and protestors of their platforms as the Republican National Convention is being held at the Quicken Loans Arena through Thursday. To help get a better sense of this “Cleve-Land,” as Howard the Duck calls it, we’re looking to entertainment, specifically movies and television, for what it can tell us about this city. If there’s anything we miss or misunderstand, blame Hollywood.
Cleveland Rocks
It’s the Rock and Roll Capital of the World, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so it’s not surprising that, to an outsider, Cleveland primarily looks like a city where music reigns. You could make a nice concert with all the fictional bands based there, including Cherry Bomb from Howard the Duck, The Barbusters from Light of Day, the...
- 7/19/2016
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Liam O'Flaherty's novel The Informer, in which an Ira man rats on a comrade for the reward money and endures a night of agonizing guilt, punishment and redemption, has been filmed thrice, and all three versions are of interest. Jules Dassin's proto-blaxploitation version, Uptight! (1968), is the least impressive, but does boast fine performances by screenwriters Jason Bernard and Ruby Dee, who take lead roles, and the always imposing Raymond St. Jacques and Roscoe Lee Browne. The climax, scored to Booker T. and the M.G.'s "Time is Tight" (a.k.a. The Blues Brothers' theme) is pretty exciting, once you get over the shock.
John Ford's 1935 The Informer is the most faithful and famed, though its reputation is not as high as it once was. At times the Rko production, with its Max Steiner score and hulking performance from Victor McLaglan, recalls King Kong (McLaglan...
John Ford's 1935 The Informer is the most faithful and famed, though its reputation is not as high as it once was. At times the Rko production, with its Max Steiner score and hulking performance from Victor McLaglan, recalls King Kong (McLaglan...
- 6/13/2013
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.