A 90-minute special celebrating the finest African-American entertainers ever to grace the silver screen featuring performances from PORGY AND BESS, LILIES OF THE FIELD, GONE WITH THE WIND, COTTON COMES TO HARLEM, WAITING TO EXHALE and many more. A CENTURY OF BLACK CINEMA celebrates the finest Black entertainers ever to grace the silver screen. This absorbing program takes you on an illuminating journey through the careers of the fortunate, the unfortunate, the ground- breakers, the spectacular, the musical, and the comical performers who have inspired millions of people since the first cameras rolled. Enjoy rare film footage ranging from turn-of-the-century independent director OSCAR MICHEAUX to modern day filmmaker, SPIKE LEE. The program features brilliant performances from scenes of PORGY AND BESS, LILIES OF THE FIELD, GONE WITH THE WIND, COTTON COMES TO HARLEM, WAITING TO EXHALE, to name a few, and priceless behind-the-scenes takes with RICHARD PRYOR, SIDNEY POITIER, and JAMES EARL JONES. A CENTURY OF BLACK CINEMA also includes interviews with superstars such as EDDIE MURPHY, WHOOPI GOLDBERG, DENZEL WASHINGTON, LAURENCE FISHBURNE, DANNY GLOVER and FAYARD NICHOLAS of "The Nicholas Brothers", and the list continues.
Learning Questions
1. How were minorities represented in the earliest years of cinema?
2. What happened in 1950 with the film “The Birth of a Nation”?
3. What became the new stereotype of black actors in the 1980s?
4. What kind of risk did Yaphet Kotto take by deciding to play the villain in the James Bond, Live and Let Die film?
5. What did Richard Pryor bring to cinema and how has his legacy changed the course of black cinema?
6. What is the conclusion of the film?
7. What did you like best about this film?
SnagLearning is dedicated to presenting high-quality documentary films as educational tools to ignite meaningful discussion within the learning community.
