Inspired by true events, Durdy Game is the urban tale of three women who become fed up with the continual abuse they've taken from men over the years. CoaCoa, Sha, and Meeka have only one concern: sweet revenge on their male counterparts. By using their own seductive powers as a means to betray their former abusers, the girls exercise their plan at breakneck speed. Things become messy, however, when a brutal murder throws their plans awry. They need to figure out the next step, and fast. Durdy Game is directed by Mody Mod and stars Tawny Dahl, Janisha Faith, Jay Barron, Najawaun Ali, Tony Roberts, and Karima Holloway.
A passionate and provocative drama set in the south in the decade prior to the Civil War. After brutal treatment at the hands of a vicious slave-owner, one slave plots the escape of all the slaves on the plantation.
Five on the Black Hand Side follows the familiar seventies vein of confronting political issues in Black films. The subject matter of Black Hand Side ranges from the Black family, to interracial dating, to the Black political conciousness that unfortunately is lacking in recent days. I would highly recommend this movie to everyone, in particular every Black family. This movie is a true, and unfortunately rare gem. VHS & DVD
Director: Stanley Kramer
Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn (who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance) 1967 movie about mixed marriage. Joanna (Katherine Houghton), the beautiful daughter of crusading publisher Matthew Drayton (Tracy) and his patrician wife Christina (Hepburn), returns home with her new fiancé John Prentice (Sidney Poitier), a distinguished black doctor. Christina accepts her daughter's decision to marry John, but Matthew is shocked by this interracial union; the doctor's parents are equally dismayed. Both families must sit down face to face and examine each other's level of intolerance.
Douglas Sirk's 1959 remake of John Stahl's 1934 film, Imitation of Life, is a parody of the original. In a comical rendition, Imitation of Life, addresses intersections of race, social and economic class, and gender in the film, as well as existing stereotypes, through the use of Neo-Brechtian gestik acting which means over-the-top, melodramatic and campy acting that is quoting a character and his/her emotions and exaggerates the role of a character in a situation. Sirk deliberately wanted to use gestik acting and avoided method acting (acting out what your emotions would really be, if you were in a certain situation) because he didn't want audiences to think that this film was real and to be taken seriously.
Two single-parenting mothers, Annie and Lora meet on the beach of Coney Island, in search of Lora's daughter Suzie. When Lora and Suzie find out that Annie and her daughter Sara Jane are homeless, Lora decides to let them live in her apartment as long as Annie agrees to contribute some help around the house, and do the dirty work for Lora. Annie is depicted as a parody for blackness, just because she has typical attributes of any nanny. A loving, nurturing, understanding, and caring mother is the stereotypical mother that society adores which is played out by Annie. On the other hand Lora is a neglecting figure in the eyes of Suzie. Annie is more like the mother for Suzie, but not Sara Jane. Sara Jane refuses to admit that she a daughter to a black woman and passes as a white girl while in school. Sara Jane fires up the racial tension in this film because of her denial and mistreatment towards her mother.
Lora meets a man named Steve, who almost right away, proposes to her. She denies the proposal in an effort to pursue her dream of becoming a Hollywood actress. Steve tries to make her stay, by telling her that she doesn't have to work, and that he will bring home to money. This shows us how Steve along with the majority of society view women and their roles of life. A women's life should be to stay home, clean, take care of the kids, and put dinner on the table, which is the old fashion way that much of male Americans viewed women to perform in. Opposite roles of gender for the male figure in this film was shown through Steve, who has found a detective out of now where, who has found Sara Jane and her place of refuge from her mother. This situation renders Steve as if he were Superman, the one being able to fix any problem.
This campy imitation of life is viewed throughout most of the film, except for the scene of Annie's funeral, where Mahalia Jackson sings a gospel song. Eulogy of Annie is brought to her through the singing voice of Mahalia. This scene is supposed to be a serious one among the other witty scenes, because the character of Mahalia is the only realistic one in this film and is not to be criticized. Mahalia does not exemplify the overly dramatic acting.
The House Of Rothschild 1934, Excellent historical and romantic drama about the prominent Rothschild family. Ater the Napoleonic Wars the house of Rothschild attained increasing power, and in 1822 all five brothers were created barons by Emperor Francis I of Austria. The first important member of the Rothschild's, was Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1743-1812), son of a money changer in the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt, Germany. Although the English Rothschilds are still one of the country's important financial dynasties, the French goverment nationalized the bank owned by the French branch of the family in 1981 and the family has only a minor presence in the United States.
Mr. George Arliss, a great actor and star in many early films gives an outstanding performance as he plays duel roles in this great epic as the father Mayer Rothschild and also as the son Nathan Rothschild. The romantic role between the two Youngs, Loretta Young & Robert Young as Julia Rothschild and Captain Fitzroy is a stand out during the grand ball when in the last few minutes of the movie it changes from black and white to the restored colorized version in early technicolor.
The evil villainous role of the anti-Semetic Prussian nobleman, Count Ledrantz is played impressively by Boris Karloff of "Frankenstein" fame..This movie was directed by Alfred L. Werker and was also an academy award nominated movie for: Best Picture...A wonderful historical and romantic movie.
This DOES have the restored COLOR sequence version during the grand ball when in the last few minutes of the movie it changes from black and white to the restored colorized version in early technicolor.
This original 1934 version tells the story of two widows and their daughters. Bea, played by Claudette Colbert, and Delilah, played by Louise Beavers. Delilah knocks on Bea's door, thinking that she's found the right house for an advertised maid's job. Delilah stresses how difficult it is finding an employer who'd accept her and her daughter as part of the deal. Bea offers Delilah a job on a trial basis, but her kind demeanour quickly grows on Bea, and Delilah ends up staying permanently.
Delilah shares her family's pancake recipe with Bea, and before long, a successful business is in operation. The two of them hit the big time, and soon have an affluent lifestyles (albeit unequal - Delilah still insists on sleeping in the basement). Heartache is just around the corner, though. Delilah's daughter, Peola (played by Fredi Washington) is so pale skinned that she passes for white and rejects her mother. Peola's melancholy persona and rejection breaks Delilah's heart. Peola feels that without her mother around, she could easily join the dominant culture.
At the same time, Bea's has problems of her own to contend with, but of a different kind. Bea and her daughter, Jesse, are in love with the same man, and this can only end in disaster.
Imitation of Life caused controversy when it was released in 1934. Even today, almost 70 years later, the movie sparks discussions and debates among social commentators. Some complained that the maid stereotype played by Louise Beavers was racist, and is so politically incorrect. Think of life in America in the 30s:
1 The country was in the middle of the Great Depression
2 Civil rights movements were 30 years away
3 Racial segregation was ingrained in society
4 Film roles for African Americans were extremely limited
When you consider these points, the plot of the film makes sense. The performances by the main characters are superb. Claudette looks particularly elegant and decadent, yet she remains humble and grounded, unlike the flighty 'diva' persona of Lana Turner's character. Louise Beavers may have been restricted to playing maids, but she made the most of her part. She was the best mother Peola could have wanted. Unfortunately, Peola felt that she was the wrong mother for her.
The most beguiling character is Peola. Fredi Washington's life was something of a paradox. She was beautiful, green-eyed, straight haired and intelligent. At one point, it seemed as if Peola and Fredi's lives would merge. Fredi was encouraged to pass for white early on in her career. She refused. As such, her film roles were limited. She was far too beautiful and elegant to play maid roles, yet, as an African American actress, Hollywood didn't dare offer her romantic roles with the leading white actors. She was an actress that 30s Hollywood didn't know how to handle.
Imitation of Life is a classic movie that's worth getting.
Starring: Claudette Colbert, Warren William, See more
A tale of good-and-evil brothers. Jason (Payne) is an honest and dependable workingman; Joshua (Woodbine) is a drug-abusing thief. Jason falls in love with an attractive waitress named Lyric (Pinkett)--more a romantic male fantasy than a real person--and you know what's coming. Several sex scenes were trimmed to avoid an NC-17 rating, but gruesome violence remains intact.
VHS Only
Johnny Tough is a "blaxploitation" film tempered by a social consciousness. Dion Gossett plays a young urban African-American. Gossett continually rebels against the white establishment, as represented by his teacher. The boy finds he can expect no back-up of his attitude at home, where his parents wallow in self-indulgence, so he feels that a show of force is his only option. Renny Roker and Sandy Reed also appear in this film. Not quite as violent as most films in its genre, Johnny Tough was consigned to the Late Late Show circuit as soon as it finished its initial theatrical run
Set in the pre-Civil War South, this western adventure follows three escaped Virginia slaves on their journey into the West. The already arduous journey is made worse by the dogged bounty hunter who pursues them. Along the way the fugitive trio add others to their group, doing good wherever they go.
