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A fascinating, historically significant documentary
Produced by the War Department in 1944, The Negro Soldier is a very interesting documentary honoring African-American soldiers.World War II was ongoing at the time, and the film may well have served to some degree as a recruitment vehicle for young black men, but it stands most clearly today as an historical piece and an inspiring, patriotic celebration of the American spirit and the critical importance of African-Americans in establishing and preserving the American way of life.I was expecting to see some kind of visual record of African-American soldiers involved in fighting World War II, but the video actually serves as a primer of sorts for African-American soldiering throughout the entire history of the United States.Using official War Department films, newsreels, and captured enemy material in conjunction with footage from historical movies and recreations of actual incidents and events, The Negro Soldier is an impressive albeit rose-colored presentation of an oftentimes neglected subject. Well Researched Look at a Neglected Part of American History
The late African American filmmaker and educator Carlton Moss wrote the script and plays one of the roles in this film used to promote nationalism among new soldiers. It provides a rare glimpse of the middle class African American experience of the time.Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. War Documentaries   

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Great Movie of A great BaseballPlayer!!
This is a great movie of a great baseball player Leroy"Satchel" Paige.It's a must see!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie    4. TV Shows   

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Reviews (7)

Got to give me a chance to get my tools out...
This is the first footage I ever saw of either Son House or Bukka White, and it nearly knocked me over!Being familiar with many of the songs these monolithic figures of Delta blues typically perform, it was a near religious experience to see them performing favourites like Death Letter Blues, John the Revelator, Preachin' the Blues, Aberdeen Mississippi Blues, and Poor boy.While I wasn't quite as familiar with some of the other material, it proved equally stunning; from Son House sermonizing between songs, to Bukka White playing the piano for one track.Moreover, as characters both people are highly fascinating to watch, particularly in response to being filmed and placed in front of a television audience.Son House seems simultaneously bemused and bewildered, while White uses the opportunity to really strut his stuff.After having seen numerous other films of these artists, this one holds up as one of the best:They are not yet so aged that their skills have depleted, and Bukka's playing in particular is fiercer and less resigned than any other performance I've seen of his.So the verdict; if you have any interest in these artist, and like me were not yet alive to see them perform, this is your best chance.Also, if you enjoy this and are looking for other great Delta/country blues videos, "Devil Got My Woman" is a superb document of these artists plus Skip James, Howlin' Wolf and Rev. Pearly Brown playing in a juke joint setting.Also, the series "Masters of Country Blues" has proven rewarding time and time again.This is your chance to see some legendary bluesmen in live performance, so go for it already!
This is The Blues
When Jack of the White Stripes appeared on Charlie Rose Show he talked about Son House and the primitive beauty of a just a toe tapping against the floor.If you have interest in what he meant, get this DVD.It shows you that big expression needs only a few well chosen elements.

old blues at it's best

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Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Country    3. Delta Blues    4. Music Video    5. Performance    6. Performing Arts - Concerts    7. Pop    8. Prewar Country Blues   

Editorial Review

With traditions that variously intersect and parallel those of jazz, the blues has likewise emerged as a uniquely American musical dialect that has powerfully influenced music from the early 20th century forward.Whether tuned to the stark individuality of country blues, with its often-harrowing,adult themes of sex, death, and violence, or keyed to the livelier cadences and more boisterous moods of the urban strains that would later evolve into R&B, the blues have become uniquely pervasive. Read more

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This DVD sucks. Buy somethign else.
More stock footage woven between three old guys too busy talking about, to actually live the blues. The rare footage of Bessie smith, Billie Holiday, etc., etc. (almost all the greats are listed as having footage on here) is non-existent and pretty much adds up to a couple of promotional photos. Lame. To top it all off, it's even incfredibly short, but I didn't even notice that much. Poor.

Start "The Year of The Blues" by Watching This!
The first five minutes tells it all with fine editing of a diddely bow, Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Miles Davis into a mosaic of images and music that define blues and blues-based jazz for all time. You will find some new insight at which to marvel everytime you revisit this classic. One of the very finest blues documentaries ever made. You don't have to be a blues historian of even a fan to enjoy this fine DVD and gain new insights into the history not only of bluesmen or Blacks but America. The diaspora, the great migration from the deep South to the North was, at the time, the greatest peacetime migration in human history and its story is told in Bluesland. Toby Byron and his associates are to be celebrated for this excellent work of art. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Documentary    4. Music Video    5. Performance    6. Pop   

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ABOVE HIS CLASS
Arthur Ashe is known to most of us as a great African American tennis player who broke down racial barriers in a game considered for the wealthy.Ashe was far more than an athlete or a symbol of racial equality. In tribute to Arthur Ashe, HBO presents this thrilling documentary of a man who went beyond the game and symbolism to become a world wide force of change.Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

Editorial Review

The brutal roots of the American slave years are brought vividly to life in Read more

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Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

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Subjects:  1. Boxing    2. Movie    3. Sports   

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Sherman marches to the sea as 1864 comes to a close
The re-election of Abraham Lincoln is the focal point of Episode 7 in the celebrated PBS documentary on "The Civil War" by Ken Burns.While U.S. Grant and the Army of the Potomac are stalled in the trenches outside Petersburg, Virginia, it is Sherman's assault on Atlanta and his march to the sea with the Army of Tennessee that gives Lincoln the momentum needed to defeat his opponent, George B. McClellan.Other key segments of this episode cover the infamous Battle of the Crater, Phil Sheridan's brutal campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, and the military brilliance of Confederate cavalry commander Nathan Bedford Forrest.David McCullough's simple narration and Shelby Foote's memorable anecdotes, aided by some of our most distinguished actors such as Sam Waterson and Jason Robards, Jr., give the Civil War its voices. Burns uses hundred of photographs and illustrations along with a deeply textured soundtrack of sound effectives and evocative music to make this document as compelling as any dramatic film.Even if you have seen it before, you owe it to yourself to see it all again. ... Read more

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Editorial Review

From an early age, Josephine Baker knew what she wanted and did whatever it took to get it. Whether building her career or her family, Baker heeded no one's advice but her own, becoming one of the world's highest-paid performers, adopting 12 children into her "Rainbow Tribe," losing her fortune, then returning triumphantly to the stage just days before her death in 1975. Read more

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Reviews (6)

wonderful footage with trite commentary
With its commercials edited for home viewing, this video is the perfect length for a high school class screening.I wanted to present a unit on Josephine Baker in conjunction with Black History Month, and this was a good investment for my classroom. NO ONE LIKE HER!
Move over Tina Turner, Beth Midler, Patti LaBelle and Madonna! Before either one of you were born, there was Josephine. She set the standard and paved the way for performances that blew her audiences' aesthetic minds. She was the rage of Paris and Europe. Audiences bowed at her feet and gave praise to her name. Josephine was it! " Unforgettable "
I was a fan of Josephine Baker's and I had the liberty of seeing her walk down the Champs Elysees at the age of seven in 1956 or '57. And I must tell you that she was a sight. She had a certain magic about her that cannot beduplicated. Everything about her was just perfect. And ever since I sawthat beautiful sight it has been sketched and burned in my head eversince.So when I heard that Lifetime was doing a biography of JosephineBaker I was drawn to it imediately. And when I saw this documentary Iliterally broke down and cried. Although I never had the pleasure ofmeeting Madame just watching her walk down the street and enjoying the viewwas quite enough. She was just unforgettable. And there is no one today ortommorrow who can touch her ,or ever will. ... Read more

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Editorial Review

A group of 53 kidnapped Africans revolt on a slave ship in 1839, butthey are recaptured and brought to trial. Are they men fighting for their freedom or are they property? The first victory of the Abolitionist movement has been documented with sparkling clarity in Read more

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A Fascinating & Educational Video!
I found this movie while doing research for a lesson plan.I found the movie totally engaging and was really interested in learning more about the Amistad.I have not seen the fiction version yet, but this factual version was great!

NOT SPLENDID,NOT FAMOUS STARS BUT REALITY IS...
I saw this film in cinema.We went to cinema with my friend and we had to chose 1 film Titanic or La Amistad of course we chosen second one because of no ticket.I can realy say that;you cant be see faumous stars,or perfecteffects but be sure that when you see LA AMISTAD you will understand theinhuman reality.SEEING THIS FILM IS YOUR OWE! ... Read more

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Editorial Review

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A Boxing Masterpiece
As I'am only 17 years of age, i was only a baby when these marvellous boxers were in their respective primes, but as i have grown i have learned of their charisma, their courage and their unbeleivable boxing ability. This film highlights four of the greatest fighters ever at their peaks, and against each other. Best Boxing Video I've ever seen
This is a piece of beauty. Middle Weight Prime time
the HeavyWeight Division after 1985 gave way to the MiddleWeight division&still hasn't recovered.alot of that is because of these 4 Solid Fighters that made Boxing happening in the Mid-80's onward.I got Props for all.Marvin Hagler,Sugar Ray,Duran&My Fav of the Bunch HitMan Hearns.these Guys&there Battles with one another kept Boxing with a Edge.the 70's was the HeavyWeight Era&the Mid-80's till Now is the Middle Weight.these 4 Guys I Believe could hang in any Era. ... Read more

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Editorial Review

This superb documentary vividly illustrates the enduring vitality of country blues, an idiom that most mainstream music fans had presumed dead or, at best, preserved through more scholarly tributes when filmmaker Robert Mugge and veteran blues and rock writer Robert Palmer embarked on their 1990 odyssey into Mississippi delta country.What Arkansas native and former Memphis stalwart Palmer knew, and Mugge captured on film, was that the blues was not only alive but still intimately woven into the daily lives of rural blacks. Read more

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Reviews (40)

Dull
I'm a big fan of the blues. I even play a little country blues on the guitar. That being said, I was really looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, I have found this to be a really dull read. The book just seems to ramble along, trying to romanitize the blues instead of just giving the facts. I already understand the magic of the blues. I didn't need a book convincing me of that magic. It was also difficult to keep track of the chronology of the development of the music.
A review on the book, not the DVD.......
Robert Palmer's book "Deep Blues" is nothing short of an anthropological journey to find the genesis of the blues. He does an excellent job of highlighting the various early popular bluesmen, men such as Tommy Johnson, Charlie Patton, and Robert Johnson.He details life working on the plantations of the deep south, life on a Saturday night living it up in the various juke joints of the south, and the personal lives of early blues singers which led to the creation of the blues, and by extension, American music as we have come to know it.He begins the book by going back to the western coast of Africa, where the slave trading occurred, and details very well the oral music traditions of people from the various tribes and countries, presenting styles which could be found in the music of the eastern and southern United States from the late 19th and on into the early 20th Century.He highlights, in great detail, the sounds and how they were made in the mouth by particular tribes in Africa, and in what areas of the country and these sounds began showing up performed in field hollers done by workers on plantations throughout the south.I do not use the word anthropological lightly, as Robert Palmer does a magnificent job of highlighting the blues tradition from it's specific oral traditions in Africa, to it's nascent phase in the early 20th Century, to Muddy Waters' time in the Delta on up through his success in Chicago, to Sonny Boy Williamson's King Biscuit Time radio show and beyond.Various interviews abound from people and relatives of the blues musicians and by articles from early periodicals detailing their lives, so by the end of the book one really feels as though we were on the freight car with Robert Johnson traveling and avoiding the hellhound on his trail.
A must read for any true music fan
Robert Palmer explains on this fantastic book, the origins and development of one authentic and unique american art form.
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The Greatest Entertainers in American History!!!
I honestly don't know where to start. This video collection covers it all! Excluding only Bing Crosby, this collection contains the most influential and talented entertainers in American history, (Sinatra, Elvis, Ella & Sammy) and if that wasn't enough there also is Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, Nancy Sinatra and many more. I WAS VERY PLEASANTLY SUPRISED! This 2 video set is From the 50's Sinatra Show
The first video is with Sammy Davis Jr, and Joey Bishop, but the real gem here is Elvis! Elvis' first television appearance after returning from the army. The second video "An afternoon with Sinatra" features EllaFitzgerald, Hermonie Gingold, Juliete Prowse, the Hi-Lo's, and PeterLawford. The high point in this is Ella singing "Just You,JustMe" and her duets with Sinatra. lots of music and fun Sinatra style! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Pop Vocals    3. Standards    4. Television    5. Traditional Pop    6. United States of America    7. Vocal    8. Vocal Jazz   

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Editorial Review

A central episode in America's civil rights movement, the 1964 "Freedom Summer" voter-registration drives in Mississippi are recounted in this PBS-produced video narrated by noted actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. To battle entrenched power in Mississippi, a state that stubbornly upheld a system in which few blacks were allowed to register to vote, activists enlisted the help of attorneys who traveled into the most hostile environment to defend voters-rights volunteers who were systematically being arrested.In moving interviews with such luminaries of the movement as Bob Moses and Congressman John Lewis, as well as with the use of archival footage, Read more

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Editorial Review

Part concert documentary, part pop-cultural time capsule, Bert Stern's Read more

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Reviews (30)

For die-hard jazz fans
I appreciate the reviews in which it is suggested that viewers try to experience this film in a broader context--as a time capsule of an era. However, as an avid fan of Anita O'Day, I was deeply frustrated by the camera's focus on odd-looking (check out the chick eating the ice cream cone!), and apparently disinterested listeners in the audience, when the camera should have been focused on this amazing singer. Still, because O'Day--at the height of her sensuous form-- remains sadly undocumented on film, this is the best we've got.

Jazz on a Summer's Day
My personal 50s sci-fi favorite, "Invasion" is an ingenious nightmare vision that reflects the paranoia of the time created by McCarthyism.Absent of the effects that characterize more recent entries in this genre, the film remains genuinely creepy strictly on the basis of story, direction and performances.

Marks the end of the reign of Jazz
Bert Stein captures the Newport Jazz festival of 1958 in vivid color and with clarity. While jazz is the primary focus of the film, Stein does meander to the America's Cup race that was being contested off Newport at the time, along with some diversionary local flavor, which gives us a sense of what it was like to actually be there. Continuing along this vein, during the festival itself, Stein spends much of his camera time observing the audience caught unaware reacting to jazz on a summer day; after all, live music does not exist in a vacuum. It's this footage along with the incredible jazz music that makes this documentary really special. As a viewer we get to react to the music, and react to the audience reacting to the music. That girl with the seductively cute smile in the yellow dress, and that gruff man hiding behind the shades with the nervous twitch are people that we can connect to from our own personal experiences at open air summer concerts. The feeling of community one gets as the music breaks down the barriers and the sun begins to set. Stein allows his moving compositions to develop and flesh out the character of his subjects, giving us a nostalgic feeling for a time gone by that may have occurred long before we were even born. It does not matter because we are there! But this particular slice of time has special significance, because jazz would soon be replaced in popularity by Rock & Roll. We watch it happen before our eyes as a young Chuck Berry takes the stage. Backed by some excellent jazz musicians, all looking "amused" but not taking very seriously the music that would knock them off the charts for good within a couple of years. As Berry's classic Rock & Roll riffs project across the audience, young people spontaneously jump to their feet and start moving to the rhythm while their parents watch, perplexed. ... Read more