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A very thought-provoking video, despite its technical flaws.
This video presents startling facts about the Assassination of Martin Luther King. For anyone who still thinks James Earl Ray acted alone, they are in for a big surprise. The film asks all the pertinent questions aboutRay's whereabouts, motivations, etc. The film however suffers from sometechnical problems audio-wise where the sound dips in some places. Despiteits technical shortcomings (sound problems, weak narrative voice) this is awell researched documantary. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

Editorial Review

The story of Marcus Garvey, a controversial African American leader of the early 20th century, is thoughtfully told in this documentary, an installment in the Read more

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Reviews (11)

Should be required viewing in any class of black history
Marcus Garvey was a black immigrant from Jamaica who was very much a child of his times, yet was very much ahead of his time. In only a few years, (1916 - 1921), he built the largest black mass movement in history. International in scope, his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) organization gave black people a sense of pride, as one who witnessed it says on the tape, "I felt like I owned half the world and didn't want the other half." He modeled his movement on the structure of a nation, with their own flag, anthem and governmental officials, including a foreign minister.
poof! the psuedo imperial grand dragon has been slayed
News flash Ted, white documentaries are glorified too, so stop crying.......................idiot!

I thought it was pretty good myself
I am a historian by profession. I did my senior thesis on the Garvey movement during my college days.Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

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Reviews (9)

the REEL Ali
After listening to the audio book Sound & Fury from Blackstone Audio, this bio pix of Ali is a wonderful self promotion.
I thought I was renting a documentary
Expecting to see a documentary of the great man I was rather surprised when I realised this is in fact a film starring Ali himself detailing what he sees as the key points in his life. Chip Mcalister
Chip was excellent in this movie and I know what happened to him.I ran into him in San Clamente, Ca and ate lunch with him.He seems to be doing very well.Good actor and good guy. 11/16/02 ... Read more

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

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Subjects:  1. Biographies    2. History    3. Special Interests    4. Television & Documentary   

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Reviews (7)

Good video for my class
Here is one of two presentations that I show to my class every year following a discussion on stereotypes.This is a no BS presentation that shows how images have been maniupulated through the decades of film.
Truthful
This is a very informative DVD.Melvin Van Peebles is a master of entertainment.He gives a very informative and accurate overview of the history of Black Cinema.I recommend this DVD to anyone who is interested in exploring the true roots of African-Americans in film.We have come a long way from Step N Fetchit!!!

In defense of classic African-American performers....
The reviewer who claims that "samboing" black performers of vintage Hollywood were not funny is both right and wrong. Some of them were not funny, but some of those African-American artists were very funny entertainers who were extremely talented even if they had to do some "samboing" to showcase their talents. Performers like Moreland and Rochester were nothing short of highly talented comedic geniuses. To claim that their comedy only caused their people to suffer ignores two extremely important facts: there was far more to their talent than just "samboing", and whites with blackened faces were already hurting blacks with racist "humor". Talented African-American artists like Moreland and Rochester subverted an already existing racist stereotype to open the door to real black performers, culture, and artistry. They stole the spotlight from racist whites with their comedic talent and worked clever non-racist humor into their performances thus paving the way for future African-American stars and comedians. Comedic subversive geniuses like Moreland and Rochester shouldn't be damned for their sacrifice and comedic talent. They should be appreciated for being damn funny, and honored for helping to change the face of American comedy forever. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

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Subjects:  1. Television   

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Reviews (1)

Too much jazz filler.
I thought this series (both Vol. 1 and 2) were a good source of historic blues info. I especially like the way they corelate historic events such as the 1929 Market Crash and WWII with blues events and artists. The only criticism I have is that it mixes too much jazz with the blues. I know there's a bluesy side of jazz (Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, et. al.) but that's space in the video that could have been dedicated to blues people: more down home delta guys, Chicago 50 & 60s, Texas, New Orleans, West Coast, British, you name it, but no jazz filler, please! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Music Video    3. Music Videos - Blues    4. Performance    5. Pop    6. V/a Compilations   

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Reviews (3)

Real story about the life of Jesse Owens
This is one of the films I seen. It has good information that discusses about the late Olympic great Jesse Owens. I think everybody should see this film 'cuz it's a classic. Good acting and good quality to it.

Good solid film
Jesse Owens is a Hero.he stood Hate in the Face&Looked it down and was a Champion not only of Sport but of Human Rights.Dorian Harewood a Good Actor who i have seen in countless films does a solid job here.

Great story... is it all true?
I am a major fan of Jesse Owens, and this film is definitely for fans.Dorian Harewood portrays Jesse very well, but almost in a god-like perfection.Of course, biographies are supposed to emphasize goodqualities, but this film leaves you wondering if Jesse Owens had any badones.Still a very good film, and an excellent way to introduce people whodon't know about him to a great role model, a great athlete and world classhuman. ... Read more

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Reviews (4)

Wanting More
This is a great DVD mainly featuring interviews with Monk's friends and family, providing fascinating info about the man. However on my wish-list is a comprehensive DVD of Monk's performances (there seems to be plenty of footage) WITHOUT any talking over his playing!. I am much more interested in Monk's music than in the art of the video-editor. I love Monk and this video
I've watched this three times and look forward to my next viewing again. Features interviews with many of his contemporaries including Billy Taylor, Marion White, Barry Harris and his son Thelonious Mon Jr., as well as lots of footage of the master himself playing. I'm a huge Monk fan, and I found this fascinating and very informative on what made this genius tick. Highly recommended.

amazingly inspiring
To SEE Monk playing the piano adds a whole new dimension to his music. This man was truly channelling.Thank God for Thelonious Monk. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bop    2. Hard Bop    3. Jazz    4. Music Video    5. Music Video - Jazz    6. Performance    7. Pop    8. Post-Bop   

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Reviews (1)

Too much jazz filler!
I bought both Vols. 1 and 2, and saw them one after the other, and I noticed to much jazz filler in both. I want blues. I love and respect the jazz ladies (Holliday, Leena Horn, et. al.) but I bought this for the blues. It could have contained more Delta guys, some Chicago artists, West Coast blues, Texas... come on! There's more out there to have made a beautiful video but the jazz filler just doesn't seem right on a blues video. And please don't tell me Billie Holliday is blues! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Music Video    3. Music Videos - Blues    4. Performance    5. Pop    6. V/a Compilations   

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• Original recording reissued
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Reviews (1)

Richmond falls, Lee surrenders and Lincoln is assassinated
Episode 8 in the celebrated documentary on "The Civil War" by Ken Burns finds the war finally coming to an end.Sherman marches to the sea and Richmond finally falls to Grant, setting up Lee's surrender at Appomattox and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.The eloquent narration of David McCullough, the folksy anecdotes of Shelby Foote, and the recognizable voices of some of our most distinguished actors such as Morgan Freeman and Sam Waterson, give the Civil War its voice.With hundreds of photographs and illustration, a multi-layered soundtrack of effects and music, Burns brings history alive. ... Read more

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

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Reviews (2)

The Jazziest Blues.
I think this video is a must have for your blues and jazz collection. The short musical movies, are well put together. I especially like Duke Ellington's Bundle of blues, I didn't know the song stormy weather, was writen and sung before the 1940's. Ivie Anderson sung the song different or as good as Lena Horne. And the dance team right after, was very good. They did dances back then in the 1930's, the way ethnic nightclubs do now. The women were thin, but looked healthy. This video is a must see, some of the vidoes were a little boring, but the rest will make up for it.

Best of the Four Volume Set
If you're not ready to roll out the bucks for the complete fourvolume set of HOLLYWOOD RHYTHM, this is the one to buy first. The mainreason is for the first short in this volume -- "Symphony inBlack." This marvelous short features Duke Ellington at the pianocomposing a new work.Intercut between those scenes are vignettesrepresenting the different movenents of the piece.One of whichfeatures a young (and uncredited) Billie Holiday as the scorned woman.Another features the provocative dancing of (also uncredited) Earl"Snake Hips" Tucker.Contemporary music video directorscould learn a lot from this piece with its stylish use of black &white photography and wonderful art direction.Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Music Video    3. Performance    4. Pop    5. Soundtracks & Film Scores   

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Editorial Review

Seem a little early in the acting career ofHalle Berry for a videobiography? Give the beauty a chance--her mixed heritage gives her aninteresting perspective on race relations. The child of early divorce wastaught by her white mother to be proud of her black heritage because "that'show society sees you." When she was named junior-prom queen, the mostly whiteCleveland, Ohio, student body accused her of stuffing the ballet box; shedenied it and retained the crown on the toss of a coin. She starts winningbeauty pageants, models in Chicago, then begins her acting career, which hasincluded the title role in the Alex Haley miniseries Read more

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Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. TV Shows   

Editorial Review

This absorbing video is chock-full of interviews and footage of MartinLuther King Jr., and a well-rounded picture of the civil-rights movement, beginning with a conversation with Coretta Scott King, Dr. King's wife, describing how her husband's mission has guided how she lives her life today. Throughout the video are more conversations with Coretta and other friends and colleagues of Dr. King including Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Edward Kennedy, Bill Cosby, Andrew Young, Joan Baez, former President Jimmy Carter, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In between the interviews are pockets of historical facts, beginning with how Dr. King developed his views to become, as Dick Gregory describes him, "a giant of a man." It then goes through all the major civil-rights landmarks from the establishment of the Civil Rights Act in 1957 to the guaranteeing of the right forAfrican-Americans to vote in 1964. The raw footage of the 1963 March onWashington is glorious and striking for Dr. King's "Free at Last" speech and the shots of 200,000 people standing beneath the Lincoln Memorial. This documentary does not leave out the violence and atrocities that occurred either. There are objective retellings of the rioting and police brutality that ran rampant throughout the movement. There are also several of Dr. King's most memorable addresses in their entirety such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Civil Disobedience and Nonviolent Struggle, the March on Washington, and his final address in Memphis. Overall Read more

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Reviews (2)

Good history; poor quality -
This video had some great history on it and a lot of footage of MLK in settings where I didn't normally see him. But the quality of a lot of the footage was bad. It wasn't because it was old footage either because I've seen a lot of the same footage on other videos with much better quality.For the price I paid for this ($28.48), the quality was disappointing.It also could have used a lot more dialogue and depth added to the footage that was used.There are other choices of MLK history videos out there which I would suggest people seek out before settling on this one.

History buffs a must see
Everyone knows who MLK was, but not many know who he really was, and thismovie shows the reverends many good deeds, and not just the famous March onWashington and his I Have a Dream speech, but that he visited, in everystate, the school with the highest black population and gave movingspeeches, and he even gave two in mine, Garfield High School in Seattle WA. After his death, 47 of the 50 schools he visited had riots, includingmine, which showed just how large of a following he had. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. TV Shows   

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Subjects:  1. Educational    2. History    3. Kids & Family    4. Special Interests