Watch A Century Of Black Cinema

A Century of Black Cinema is a documentary that examines the legacy of African American film in the 20th century. The film is directed and produced by Frank Martin and features interviews with some of the most influential black artists in the industry. This includes writer and producer Spike Lee, actor and activist Harry Belafonte, and actress Angela Bassett.

The documentary starts by looking back at some of the earliest black films ever made, which were often riddled with damaging stereotypes and tropes. The film moves on to examine how black cinema evolved in the 1950s and '60s, when artists like Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte began to push back against these stereotypes and demand more nuanced and positive portrayals of black people on screen.

The film features interviews with many of the people who participated in this movement, including Belafonte himself. Belafonte talks about how he used his own production company, called Har Bel Productions, to make films that spoke to the experiences of black people. He also talks about the ways in which he worked to bring more black filmmakers into the industry, both in front of and behind the camera.

Other artists discussed in the documentary include Muhammad Ali, who played himself in the 1977 biopic The Greatest, and Melvin Van Peebles, whose groundbreaking film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song helped to usher in a new era of independent black cinema.

The film also covers black cinema's intersection with the Civil Rights Movement, documenting how films like A Raisin in the Sun and In the Heat of the Night tackled issues of race and racism head-on. The film also features interviews with surviving members of the cast and crew of In the Heat of the Night, who discuss how the film's themes were seen as controversial at the time.

A Century of Black Cinema also tackles the representation of black women in film, looking at the ways in which actresses like Ruby Dee and Cicely Tyson pushed back against stereotypes and worked to redefine what it meant to be a black woman on screen. Angela Bassett, who has herself played some of the most iconic black women in film, talks about the importance of portraying fully-realized, complex characters, rather than simply being reduced to a collection of physical attributes.

The film also covers the rise of the "New Black Wave" of the 1990s, which saw an explosion in the number of black artists working in Hollywood. Filmmakers like John Singleton, Spike Lee, and Ava DuVernay all get their due in the documentary, as the film covers both their triumphs and their controversies.

Overall, A Century of Black Cinema is an informative and engaging look at one of the most important movements in film history. The documentary sheds light on the many obstacles faced by black artists over the years, as well as the many successes they have achieved in spite of them. The film is a must-see for anyone interested in the way that film reflects and shapes our cultural narratives.

A Century Of Black Cinema is a 2003 special interest movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 40 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.9.