Top 10 Historically Significant Black Films (Not According To Me)

Ok, here I is, lol. For those of you who like my blog, I am much, much, more active on Twitter (sadly) and my username is @BlkCinemaAtLarg. I guess I should put that on here, but I'm waiting for my new site design.

Anyhoo, while on the great twitterville I came across Entertainment Tonight's "10 Historically Significant African-American Films". And let me tell you, it was the best list I've seen so far from a mainstream outlet, which was surprising, cause I find ET about as deep and relevant to Blacks as Ryan Seacrest.

Here is the list:

Cooley High

Antwone Fisher

Ray

What's Love Got To Do With It

A Soldier's Story

Do The Right Thing

Eve's Bayou

Boyz N The Hood

A Raisin In The Sun

The Color Purple

This is a great list, admittedly. There are a couple on there though, that while I do think are significant, are not necessarily historical. In the Black community, maybe, but not universally, which I believe was ET's intended stance.

So I wanna talk about two a day, to kick off my theme weeks. I think I'll start with A Soldier's Story and Cooley High, since those two are grabbing me today.



A Soldier's Story

I agree with ET's assessment on this one. As a child who went to the movies with a father who was just as a voracious movie-lover as Ms. Invisibelle, I remember that this was the first post-70's drama that was well directed, well written, well photographed, and well acted. This was an excellent story that had elements of suspense, mystery, and drama. It addressed an array of factors; racism in the military, the pressure of even being in the military, and wearing masks to hide our true selves from others.

I was very young, but I was completely captivated by the story in front of me. It is also the first time I remember having on screen crushes; despite his personal life (that I found out about afterward), Howard Rollins was a very powerful and amazing presence, and for some reason I was drawn to a very nerdy-looking and bespectacled Denzel Washington way before he was really known for anything...I guess he was born with it.

This film opened up a door that relayed Black drama was just as compelling, intense, and brilliant as anything else that was out there in the 80's or any other decade. I think it's a shame that there are certain entities (that will remain unnamed) that will play "Soul Plane" ad nauseum as opposed to playing this even once.


Cooley High

What can I say about this film? For some reason I love everything about it, so I'm in agreement with ET. It is the only film that I have seen more than repeatedly next to "Friday", and I never get tired of seeing it. What Cooley High has is:

*A sense of nostalgia, even if you weren't alive or remember the time period

*Great music

*Characters that made you care

*Comedy and drama well-balanced--one was just as interesting and watchable as the other

*A very brief glimpse that, for at least one month, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs was fine as hell

*A very brief glimpse that, for at least one month, Glynn Turman was not weird and creepy as hell

*Arresting wardrobe and on-point set design

*The breeding ground of the classic song by Boyz To Men "It's So Hard To Say Good-Bye To Yesterday"

*A coming-of-age story that was realistic and relatable

This film was testament that a very fine, touching, and universally Black story could be made on a relatively small budget. This film speaks to generations, and everyone from your grandparents to your grandchildren love it, and I really can't think of another Black film like that.

Tomorrow two more.

Read More......

Top 10 Historically Significant Black Films (Not According To Me)

Ok, here I is, lol. For those of you who like my blog, I am much, much, more active on Twitter (sadly) and my username is @BlkCinemaAtLarg. I guess I should put that on here, but I'm waiting for my new site design.

Anyhoo, while on the great twitterville I came across Entertainment Tonight's "10 Historically Significant African-American Films". And let me tell you, it was the best list I've seen so far from a mainstream outlet, which was surprising, cause I find ET about as deep and relevant to Blacks as Ryan Seacrest.

Here is the list:

Cooley High

Antwone Fisher

Ray

What's Love Got To Do With It

A Soldier's Story

Do The Right Thing

Eve's Bayou

Boyz N The Hood

A Raisin In The Sun

The Color Purple

This is a great list, admittedly. There are a couple on there though, that while I do think are significant, are not necessarily historical. In the Black community, maybe, but not universally, which I believe was ET's intended stance.

So I wanna talk about two a day, to kick off my theme weeks. I think I'll start with A Soldier's Story and Cooley High, since those two are grabbing me today.



A Soldier's Story

I agree with ET's assessment on this one. As a child who went to the movies with a father who was just as a voracious movie-lover as Ms. Invisibelle, I remember that this was the first post-70's drama that was well directed, well written, well photographed, and well acted. This was an excellent story that had elements of suspense, mystery, and drama. It addressed an array of factors; racism in the military, the pressure of even being in the military, and wearing masks to hide our true selves from others.

I was very young, but I was completely captivated by the story in front of me. It is also the first time I remember having on screen crushes; despite his personal life (that I found out about afterward), Howard Rollins was a very powerful and amazing presence, and for some reason I was drawn to a very nerdy-looking and bespectacled Denzel Washington way before he was really known for anything...I guess he was born with it.

This film opened up a door that relayed Black drama was just as compelling, intense, and brilliant as anything else that was out there in the 80's or any other decade. I think it's a shame that there are certain entities (that will remain unnamed) that will play "Soul Plane" ad nauseum as opposed to playing this even once.


Cooley High

What can I say about this film? For some reason I love everything about it, so I'm in agreement with ET. It is the only film that I have seen more than repeatedly next to "Friday", and I never get tired of seeing it. What Cooley High has is:

*A sense of nostalgia, even if you weren't alive or remember the time period

*Great music

*Characters that made you care

*Comedy and drama well-balanced--one was just as interesting and watchable as the other

*A very brief glimpse that, for at least one month, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs was fine as hell

*A very brief glimpse that, for at least one month, Glynn Turman was not weird and creepy as hell

*Arresting wardrobe and on-point set design

*The breeding ground of the classic song by Boyz To Men "It's So Hard To Say Good-Bye To Yesterday"

*A coming-of-age story that was realistic and relatable

This film was testament that a very fine, touching, and universally Black story could be made on a relatively small budget. This film speaks to generations, and everyone from your grandparents to your grandchildren love it, and I really can't think of another Black film like that.

Tomorrow two more.

Read More......

Where Da White Women At?

That really should have been the title of this film. What do you say about a movie that bills itself as the "Black" version of Warren Beatty's "Shampoo", yet has nothing in common with it except that a hairdresser has sex with his clients? A lot of sex.

"Black Shampoo" stars John Daniels (a Black Lou Ferrigno doppelganger), as "Mr. Jonathan", who apparently owns an upscale hair salon by the same name on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles, that supposedly caters to the elite. I say apparently and supposedly, because since this film seems to be made on about $26, we only see two rooms of this "upscale" salon that has a few chairs and a few ferns. And a couch in the back that would probably make a CSI black-light explode in disgust.


Mr. Jonathan must have been doing hair for a long time and had his fill, because we never see him actually styling one head. Oh, except in the opening credits, where it seems someone just washing your hair can give you the greatest orgasm you've ever had in your life.

Mr. Jonathan spends his day going from one white woman to the next, juking happily three to four times a day, either in the shop or making house calls. He does this while wearing his white hairstyling uniform, which looks like a gay male nurse's uniform, and never bothering to hit his peen with a lick of water in between trysts, not even with a moist baby wipe.


He hires a Black receptionist, and they go to dinner exactly one time, and decide they are completely and totally in love forever and ever. Well, I guess like they say, for Mr. Jonathan once you go Black, you never go back.

Turns out that said receptionist is Mr. Big's ho, and ran away, and Mr. Big kidnaps her back. It is unclear what exactly Mr. Big does, but he always carries a briefcase, even at the pool, and exclaims once loudly that he has to make "some goddamn speech at some goddamn dinner". To address what, heaven only knows.



The rest of the film shows Mr. Jonathan trying to get his Black Queen back, but that is genuinely just filler for the sex scenes. What this film is really is soft porn, and not very good soft porn at that. It is worth a look just to see how ridiculous some films of the period were, and how producers would put "Black" in front of everything and anything just to draw in an audience. It is also quite a sight to see Mr. Jonathan walk around like a baby gorilla in a two sizes too tight hairdresser uniform, and the awful, stunning, unbelievable 70's stereotypes of the gay male hairdressers he has working for him. Truly riveting....they make "Men On Film" from "In Living Color" look like Terry Crews and Tiny Lister.


Ms. Invisible says check it out.

Unfortunately, the movie trailer seems to have disappeared from the internets, but here is the radio commercial trailer for it...dripping with innuendos:

Read More......

Where Da White Women At?

That really should have been the title of this film. What do you say about a movie that bills itself as the "Black" version of Warren Beatty's "Shampoo", yet has nothing in common with it except that a hairdresser has sex with his clients? A lot of sex.

"Black Shampoo" stars John Daniels (a Black Lou Ferrigno doppelganger), as "Mr. Jonathan", who apparently owns an upscale hair salon by the same name on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles, that supposedly caters to the elite. I say apparently and supposedly, because since this film seems to be made on about $26, we only see two rooms of this "upscale" salon that has a few chairs and a few ferns. And a couch in the back that would probably make a CSI black-light explode in disgust.


Mr. Jonathan must have been doing hair for a long time and had his fill, because we never see him actually styling one head. Oh, except in the opening credits, where it seems someone just washing your hair can give you the greatest orgasm you've ever had in your life.

Mr. Jonathan spends his day going from one white woman to the next, juking happily three to four times a day, either in the shop or making house calls. He does this while wearing his white hairstyling uniform, which looks like a gay male nurse's uniform, and never bothering to hit his peen with a lick of water in between trysts, not even with a moist baby wipe.


He hires a Black receptionist, and they go to dinner exactly one time, and decide they are completely and totally in love forever and ever. Well, I guess like they say, for Mr. Jonathan once you go Black, you never go back.

Turns out that said receptionist is Mr. Big's ho, and ran away, and Mr. Big kidnaps her back. It is unclear what exactly Mr. Big does, but he always carries a briefcase, even at the pool, and exclaims once loudly that he has to make "some goddamn speech at some goddamn dinner". To address what, heaven only knows.



The rest of the film shows Mr. Jonathan trying to get his Black Queen back, but that is genuinely just filler for the sex scenes. What this film is really is soft porn, and not very good soft porn at that. It is worth a look just to see how ridiculous some films of the period were, and how producers would put "Black" in front of everything and anything just to draw in an audience. It is also quite a sight to see Mr. Jonathan walk around like a baby gorilla in a two sizes too tight hairdresser uniform, and the awful, stunning, unbelievable 70's stereotypes of the gay male hairdressers he has working for him. Truly riveting....they make "Men On Film" from "In Living Color" look like Terry Crews and Tiny Lister.


Ms. Invisible says check it out.

Unfortunately, the movie trailer seems to have disappeared from the internets, but here is the radio commercial trailer for it...dripping with innuendos:

Read More......