Pioneers of African-American Cinema

Pioneers of African-American Cinema (2015) is a digitally restored anthology collection of independent Black cinema from the first half of the 20th century.[1]

Pioneers of African-American Cinema
Directed byPearl Bowser, Ebony Film Corporation, Zora Neale Hurston, Solomon Sir Jones, Richard C. Kahn, Lincoln Motion Picture Company, Richard Maurice, Oscar Micheaux, Richard Norman, Spencer Williams Jr.
Produced byLibrary of Congress, with the cooperation of the British Film Institute, George Eastman Museum, Museum of Modern Art, National Archives, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Southern Methodist University, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive
Music byAlloy Orchestra, Makia Matsumura, Max Roach, Donald Sosin, DJ Spooky, Samuel Waymon
Distributed byKino Lorber
Release date
2015
Running time
25hr 12min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

About

Known as "race films," this category of film was made outside of the Hollywood system, and is notable for its exploration of issues of "class, gender, and politics within the Black community."[1] The most important of these filmmakers was groundbreaking auteur Oscar Micheaux, whose films Within Our Gates (1920), with "its head-on confrontation of racism and lynching,"The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920), about black homesteaders struggling for survival against the Ku Klux Klan on the Midwestern plains," and Body and Soul (1925), featuring legendary performer Paul Robeson's debut as an escaped prisoner, are all included.[1] Directors Spencer Williams, Richard Maurice, writer and ethnographer Zora Neale Hurston, and film-making couple James and Eloyce Gist are all represented, too, however, as are a variety of selections from the Ebony Film Corporation, work by Solomon Sir Jones and more.[2][3]

The complete run time of the entire anthology is more than 25 hours, and the restoration will be of particular significance to scholars, historians, and film aficionados due to its inclusion of formerly inaccessible footage.[1][4] The restoration includes over 12 feature films, including: Hell-Bound Train, Within Our Gates, Birthright, and The Flying Ace. It also includes shorts, fragments, trailers, documentary footage, archival interviews and audio recordings.[5] For greater historical context, some films are presented in pairs, including Hot Biskits and The Blood of Jesus and Verdict Not Guilty and Heaven-Bound Travelers.[6] Musical accompaniment includes work by DJ Spooky, Max Roach, Alloy Orchestra, Samuel Waymon, Makia Matsumura, Donald Sosin and others.[5]

Funded in part by a Kickstarter campaign, the series was produced in association with the Library of Congress, with the cooperation of the British Film Institute, George Eastman Museum, Museum of Modern Art, National Archives, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Southern Methodist University, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive.[5] Curated by scholars Charles Musser and Jacqueline Najuma, the anthology was distributed by Kino Lorber, which specializes in historic art house film.[5]

The box set is available streaming, on BLU-RAY and on DVD, the latter of which is accompanied by a 76-page booklet.[5] The New York Times praised the collection and recommended it for educational institutions.[7]

Anthology contents

Film Title Director Year Duration Music Notes
Two Knights of Vaudeville Ebony Film Co. 1915 11 min. Donald Sosin
Mercy the Mummy Mumbled Ebony Film Co. 1918 12 min. Alloy Orchestra (BLU-RAY ONLY)
A Reckless Rover Ebony Film Co. 1918 14 min. Donald Sosin
Within Our Gates Oscar Micheaux 1920 73 min. Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky)
The Symbol of the Unconquered: A Story of the KKK Oscar Micheaux 1920 59 min. Max Roach
By Right of Birth Lincoln Motion Picture Co. 1921 4 min. Donald Sosin
Body and Soul Oscar Micheaux 1925 93 min. Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky)
Screen Snapshots Micheaux footage 1920 1 minute Bonus: An Introduction (7 min.); Bonus: The Films of Oscar Micheaux (8 min.)
Regeneration Richard E. Norman 1923 11 min. Donald Sosin
The Flying Ace Richard E. Norman 1928 65 min. Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
Ten Nights in a Bar Room CPFC 1926 64 min.. Donald Sosin
Rev. S.S. Jones Home Movies Rev. Solomon Sir Jones 1924-26 16 min. Andrew Simpson
The Scar of Shame Frank Peregini 1929 86 min. Makia Matsumura Bonus: The Color Line (5 min.) Bonus: Ten Nights in a Bar Room – An Introduction (4 min.) Bonus: About the Restoration (8 min.)
Eleven P.M. Richard Maurice 1928 60 min. Rob Gal
Hell-Bound Train James and Eloyce Gist 1930 50 min. Samuel D. Waymon Restored by S. Torriano Berry.
Verdict Not Guilty James and Eloyce Gist 1934 8 min. Samuel D. Waymon Restored by S. Torriano Berry.
Heaven-Bound Travelers James and Eloyce Gist 1935 15 min. Samuel D. Waymon Restored by S. Torriano Berry. (BLU-RAY ONLY)
The Darktown Revue Oscar Micheaux 1931 18 min.
The Exile Oscar Micheaux 1931 78 min.
Hot Biskits Spencer Williams 1931 10 min.
The Girl from Chicago Oscar Micheaux 1932 70 min.
Ten min. to Live Oscar Micheaux 1932 58 min.
Veiled Aristocrats Oscar Micheaux 1932 48 min.
Birthright Oscar Micheaux 1938 73 min. Bonus: Veiled Aristocrats Trailer (4 min.) Bonus: Birthright Trailer (4 min.) Bonus: We Work Again (BLU-RAY ONLY) – WPA Documentary (1937, 15 min.)
The Bronze Buckaroo Richard Kahn 1939 58 min.
Zora Neale Hurston Fieldwork Footage (excerpt) Zora Neale Hurston 1928 3 min.
Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort South Carolina, May 1940 (excerpt) Zora Neale Hurston 1940 15 min.
The Blood of Jesus Spencer Williams 1941 56 min.
Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. Spencer Williams 1946 60 min.
Moses Sisters Interview Pearl Bowser 1978 32 min. Bonus: Texas Tyler Promo Film with Ossie Davis (1985, 6 min.) Bonus: The Films of Zora Neale Hurston (2 min.) Bonus: The Films of Spencer Williams (7 min.) Bonus: The End of an Era (4 min.)

See also

References

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