Culture Representation: Taking place in the fictional U.S. city of New Rome, the sci-fi drama film “Megalopolis” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few Latin people and African Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A property mogul causes controversy over his development of an urban mega-complex, as he juggles various problems in his personal life.
Culture Audience: “Megalopolis” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and many of the movie’s headliners, but celebrity name recognition does not save this disastrous and ill-conceived movie.
Aubrey Plaza in “Megalopolis” (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)
“Megaflopolis” is a more accurate title for the bloated and idiotic “Megalopolis,” which is drunk on its own pretension and fails miserably to tell a coherent and interesting story. A star-studded cast can’t save this mess. This is the type of movie that can only be described as a giant waste on many levels: production budget, talent and a potentially intriguing concept.
Written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, “Megalopolis” has been an idea of Coppola’s since 1977. The movie’s production budget was reportedly $120 million to $136 million, much of which was independently financed by Coppola, whose best work is still considered to be his Oscar-winning films from the 1970s, such as 1972’s “The Godfather,” 1974’s “The Godfather Part II” and 1979’s “Apocalypse Now.” Coppola has been coasting on his reputation for being an “auteur,” so “Megalopolis” came with a certain standard of expectations. “Megalopolis” had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Unfortunately, the end result of all the years and money it took to make “Megalopolis” (which takes place in a futuristic fictional city of New Rome, inspired by New York City) is a movie that looks like a hack job on an over-inflated budget. This 138-minute catastrophe has a lot to show but doesn’t have much to say. Here’s the gist of the plot: An ambitious and frequently dour property mogul named Cesar Catilina (played by Adam Driver), who prefers to be called Catilina, causes controversy because of his high-priced plans to build a mega-complex called Megalopolis in the middle of the city. Meanwhile, Catilina gets involved in a love triangle, he has struggles with “mother issues” because his mother dislikes him, and he deals with various other people who come in and out of his orbit.
Catilina is getting a lot of criticism for displacing low-income people from their housing because of his development of Megalopolis, which includes business buildings, a shopping center and a giant recreational park. Years ago, Catilina went on trial for murder after he was accused of poisoning his wife. He was acquitted of the charges, but the scandal still affects his reputation.
One of Catilina’s biggest enemies is Mayor Franklyn Cicero (played by Giancarlo Esposito), who was the prosecuting district attorney in the murder trial. Mayor Cicero still thinks Catilina is guilty. Catilina calls Mayor Cicero “the chief slum lord” and doesn’t understand why the mayor is opposed to Catilina’s plan to “beautify” the city with Megalopolis. Another person who doesn’t get along well with Mayor Cicero is his hard-partying, sexually fluid daughter Julia Cicero (played by Nathalie Emmanuel), a medical school dropout, who is frequently in the tabloid media for her antics. Teresa Cicero (played by Kathryn Hunter), who is Mayor Cicero’s wife/Julia’s mother, is the calm counterpoint to Mayor Cicero’s fiery personality.
“Megalopolis” opens with a captioned statement in Latin (with subtitles): “Our American republic is not that much different from Old Rome … Will we fall victim, like Old Rome, to the insatiable appetite for power from a few men?” All this means is that “Megalopolis” has a lot of people looking ridiculous as they wear togas and other clothing that are supposed to be inspired by Old Rome. But then, the movies bizarrely drops in some references to William Shakespeare, such as in an early scene in “Megalopolis” when Catilina utters the famous line “To be or not to be” from “Hamlet.”
In the beginning of the story, Catilina has been having a casual fling with a TV talk show host named Wow Platinum (played by Aubrey Plaza), who has grown frustrated that Catilina won’t commit to a more serious relationship. In a TV interview, Wow Platinum asks him: “What’s it like to be rich?” Catilina answers, “You can scare people.” Get used to the cringeworthy dialogue, because “Megalopolis” is full of it.
Wow tells Catilina that she’s “bored” with being his casual lover and declares that she wants to be “one-half of a power couple.” She’s tired of waiting around for Catilina to propose marriage to her. And so, gold digger Wow has a quickie wedding with elderly billionaire Hamilton Crassus III (played by Jon Voight), who is Catilina’s uncle and who obviously has a lot of influence in the city. Hamilton’s sister is Cesar Catilina’s widowed mother: Constance Crassus Catilina (played by Talia Shire), who doesn’t hide her disdain for Cesar. Constance openly tells Cesar that she wish he had been born a girl.
Hamilton is a lot like dying prey, with vultures circling to wait until he can die and fight over his fortune. These vultures include his heirs and his new wife Wow. Hamilton has four grandchildren who are all spoiled siblings: Clodia Pulcher (played by Chloe Fineman), Clodio Pulcher (played by Shia LaBeouf), Claudine Pulcher (played by Isabelle Kusman) and Claudette Pulcher (played by Madeleine Gardella). Claudine is a party girl who is a lover of Julia, the mayor’s “wild child” daughter.
Supporting characters drift in an out of the story, some with more purpose than others. A pop music superstar named Vesta Sweetwater (played by Grace VanderWaal), who has an image of being a teenage virgin, performs at the wedding reception for Hamilton and Wow. Fundi Romaine (played by Laurence Fishburne) is Catilina’s loyal driver/butler/flunky. Nush “The Fixer” Berman (played by Dustin Hoffman) briefly scurries in and out of the movie like a rat scrounging for scraps. Nush is opposed to Megalopolis because he says it’s built on a waste foundation. Jason Zanderz (played by Jason Schwartzman) is a “yes man” in Mayor Cicero’s entourage.
It should come as no surprise that Julia (because she’s got “daddy issues”) decides to work for Catilina, her father’s biggest enemy. One thing leads to another, and Julia and Catilina become lovers, much to the horror of Mayor Cicero. “Megalopolis” has a tired, catty subplot of a jealous Wow trying to break up the relationship between Julia and Catilina (even though Wow is now married to Hamilton) because Wow can’t stand to see Catilina be in love with another woman.
“Megalopolis” lurches from scene to scene and puts forth some not-very-original futuristic ideas (such as cars that travel by air) that are clumsily plopped into the story but never fully developed. Many of the scenes are mind-numbingly bad and embarrassing for the people in these scenes, as well as for Coppola, because of all the substandard acting and terrible dialogue. If you waited your whole life to see disgraced actor LaBeouf in drag as he says, “Revenge tastes best when wearing a dress,” then “Megalopolis” is the movie for you. For people with good taste in cinema, “Megalopolis” should definitely be left off of the menu.
Lionsgate released “Megalopolis” in U.S. cinemas on September 27, 2024. A sneak preview of the movie was shown in U.S. cinemas on September 23, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place mostly in outer space, the sci-fi drama film “Slingshot” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) who are connected in some way to a space mission.
Culture Clash: A captain and two other astronauts have disagreements with each other during a claustrophobic and disorienting mission to find methane in outer space.
Culture Audience: “Slingshot” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and don’t mind watching a dull outer-space movie that is poorly conceived.
Emily Beecham and Casey Affleck in “Slingshot” (Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street)
The sci-fi drama “Slingshot” starts off with a flimsy concept (a claustrophobic outer-space mission seeking methane to save Earth) and flounders in the middle of the movie. The story’s divisive ending seems like a rushed and lazy cop-out among plot twists. There are any number of ways that “Slingshot” could have ended. The ending that was chosen for this disappointing dud of a movie comes across as the cinematic equivalent of throwing spaghetti against a wall and seeing what sticks. It still leaves an unpleasant mess.
Directed by Mikael Håfström and written by R. Scott Adams and Nathan C. Parker, “Slingshot” takes place almost entirely on a spaceship that’s floating in outer space. (The movie was actually filmed in Hungary.) “Slingshot” also has a very small number of people in the cast. Three astronauts on the ship get most of the focus, while the lover of one of the space travelers is mostly seen in flashback memories. Everyone else who’s in the movie either has a short amount of screen time to speak and/or is a background extra.
“Slingshot” begins on December 23 in an unnamed year. On the spacecraft Odyssey 1, three astronauts are tasked with a mission called Titan, to find an overabundance of methane that could save Earth. (No reason is given for this nonsensical plot that methane can save Earth.) The Slingshot in the movie refers to a breathtaking display of orbital mechanics.
The movie is shown from the perspective of an American astronaut named John (played by Casey Affleck), who is on the spacecraft with a stern leader named Captain Franks (played by Laurence Fishburne) and a rebellious French astronaut named Nash (played by Tomer Capone), who all occasionally check in by satellite with their supervisor Sam Napier (played by David Morrissey), who has a British accent. The movie’s story has a non-linear timeline which reveals that John has been going through hibernation training to prepare for the mission. The beginning of the movie shows him emerging from a hibernation session, where he is told that the side effects can include confusion, nausea and dizziness.
Most of “Slingshot” consists of John on the spacecraft (1) getting into conflicts with Captain Franks or Nash and (2) having flashbacks to his romantic relationship with Zoe Morgan (played by Emily Beecham), one of the Odyssey’s designers. The movie intends to make the time as disorienting to viewers as it is to John, but it’s really all just muddled screenwriting.
After a while, everything drags with repetition until the last 20 minute of the film crams in several plot twists that have some plot holes. None of the acting is particularly special; the visual effects are competently basic. “Slingshot” doesn’t have much to say about what created the situation where Earth is desperate for methane. The movie is called “Slingshot,” but it ends up missing the mark in too many ways.
Bleecker Street released “Slingshot” in U.S. cinemas on August 30, 2024.
D-16/Megatron (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry), Alita-1 (voiced by Scarlett Johansson, Orion Pax/Optimus (voiced by Chris Hemsworth and B-127 (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) in “Transformers One” (Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
Culture Representation: Taking place in outer space, the animated film “Transformers One” has a group of characters that are talking robots.
Culture Clash: A group of miner robots that will later become Transformers find out why they have been oppressed and fight back against the enemy.
Culture Audience: “Transformers One” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the “Transformers” franchise and eye-catching action animated films.
Sentinel Prime (voiced by Jon Hamm) in “Transformers One” (Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
For better or worse, “Transformers One” is for die-hard “Transformers” fans. This origin story has appealing visuals and action, but the plot might be too confusing for viewers who are new to the franchise. It’s one of the those movies that rushes through a world-building summary in the introduction and assumes that most people watching will already know the intricacies of the major characters in the “Transformers” franchise.
Directed by Josh Cooley, “Transformers One” was written by Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. “Transformers One” is one of several “Transformers” movies (animated and live-action) and animated TV series that have been spawned from the original “Transformers” animated TV series that was on the air from 1984 to 1987. The TV series and movies are all based on Hasbro’s Transformers toys of outer-space robots that can transform into moving vehicles.
“Transformers One” begins by explaining that on the planet Cybertron, a being called Primus birthed a race of supreme robots called Primes that can transform into moving vehicles. Primes need a special feul for a healthy existence called Energon. For generations, Cybertron had peace and prosperity, until it was invaded by enemies. Many of the Primes were killed, Energon became scarce, and most of the surviving robots of Cybertron were forced into identured servitude as underground miners, who are forbidden to go to the surface of the planet.
It’s during this bleak period that a rebellious miner robot named Orion Pax (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) tries to find out more about the history of this invasion. He discovers a hologram-like archive that talks about this history. However, the archive cuts off just before it will tell details about a mysterious force called the Matrix and information about the Matrix leadership. Orion Pax believes that finding out the secret of the Matrix can free the miners from their oppression.
Orion Pax’s best friend is another miner robot named D-16 (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry), who has a personality that almost the opposite of Orion Pax. D-16 is very cautious and feels strongly that the best way for miners to live is to not ask questions and always follow the rules. D-16 tells Orion Pax, “We’re miners. We mine. That’s all.”
The tryannical supervisor of the miners is Darkwing (voiced by Isaac C. Singleton Jr.), who doesn’t hesttate to punish anyone who breaks the rules. Darkwing reports to the leader of the land: Sentinel Prime (voiced by Jon Hamm), who is worshipped as a hero for being one of the last surviving Primes. Sentinel Prime is very charismatic and has been telling his followers that he and his team have been searching for the Matrix leadership so that they can find more Energon.
Orion Pax is too curious to listen to D-16’s advice to always follow the rules. Several antics ensure that get Orion Pax and D-16 in various degrees of trouble. Without giving away too much information, it’s enough to say that Orion Pax and D-16 join forces with two other miner robots: outspoken Alita-1 (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) and goofy B-127 (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key), who was banished to a secret lower level of the planet.
“Transformers One” has a lot of terrific action sequences accompanied by dazzling visuals. However, some of the plot developments are a bit repetitive. How many times does Orion Pax have to “punished” in ways that make it somewhat easy for him to escape? Predictably, there’s also a “secret villain” who is easy to figure out if you’ve seen enough of these types of movies.
The “Transformers One” voice performances are perfectly fine, considering that the characters in the movie are robots, not human beings with complex personalities. The “Transformers One” characters who aren’t the core four heroes (Orion Pax, D-16, Alita-1 and B-127) tend to be a bit one-dimensional. Hemsworth and Henry capably handle the dynamics of the friendship-turned-feud between Orion Pax and D-16.
This very male-centric movie could have had more females in prominent speaking roles. The only other notable female character has a small supporting role: Airachnid (voiced by Vanessa Liguori), a spider-like Transformer that can turn into a helicopter. Other characters in “Transformers One” are elderly Alpha Trion (voiced by Laurence Fishburne), villainous Starscream (voiced by Steve Buscemi) and music-loving Jazz (voiced by Evan Michael Lee).
It’s not a secret that certain characters in “Transformers One” will take on new identities that they have in other “Transformers” movies and TV shows with storylines that take place after the events of “Transformers One.” Orion Pax becomes Optimus Prime, heroic leader of the Autobots. D-16 becomes Megatron, evil leader of the Decepticons, the sworn enemies of the Autobots. B-127 (who also give himself the nicknames B and Badassatron in “Transformers One”) becomes Bumblebee, an ally of Optimus Prime.
“Transformers One” offers an interesting but formulaic look into what these characters were like before they were Transformers and how they got their Transformers superpowers. The movie’s brief end-credits scene is energetic but ultimately not necessary. People who are inclined watch sci-fi animated films should find many entertaining aspects to “Transformers One,” which can inspire new fans to watch more “Transformers” movies and TV shows to get a better understanding of the “Transformers” universe.
Paramount Pictures will release “Transformers One” in U.S. cinemas on September 20, 2024.
Some language in French, Japanese, German and Russian with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in the United States, France, Japan and Germany, the action film “John Wick: Chapter 4” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some Asians and African Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class, wealthy and criminal underground.
Culture Clash: Notorious mercenary John Wick fights several opponents in various countries, in order to be released from his servitude punishment from the High Table, a council of 12 crime lords who oversee the underworld’s most powerful criminal groups.
Culture Audience: “John Wick: Chapter 4” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the “John Wick” franchise, star Keanu Reeves, and action-packed movies that can get very violent.
Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård and Marko Zaror in “John Wick: Chapter 4” (Photo by Murray Close/Lionsgate)
“John Wick: Chapter 4” is the most stunning and stylish-looking of the “John Wick” movies. Elaborate fight scenes are the movie’s biggest assets, but there’s also plenty of suspense, well-placed comedy and a meaningful story of humanity at the heart of this ultra-violent movie. “John Wick: Chapter 4” is an ending chapter of this franchise, but an end-credits scene in the movie hints that the saga will continue in another storyline.
Directed by Chad Stahelski, “John Wick: Chapter 4” was written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch. The movie had its world premiere at the 2023 SXSW Film & TV Festival. It’s an epic movie (with a total running time of 169 minutes) that is filled with adrenalin-pumping action that is never boring but can be overwhelming or offensive for people who have a low tolerance for violence in movies. At this point, most people who want to see a “John Wick” movie already that “John Wick” movies have a lot murders and mayhem. Everyone else should be prepared for ths onslaught.
It’s not necessary to see the previous “John Wick” movies, but it helps give better context to some of the relationships in the movie. The plot of “John Wick: Chapter 4” is fairly simple: Notorious mercenary John Wick (played by Keanu Reeves) fights several opponents in various countries, in order to be released from his servitude punishment from the High Table, a council of 12 crime lords who oversee the underworld’s most powerful criminal groups. The current leader of the table is a ruthless sadist named Marquis (played by Bill Skarsgård), who is based in Paris. Even among these criminals, there are rules and codes of conduct that must be followed.
John’s quest leads him from his native United States to various other countries, including Japan, France and Germany. Some of his allies can turn into enemies, while some of his enemies can turn into allies. The characters he encounters include Winston (played Ian McShane), owner of the Continental Hotel in New York City; Continental Hotel concierge Charon (played by Lance Reddick, who died on March 17, 2023, one week before the release date of “John Wick: Chapter 4”); and Bowery King (played by Laurence Fishburne), leader of the Soup Kitchen, a New York City-based underworld intelligence network that is disguised as a homeless shelter.
In “John Wick: Chapter 4,” John has two hit men who have been hired to kill him: blind assassin Caine (played by Donnie Yen) and bounty hunter Tracker (played by Shamier Anderson), who is accompanied by his loyal German Shepherd. While in Japan, John interacts with Shimazu (played by Hiroyuki Sanada), the manager of the Continental Hotel in Osaka, as well as Shimazu’s daughter Akira (played by Rina Sawayama), who is a high-ranking manager at the hotel. Also in the movie are a Russian mafia princess named Katia (played by Natalia Tena); Chidi (played by Marko Zaror), who is Marquis’ second-in-command henchman; and Harbinger (played by Clancy Brown), who is a high-ranking member of the High Table.
Visually, “John Wick: Chapter 4” is the most vibrant of the “John Wick” movies. Dan Laustsen’s exquisite cinematography has gorgeously rich hues and eye-popping camera angles. Some critics might argue that this movie makes violence took glamorous, but there’s no denying that “John Wick: Chapter 4” is an achievement in visual arts for action films. And let’s be clear: The movie has no ambiguity in rooting for who the “good” characters are.
“John Wick: Chapter 4” takes on many qualities of a comic book come to life, such as the way that word fonts look on screen, how the action scenes are choreographed, and the manner in which some of the villains are portrayed. (And to its detriment, “John Wick: Chapter 4” has very simplistic dialogue, similar to a comic book.) Scott Adkins plays a German crime boss named Killa (the leader of the High Table’s German operations), who is a character that looks like he was inspired by the Kingpin villain in Marvel Comics. Killa is a massive thug who wears a business suit and has gold-plated front teeth. You can imagine how those gold teeth will be used as comic relief in one of the fight scenes.
“John Wick: Chapter 4” certainly has some very cartoonish violence. However, the violence gets much more realistic in the last third of the movie. There’s an unusual and somewhat comedic action sequence involving a long flight of stairs that is sure to be one of the most memorable aspects of “John Wick: Chapter 4.” And the last 15 minutes of the movie just might make some viewers cry. “John Wick: Chapter 4” goes beyond what typical action movies do by not just offering unique fight scenes but also stirring up complex emotions for the main characters in ways that can be unexpected.
Lionsgate will release “John Wick: Chapter 4” in U.S. cinemas on March 24, 2023.
Culture Representation: In the documentary film “Is That Black Enough for You?!?,” a predominantly African American group of people (with a few white people), who are all connected to the movie industry in some way, discuss the impact of African American-oriented movies that were made from 1968 to 1978.
Culture Clash: Black filmmakers and cast members had uphill battles dealing with racism and socioeconomic inequalities when making movies centered on African Americans.
Culture Audience: “Is That Black Enough for You?!?” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in cinema history from 1968 to 1978, as well as how sociopolitical issues affected African American movies that were made during this time period.
Suzanne de Passe in “Is That Black Enough for You?!?” (Photo courtesy of Netflix)
The title of the documentary “Is That Black Enough for You?!?” is inspired by this catchphrase being said in director Ossie Davis’ 1970 action comedy film “Cotton Comes to Harlem.” It’s a phrase that can apply to the debates and dilemmas about African American representation on screen and behind the scenes, in the art and business of filmmaking. Writer/director Elvis Mitchell gives elegant narration and an informative retrospective in this noteworthy cultural documentary, which puts a deserving spotlight on African American-oriented movies and filmmakers from 1968 to 1978.
“Is That Black Enough for You?!?” (which had its world premiere at the 2022 New York Film Festival) is the feature-film directorial debut of Mitchell, a longtime film critic and historian. As he explains in the documentary, he chose to focus on the years 1968 to 1978 not just because movies from that 10-year time period had a massive impact on him in his youth but also because its the first major renaissance period when movies centered on or starring African-Americans became mainstream hits in the United States and other parts of the world. Through interviews, archival footage and Mitchell’s superb analysis, “Is That Black Enough for You?!?” takes viewers on a journey that is unique, informational and worth watching by anyone who loves movie history.
Mitchell begins the movie on a personal note, by describing how he developed his passion for on-screen entertainment. He says that he and his family would regularly go to the movies when he was growing up. His grandmother, who was originally from Mississippi, was particularly influential on him. She would describe movies as resembling dreams.
From an early age, Mitchell says he was keenly aware of whether or not he was seeing African Americans like himself on screen. He tells an anecdote about how his grandmother wouldn’t let him and other young people in their family watch “The Andy Griffith Show” comedy series, because there were no black people on the show. His grandmother would say about the black people who weren’t part of the American communities represented on screen: “What do you think happened to them?”
As people who are knowledgeable about U.S. history already know, what happened was that it was legal in the U.S. to segregate white people and people of color until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Since movies are often a reflection of what’s going on in society at the time, the origins of African American cinema’s first major renaissance can reasonably be traced back to the effects of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
It just so happens that 1968 was a flashpoint year for African American history that extended to filmmaking. It was the year that civil rights leader Martin Luther King was assassinated, but it was also a year that Sidney Poitier was one of the biggest movie stars in the world and the first black actor to have this type of movie star status. Poitier helped pave the way not just to have international hit movies with a black person as the star but also to create more opportunities for filmmakers who wanted to make movies with a black-majority cast. It was the first time in movie history that movies with black-majority casts would become big hits and/or have an important influence on mainstream culture.
In the late 1960s and through the 1970s, the Black Power Movement thrived and challenged white supremacist racism permeating through all aspects of society. Mitchell comments in the documentary: “Revolt broke out in the movies too.” It wasn’t enough just for African Americans to be on screen, usually in roles showing subservience to white people. There was a movement to have more movies showing the varieties of African American people and communities that exist, including roles where African Americans could be in charge.
Actor/activist Harry Belafonte, a longtime friend of Poitier (who passed away in 2022), says in the documentary that Poitier made a name for himself in the movies by being the only black man among an overwhelming majority of white people. Although Poitier usually played upstanding, professional men, Poitier’s earliest movies were often about him having to assimilate into a white-majority community or society. The tone, whether overt or subtle, was that the characters that Poitier played in these movies had to make white people feel comfortable around him, rather than the character just being allowed to be himself without having to “accommodate” anyone.
Breaking racial barriers can be an achievement that’s diminished if the person breaking the barrier is treated or perceived as a token. Mitchell comments on the type of success that Poitier had with in the first few decades of Poitier’s career: “Unfortunately, he’s the entertainment industry’s reaction to people of color. Black success in the entertainment industry is like finding a $100 bill on the subway: an unrepeatable phenomenon.”
Belafonte says in the documentary that one of the reasons why he stopped making movies from 1959 to 1970 was that these types of Afro-centric movies just weren’t being greenlit by major movie studios at the rate that Belafonte thinks they should have been. And he didn’t want to take the same old racially demeaning roles that were often offered to African American actors at the time. Belafonte comments on how he dealt with racist attitudes in the entertainment industry, “I’m not going to do anything that I didn’t think was worthy of being done. I have a destination that answers your denial of what I could be.”
Fortunately, many African American filmmakers didn’t want to wait around for major studios to offer them opportunities. “Is That Black Enough for You?!?” gives an excellent overview of the African American independent filmmaking community that grew from the late 1960s onward. Many of these filmmakers hired large numbers of black people in front of and behind the camera.
Among the African American filmmakers who get props in the documentary for being directors who hired a lot of black people from 1969 to 1978 are Charles Burnett (one of the people interviewed in the film), William Greaves, Melvin Van Peebles, Stan Lathan (also interviewed in the documentary), Max Julian, Davis and Poitier. Julian is mentioned as one of the few African American filmmakers at the time who owned his movies. The documentary also gives credit to pre-1960s filmmakers who paved with way with African American-majority casts, including Oscar Micheaux and Alice Guy-Blaché.
Poitier made his feature-film directorial debut with the 1972 Western “Buck and the Preacher,” in which he co-starred with Belafonte. In the documentary, Belafonte says he believes that the movie was not a commercial success because mainstream movie audiences at the time just weren’t ready to see a movie centered on black cowboys. To be fair, Belafonte notes that black audiences didn’t really show up for the movie either. He comments that the movie’s adversaries were “black perception of itself and black perception as the world sees us.”
The documentary mentions the 1968 Western “Once Upon a Time in the West” (directed by Sergio Leone) as one of the few mainstream films of this era that actually had a black person in a significant speaking role: the character of Stony, played by Woody Strode. Although some might think of Stony as a black token, this representation mattered to a lot of people. As an example, it’s mentioned in the documentary that Isaac Hayes (who won an Oscar for composing the music to 1971’s “Shaft”) was influenced by Stony when writing film music.
“Is That Black Enough for You?!?” cites director George Romero’s 1968 horror classic “Night of the Living Dead” as the first hit movie to have a black man (Duane Jones, in the character of Ben) starring in an action hero role. Mitchell says in the narration that what was also groundbreaking about the film was that Ben’s race wasn’t the focal point of “The Night of the Living Dead,” because the movie was about people surviving a zombie invasion. Mitchell notes that “Night of the Living Dead” was embraced by a lot of African American militants at the time because of the parallels between what happened in the movie and what was going on with all the civil unrest in America.
Numerous other seminal feature films starring African Americans are mentioned in “Is That Black Enough for You?!?,” including 1969’s “Putney Swope” (directed by Robert Downey Sr.); 1971’s “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” (directed by Melvin Van Peebles); 1972’s “Super Fly”; 1972’s “Lady Sings the Blues” (directed by Sidney J. Furie); 1972’s “Sounder” (directed by Marvin Ritt); and 1974’s “Claudine” (directed by Jack Starrett). Impactful documentaries during this era included the 1970 Muhammad Ali biography “A.K.A. Cassius Clay” (directed by Jimmy Jacobs) and the 1973 concert film “Save the Children” (directed by Lathan).
“Is That Black Enough for You?!?” also celebrates some of the breakthrough African Americans who were Oscar nominees from 1968 to 1978, including Rupert Crosse (Best Supporting Actor nominee for 1969’s “The Reivers”), James Earl Jones (Best Actor nominee for 1970’s “The Great White Hope”), Diana Ross (Best Actress nominee for “Lady Sings the Blues”), Cicely Tyson (Best Actress nominee for “Sounder”), Paul Winfield (Best Actor nominee for “Sounder”) and Diahann Carroll (Best Actress nominee for “Claudine”). One of the people interviewed in the documentary is Suzanne de Passe, who became the first black woman to get a screenplay Oscar nomination (Best Original Screenplay), for co-writing “Lady Sings the Blues.”
Other people interviewed in the film include entertainers Samuel L. Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Laurence Fishburne, Glynn Turman, Zendaya, Billy Dee Williams, Sheila Frazier, Mario Van Peebles (son of Melvin Van Peebles), Margaret Avery, Roscoe Orman and Antonio Fargas. Louise Archambault Greaves (William Greaves’ widow) and “Super Fly” cinematographer James Signorelli also weigh in with their thoughts. Williams comments on his sex-symbol status that he had, beginning in the 1970s: “It was very funny to me. It was something that had never happened to me before.”
Frazier tells a memorable story about how she was initially rejected for the leading actress role in “Super Fly.” She was so hurt by this rejection that she changed her phone number, only to find out a few months later by randomly meeting one of the filmmakers that they had been trying to contact her during those months because they changed their mind. Fishburne talks about how he was originally cast in “Claudine,” but when Diane Sands (who originally was cast in the title role) died in 1973 of leiomyosarcoma (a rare form of muscle cancer), the filmmakers decided to make major recastings for the film.
Mario Van Peebles tells some great behind-the-scenes stories about his father Melvin, who pioneered the marketing tactic of releasing a movie’s soundtrack before the movie. (“Super Fly” used the same tactic to great success.) Mario Van Peebles says that his father used to have a secretary named Priscilla, who wanted to be an actress in “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” but her boyfriend at the time (a member of Earth, Wind & Fire who is not named in the documentary) wouldn’t let her. However, as a compromise, Melvin convinced Earth, Wind & Fire to write the soundtrack music for the movie.
Mario Van Peebles also tells a story about how his father came up with a clever idea to convince nervous white studio executives to distribute the potentially controversial 1970 comedy film “Watermelon Man.” The movie was about a racist white man (played by African American actor Godfrey Cambridge), who woke up one morning to find out that he had turned into a black man. Mario says that before the meeting with the studio executives, his father payed an African American sanitation worker in the building to be in the screening room and laugh at the jokes in the movie while the executives watched “Watermelon Man.” This “one-man focus group” tactic worked, says Mario Van Peebles, who describes this tactic as being “like racial jiu jitsu.”
The “blaxploitation” films of the 1970s (include those made by actor/producer Rudy Ray Moore) have their share of fans and critics. As mentioned in the documentary, the upside to the “blaxploitation” genre of this era is that they were the first major hit films to have African American women as the central action stars, not just as sidekicks or supporting players. Pam Grier and Tamara Dobson are credited with being pioneers for African American female action stars, with Grier’s 1973 film “Coffy” and Dobson’s 1973 film “Cleopatra Jones” mentioned as their most influential movies. The documentary also mentions some of the low points in blaxploitation films, including “Mandingo” and “Coonskin,” both released in 1975.
This era of African American-oriented filmmaking also gave rise to a new wave of African American movie stars who came from backgrounds other than acting. Ross was famous for being in the Supremes and had a successful solo singing career when she landed her first movie star role in “Lady Sings the Blues.” Richard Pryor was a well-known stand-up comedian before he had his movie breakthrough in “Lady Sings the Blues.” Jim Brown was a football star before he launched his movie career, which included action films such as 1968’s “Kenner” and 1972’s “Black Gunn.”
One of the best things about “Is That Black Enough for You?!?” (which has great editing by Michael Engelken and Doyle Esch) is that this documentary doesn’t just spotlight mainstream hits but it also gives screen time to underrated movie gems that prominently feature African Americans. Greaves’ 1968 “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One” is mentioned as an important experimental film from an African American filmmaker. The 1972 drama “Black Girl” (directed by Davis) is described as an often-overlooked African American movie that’s worth watching.
The 1976 musical drama “Sparkle” (directed by Sam O’Steen) is cited as an influential precursor to the “Dreamgirls” stage musical and movie. The 1975 urban drama “Cornbread, Earl and Me” (directed by Joseph Manduke) was influential to 1991’s “Boyz N the Hood,” says “Boyz N the Hood” co-star Fishburne. And before black superheroes got their own movies with 1997’s “Spawn,” 1998’s “Blade” or 2018’s “Black Panther,” there was 1977’s “Abar, the First Black Superman,” directed by Frank Packard.
The commercial disappointment of the 1978 movie musical “The Wiz” is mentioned as the end of an era, because movie executives began to think that African American-oriented movies were starting to become less popular with the moviegoing public. It then became harder for African American-oriented movies to get financing until a new renaissance emerged in the 1990s, with hit films such as “Boyz N the Hood,” “House Party,” “Menace II Society,” “Friday,” “Set It Off,” “The Best Man” and “Soul Food.” If Mitchell or any other filmmakers want to do a documentary about the 1990s renaissance of African American movies, there would be plenty of people who would be interested.
“Is That Black Enough for You?!?” is more than a love letter to the movies of 1968 to 1978 that celebrated African Americans. It’s also a full immersion into a fascinating culture with a narrative that is very thoughtful and almost poetic. (For example, Mitchell has this to say about some of the music of the movies featured in the documentary: “The scores weren’t just textures, but detonation of thought and sound.”) It’s a documentary that gives people a better appreciation for these movies, as well as inspiration and anticipation for any more creativity to come in African American-oriented filmmaking.
Netflix released “Is That Black Enough for You?!?” in select U.S. cinemas on October 28, 2022. The movie premiered on Netflix on November 11, 2022.