Browse Documentary. African American Heritage

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When We Were Kings

Actors: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King, James Brown, B.B. King
ASIN : 630451493X
Sales Rank : 30495
Director : Leon Gast
Studio : Polygram USA Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9786304514931
ISBN : 630451493X
UPC : 044004584722
Release Date : December 22, 2002
Publisher : Polygram USA Video
Manufacturer : Polygram USA Video
Label : Polygram USA Video
Running Time : 89

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Decades ago, documentary filmmaker Leon Gast attempted to complete a feature about the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" championship bout between boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire. Sundry complications, though, held up the project until its release in 1996. It was well worth the delay. From Gast's perspective of modern history, the six weeks Ali and Foreman were forced to spend waiting in Africa for their fight to take place now looks like an important moment in America's cultural understanding of African American roots. In a nutshell, Ali had been stripped of his heavyweight champion title because his opposition to the Vietnam War-era draft had landed him in prison. Reigning champ Foreman agreed to a Don King-promoted match in Kinshasa, but after all parties got there the fight was put off. Gast captures the charismatic Ali, in the ensuing days and weeks, going out among the people and getting to know them while the more reclusive Foreman keeps to his own company. Meanwhile, King brings over black American artists such as James Brown and the Spinners to mix it up with African musicians. The sense of excitement and connection is thrilling, as is the boxing footage of Foreman and Ali finally taking swings at one another in a titanic duel. Writers George Plimpton and Norman Mailer, each of whom was covering the fight as journalists, are on hand to recollect the details. Whether you're a fight fan or not, this is a unique experience and a fascinating insight into America's sense of identity. --Tom Keogh

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A Great Day in Harlem/The Spitball Story

Actors: Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Hinton, Marian McPartland, Art Blakey, Gerry Mulligan
ASIN : B00000ILEQ
Sales Rank : 99663
Director : Jean Bach
Studio : Image Entertainment
Region Code : 0
Format : Black & White, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0014381556728
UPC : 014381556728
Release Date : December 22, 1999
Publisher : Image Entertainment
Manufacturer : Image Entertainment
Label : Image Entertainment
Running Time : 81

Description

A Great Day in Harlem (1994, 60 min.) - The story and sounds behind the most famous photo in the history of jazz. In August of 1958, in front of a Harlem brownstone, first-time photographer Art Kane assembled 57 of the greatest jazz stars of all time and snapped a picture that would live forever. Narrated by Quincy Jones, this Academy Award-nominated documentary includes interviews with nearly 30 jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and Art Blakey, home movies, and rare performance footage. The Spitball Story (1997, 21 min.) - A short film about the firing of Dizzy Gillespie by Cab Calloway for one too many practical jokes.

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And what a day it was: nearly 60 jazz musicians, gathered on a Harlem street one morning in 1958 for what photographer Art Kane rightly, if immodestly, calls "the greatest picture of that era of musicians ever taken" (incredibly, it was also Kane's first professional shoot). Like Ken Burns's Jazz, this 60-minute documentary, an Oscar nominee in 1995, is a mixed-media affair: still photographs and 8 millimeter color footage (shot by bassist Milt Hinton and his wife) of the day itself are combined with interviews, background music, and performance clips of some of the players involved (from legends like Lester Young, Count Basie, Charles Mingus, and Thelonious Monk to lesser-knowns like Maxine Sullivan, Red Allen, and Vic Dickenson) to tell the story. There are anecdotes about 35-cent dinners, all-night jams, and film loaded upside down; about pianist Horace Silver's vegetarian diet and trumpeter Roy Eldridge's high notes; about old friends reuniting and what Hinton calls "just sheer happiness." Looking at the photo years later, Dizzy Gillespie sums it up simply: "There's a whole lotta people I like on there!"

And speaking of Diz, the DVD also includes "The Spitball Story" (produced, like the Great Day documentary, by Jean Bach), an entertaining if slight tale about the trumpeter's days with bandleader Cab Calloway. Seems Gillespie, a renowned practical joker, delighted in launching spitballs at his fellow musicians. Calloway wasn't amused--especially when one particular projectile landed onstage near him. Although Gillespie for once was not the culprit, the two had a nasty confrontation, resulting in Dizzy's firing from the band. It was, he recalls, "the best move I ever made in music." --Sam Graham

Price: $17.98

The Death of a Prophet: Malcolm X

Actor: Morgan Freeman; Yolanda King
ASIN : B0001MBPK6
Sales Rank : 92900
Director : Woody King Jr.
Studio : Miracle Pictures
Region Code : 1
Format : NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0090328903244
UPC : 090328903244
Release Date : December 02, 2002
Publisher : Miracle Pictures
Manufacturer : Miracle Pictures
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Miracle Pictures
Running Time : 62

Product Description

This increadible film follows the events in the final twenty fourhours of the life of controversial. Religious and political leader malcolm X. Fanatics tried to firebomb his home. They tried to murder him while he sleep. Why way he so hatted? Where were the police on the day of his assassination? How did his killers manage to escape?

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Cornel West - A Dialogue on Race in the Church and Society

Actors: Henry Louis Gates, Morgan Freeman, Samuel L. Jackson, Martin Luther King, John Singleton
ASIN : B001KMZEHG
Sales Rank : 106924
Director : Jamie Moffett
Studio : Jamie Moffett Media Design & Production
Region Code : 1
Format : NTSC, Widescreen, Color
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0687474839994
UPC : 687474839994
Publisher : Jamie Moffett Media Design & Production
Manufacturer : Jamie Moffett Media Design & Production
Label : Jamie Moffett Media Design & Production
Running Time : 55

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"Dr. West's work wrestles with the problem of evil in modernity. Heurges us to ponder the question: how did I become so well-adjusted toinjustice? And how can one muster the courage to speak truth, even whenthat unnerves and unsettles?"Rosemary Cowan, Assistant Professor of Political ScienceAuthor of, Cornel West: The Politics of Redemption

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Tupac Shakur - Thug Angel (The Collector's Edition)

Actors: The Notorious B.I.G., Anthony 'Treach' Criss, Davey D, Snoop Dogg, Yafeu Fula
ASIN : B0000714AR
Sales Rank : 48487
Director : Peter Spirer
Studio : Image Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0014381549522
UPC : 014381549522
Release Date : December 10, 2002
Publisher : Image Entertainment
Manufacturer : Image Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Image Entertainment
Running Time : 92

Description

This incredible box set is a must for every fan of the legendary Tupac Shakur, an amazing artist who left a lasting impact on the world of hip-hop music. With music, interviews and much, much more, this is the definitive portrait of Tupac's incredible life. Included are the DVD that tells it all--"Thug Angel: The Life of an Outlaw"--plus the "Music From and Inspired By Thug Angel" CD; the brand-new Tupac biography "Holler If You Hear Me" by hip-hop intellectual Michael Eric Dyson, author of "I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr," and "Making Malcom: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X"; and the all-new bonus DVD "Off the Cutting Room Floor," with more than three hours of never-before-released footage and rare interviews, including behind-the-scenes footage with Tupac and his crew, an uncut interview with Tupac's stepfather Dr. Mutulu Shakur from Atlanta State Prison, commentary with director Peter Spirer, Producers Quincy "QD3" Jones III and Casey Suchan, commentary and an insightful look at Tupac with producers Leila Steinberg and Tracy Robinson, an extended interview with author Michael Eric Dyson, exclusive Biggie and Tupac footage, unedited interview with Tupac at age 17, full-length Tupac interview and behind-the-scenes at the gun range, never-before-released personal audio recordings of Tupac talking about all aspects of his life and career, and revealing interviews with Tupac's stepbrother Mopreme Shakur, Shock G, Treach, Thuglife, Snoop and Edi of the Outlawz, Big Syke, Quincy Jones and Rashida Jones.

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The title says it all: Tupac Shakur was as much angel as outlaw. Unlike some of the other profiles made in the wake of his passing, Thug Angel doesn't focus only on the first few days of his career or the last few days before his death, but on his entire life. That makes it valuable as much for the fan as for the merely curious. The production was backed by friends and associates and includes never-before-seen material. It's surprisingly evenhanded, juxtaposing footage of Tupac at 17, for example--sounding mature beyond his years--with an interview conducted years later on a shooting range. Passion was still in full effect, but idealism had been replaced by paranoia. Peter Spirer's film is a documentary, not a music video, and contains only snippets of Tupac's work. At its best, Thug Angel makes a compelling case for his continued relevance as an artist and activist. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

New Price: $55.69

Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation

Actors: Winnie Mandela, Nelson Mandela, F.W. de Klerk, Eugene Terre'Blanche
ASIN : 6304834195
Sales Rank : 28223
Director : Angus Gibson, Jo Menell
Studio : Palm Pictures / Umvd
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9786304834190
ISBN : 6304834195
UPC : 044004669528
Release Date : December 19, 1998
Publisher : Palm Pictures / Umvd
Manufacturer : Palm Pictures / Umvd
Label : Palm Pictures / Umvd
Running Time : 118

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A vibrantly presented and emotionally charged portrait of the dynamic African leader, this needed tighter narration to close informational gaps. For instance, there is very little mention of F.W. de Klerk, although as the corecipient of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize (along with Nelson Mandela), he most certainly figured greatly in the peaceful passing of the political baton. It may leave you with a few questions but otherwise captures Mandela's remarkable spirit. It follows him from his early days and tribal education through his work with the African National Congress to his election as Africa's first black president. Produced by Jonathan Demme, this wisely includes poetry of Africa, as much a part of Mandela's story as his own inner strength. Nominated for 1997 Academy Award for Best Documentary. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Browse African American Heritage Online

When We Were Kings

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A Great Day in Harlem/The Spitball Story

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The Death of a Prophet: Malcolm X

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America Beyond the Color Line

Cornel West - A Dialogue on Race in the Church and Society

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Muhammad Ali: The Greatest

Tupac Shakur - Thug Angel (The Collector's Edition)

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The Last Days of Malcolm X Death of a Prophet/The Tallest Tree in the Forest

Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation

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The Life and Time Of Nelson Mandela - MADIBA