Entertainment Weekly celebrates the rich legacy of Black film and filmmakers in more than 100 years of movies. From Oscar Micheaux, a self-made auteur who in 1919 directed the first feature-length movie with an all-Black cast, to Ava Duvernay, Jordan Peele, Regina King and more new artists who are defining the future of Black movie-making. From first African-American Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel to legends like Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier to the stars of today: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Michael B. Jordan, Mahershala Ali, Tiffany Haddish and many more. Includes interviews with Spike Lee, Radha Black, Peter Ramsey (director Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse) and others. A must for all movie lovers.
A Celebration of Black Film • A Century of Black Excellence at the Movies
Forward: What Makes a Black Film ‘Black’? • With more Black talent in Hollywood than ever, it is a great time to celebrate Black movies—if only everyone agreed on what that means.
The Homesteader • 1919: A self-made auteur, Oscar Micheaux wrote, directed and financed his silent-era debut, which earned a place in history: the first feature-length film with an all-Black cast.
Silent Gems • FOUR MORE EARLY FILMS TO KNOW, INCLUDING ONE DIRECTED BY A BLACK WOMAN FROM KANSAS—IN 1922
Evelyn Preer: Early Movie It Girl • A SINGING-DANCING-ACTING TRIPLE THREAT, SHE MADE THE LEAP FROM SILENTS TO TALKIES. THEN TRAGEDY STRUCK
The Emperor Jones • 1933: As powerfully embodied by Paul Robeson, the self-determined hero of the title upturned the stereotypically negative roles that were making movie stars in the 1930s
Rebels Without a Pause • DECADES AFTER THE EMPEROR JONES, RACIST TROPES REMAIN—BUT THESE FILMS CONFRONT THEM HEAD-ON
Hattie McDaniel: Unapologetic Diva • THE ACTRESS BECAME THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN TO WIN AN OSCAR. WHILE THE GONE WITH THE WIND ROLE IS SEEN AS OFFENSIVE, MCDANIEL KEPT HER DIGNITY INTACT
Carmen Jones • 1954: Passion! Jealousy! Tragedy! They don’t make films like this anymore. Maybe that’s not a bad thing?
Musicals That Move Us • FROM MORALITY TALES TO SOULFUL UPDATES OF OLD CLASSICS—THESE MOVIES LEAVE A SONG IN OUR HEARTS
Lena Horne: the Trailblazer • WHEN THE SINGER-ACTRESS-ACTIVIST DIED IN 2010, LIFELONG FAN ALICIA KEYS SANG HORNE’S PRAISES
A Raisin in the Sun • 1961: The original Broadway cast of Lorraine Hansberry’s pivotal domestic drama brings the Younger family’s dreams to a wide movie audience
Sidney Poitier: Comedy’s Secret Weapon • IT WAS AS IF OLIVIER SUDDENLY MADE CADDYSHACK: WHEN THE URBANE STAR OF RAISIN TOOK UP DIRECTING, HE SHOWED OFF A KNACK FOR HUMOR—AND BOX OFFICE
Family Dramas That Keep it Real • PLAYS, NOVELS, A SCREENWRITER’S OWN RELATIVES AND AN IMPROBABLE TRUE STORY BRING VIEWERS HOME
Viola Davis: the Truth Teller • THE FIRST BLACK PERFORMER TO WIN ACTING’S TRIPLE CROWN (OSCAR, TONY, EMMY) HONORS HER CHARACTERS BY ‘EMBRACING EVERY ASPECT OF WHO THEY ARE’
Sweet Sweetback • 1971: The word was first deployed as a criticism of a genre that traded in arguably negative images of African-American life. But Blaxploitation proved a valuable new outlet for Black voices
Gordon Parks: Restless Spirit • THE PHOTOJOURNALIST TURNED DIRECTOR-AUTHOR-MUSICIAN PUT BLACK ACTION HEROES ONSCREEN WHILE FIGHTING FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN REAL LIFE
More from a Defiant Film Era • BIG ON STYLE AND FUNKALICIOUS SOUNDTRACKS, BLAXPLOITATION QUICKLY SET ITS OWN TERMS
Pam Grier: New American Badass • DECADES AFTER HER REIGN AS THE MOVIES’ KICK-ASS QUEEN, PAM GRIER RETURNED TO RECLAIM HER THRONE
Sounder • 1972: Nominated for Best Picture, Actor, Actress and Screenplay, Martin Ritt’s Depression-era tearjerker tests a loving family with hard...
