A sassy detective who answers to the name Shaft.
A surprise (and very handsome) dinner guest by the name of John Prentice.
An optometrist who decides to search for her birth mother and is shocked to learn she's white.
A young black woman who passes for white, a pretense that wounds her mother.
These characters and their movies -- "Shaft," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "Secrets & Lies," and "Imitation of Life" -- are among the many recommended by Pittsburghers for Black History Month. Asked to temporarily turn video critic and suggest a rental for February, they singled out titles that were entertaining, enlightening, educational or a combination thereof.
A few choices, such as the movies that instantly came to John Thompson's mind, were rejected as being premature. The superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools suggested "Remember the Titans" and "Men of Honor," neither of which is on video yet.
"Remember the Titans," the real-life story of Coach Herman Boone (portrayed by Denzel Washington) who taught respect and successful strategy to an integrated Virginia football team, is scheduled to be released March 20. "Men of Honor," starring Cuba Gooding Jr. as the first black member of the U.S. Navy's deep-sea diving team, is due April 10.
"Remember the Titans" also got the nod from Lloyd McClendon, the first black man to lead a Pittsburgh professional sports franchise.
Talking about Coach Boone, McClendon said, "He chose his players not on the basis of the color of their skin but on the level of their talent. This coach was able to take a group of black and white students who had never played together and have them rise above their cultural and racial biases to become successful and, in the process, was able to unite the community."
Doesn't get much better than that. "Titans" would be an excellent choice for Black History Month 2002 or just a regular spring night.
In the meantime, here are some videos you can look for this month. See also the sidebar with spillover choices and other recommendations.
Minette Seate, "Black Horizons" producer, "On Q" contributing producer and movie reviewer: "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," the 1967 film starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy as parents of a daughter in love with a black man.
"No. 1, it starred Beah Richards, who was an amazing actress and nobody ever paid enough attention to her and she recently died. She played Sidney Poitier's mom. Two, seeing Beah Richards and Katharine Hepburn together, even though they only have a few scenes, is an amazing thing. And three, as old as that story is, it still has the power to shock people. Sidney Poitier was a young, beautiful thing, he's just starting to be this amazing actor and this guy [Tracy] who has all these gifts, he's kind of at the end." This proved to be Tracy's last film.
Adrian Brown, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder: "Soul Food," a heartwarming film about what happens when a family matriarch falls ill. "This film is about family. The grandmother was the 'heart' of the family and kept everyone together. Although the sisters had their differences and were going through difficult times, they were still able to put all that aside and be a strong family."
Patricia Prattis Jennings, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra pianist: "Secrets & Lies," a 1996 British film about a black optometrist (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) who seeks out her birth mother (Brenda Blethyn) and is shocked to learn she is white. "It's a study in racial attitudes and how people react to one another and how certain racial fear can be dealt with and perhaps conquered, when people have a chance to know one another."
George Miles, president and CEO of WQED Pittsburgh: "The original 'Shaft' with Richard Roundtree. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed the original until I saw the remake. I loved 'Shaft.' It was a very positive image on the screen about a guy who wasn't a criminal but a guy fighting crime." Toss in that memorable Isaac Hayes music and fashion sense (yes, Miles had a leather jacket) and you've got a winner, from 1971.
Sandra Lee Gould, Homewood author and artist: "The Matrix," the sci-fi blockbuster starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne that has been oft-imitated but never duplicated. "It really speaks to some of the things Fishburne was trying to do in 'Hoodlum' but on an interior and spiritual level. It was just sort of terrific to have a strong black male character in a positive leadership role, standing very firm and against great opposition for the things he believed in and pushing to make a better, more humane, human world."
Brenda Waters, KDKA anchor and reporter: "The Women of Brewster Place," a 1989 TV movie starring Oprah Winfrey, Cicely Tyson and Robin Givens and based on Gloria Naylor's novel about seven women battling racism, violence and poverty. "I thought it was an excellent drama about a group of women living in an apartment building and they each had their own struggles, and it showed how they pulled together and changed their own lives. It showed how a community can make things for the better."
Chris Moore, "Black Horizons" host and "On Q" co-host: "In His Father's Shoes," a 1997 Showtime movie about a magic pair of wingtips that allow a son to literally step into his late father's life -- and become the dad at age 13. "I first saw it in a hotel room on cable and I think you can rent it in Blockbuster now. It's called 'In His Father's Shoes' and stars Lou Gossett and it has a whole family of people in it. It's really good and heartwarming and loving and nothing blows up in it --although there are a couple of bullies. I enjoyed it very much."
Pam Golden, director of community affairs for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust: "Glory," an exquisitely photographed Civil War film about the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts, a troop of enlisted black men -- many runaway slaves -- who fought for the right to go to battle. "It's a poignant story. I don't know exactly how accurate it is but it is historically based and beautifully acted. I just think it's important because it shows the role black men played in the Civil War, one that we might not traditionally think of."
Doris Carson-Williams, president of the African-American Chamber of Commerce: "Imitation of Life," from 1959 and starring Lana Turner as a driven actress, Juanita Moore as her black housekeeper and Susan Kohner as Moore's light-skinned daughter. "It's about a mother and daughter, and the daughter tries to pass for white and in the end, when her mother dies, how terrible she feels for having betrayed the family and culture. It's a good movie. It's a tearjerker."
Debbie Norrell, client relations manager for U.S. Bank Network Services at Station Square: "Wylie Avenue Days," WQED's 1991 documentary about the heyday of the Hill District. "It shows us where we were at one time when things were good here. Then, you have to look at the reason those things were good -- we weren't permitted in majority-owned businesses. That's why our businesses were thriving so much. ... This lets you look at how things were back in the '20s and '30s, what things were like in Pittsburgh."
Kevin Young, Pittsburgh Pirate first baseman: "Malcolm X," Spike Lee's biopic starring Denzel Washington. "It expressed a side of Malcolm X that the majority of America never knew. Although it's extremely difficult to sum up a man's life in a three-hour film, it should show both minorities and white Americans the journey of black Americans."
Esther Bush, president and CEO of Urban League of Pittsburgh: Another vote for "Malcolm X." "It was just an awesome film that I thought showed a decent overview of Malcolm X's life and really provided some new information for people who might not have totally understood him. And there's just one scene in there where a black man was beaten by police and they were encouraging the police to take him to the hospital and they wouldn't. Malcolm X and his people marched over to Harlem Hospital and they were gathered out in front of the hospital and the police were trying to ask them to disperse and they weren't moving.
"And Malcolm X talked to the police officer and then he said he would get them to disperse if they gave proper medical attention to the black man they had picked up. And of course it was Denzel Washington, who's all of that. And he turns around and looks at, it seems like hundreds of people, with the Muslim brothers standing in front -- suits, ties, hats, trenchcoats -- and all he does is point his finger down the street and everybody turned at one time and marched. And the police officer said, 'That's too much power for any one man.' I love that scene. Love the scene."
Elaine Effort, KQV reporter: "Amistad," Steven Spielberg's epic about an 1839 rebellion aboard a Spanish slave ship, "because it's based on a true event during the Middle Passage, which isn't really the typical source of material for Hollywood."
Jay Harris, WPGH weeknight co-anchor: "Eyes on the Prize," the documentary series that ran on PBS and is available for purchase. "I recorded it and bought the book that goes with it. It's thorough, it's easy to watch, easy to understand, it has pictures and videos from the time periods. ... It's a good piece of history and it's very entertaining, too."
Derek C. Riley, community relations representative for Duquesne Light: "In the Heat of the Night," starring Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier as a Southern sheriff and Philadelphia detective who join forces to solve a Mississippi murder case. "You had two tremendous actors -- Sidney Poitier, who was kind of new to the industry, and Rod Steiger, and the relationship that developed between the two of them and the significance of the time in which it occurred, the location," all make it noteworthy.
Edna B. McKenzie, historian and pioneering Pittsburgh Courier journalist: "The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords," a documentary from filmmaker Stanley Nelson that first aired here in February 1999. "It was shown on PBS, it's about African-American newspapers and the Pittsburgh Courier, at one time was the biggest and the best. That has been shown a good deal, but I'm sure everybody hasn't seen it."
Patricia Pugh Mitchell, head of Kuumba Trust: "W.E.B. Du Bois -- A Biography in Four Voices," a two-hour documentary. "W.E.B. Du Bois is certainly a very prolific individual in terms of being one of the founders of the NAACP back in 1910 and also headquartered right in New York City, centered right in the Harlem Renaissance, which is a period that not a whole lot of folks know enough about -- in terms of the outpouring of African-American political thought, of art, of literature. It's just very informative and very appropriate, I think, especially for viewing around Black History Month."
Billy Jackson, Community Media program director: "Paul Robeson: Here I Stand," a documentary directed by St. Claire Bourne and narrated by Ossie Davis. "Not only is it well-crafted -- it's good storytelling -- but Paul Robeson is also one of the more important Black Renaissance people of the previous century."
Yvonne Cook, executive assistant to Allegheny County Chief Executive Jim Roddey: A trio of children's videos: "Dreadlocks and the Three Bears," which transforms the Goldilocks tale into a lesson about identity, heritage and roots; and "Through Loona's Door," about two children and the owner of a bookstore who travel back in time to meet Carter G. Woodson; and "Champagne and The Talking Eggs," two separate stories narrated by Danny Glover. "The Talking Eggs" is based on a Creole folk tale and focuses on an adolescent girl who befriends an elderly woman; "Champagne" is about a teen-ager with a mother in prison and a drive to succeed all on her own.
"There's not always a lot of children's videos that people know about. I have nieces and I always look for videos and African-American books," on the Internet and when visiting African-American bookstores out of town, Cook said. "I think it's so important that young people get exposed to a myriad of work being produced by African-Americans."
One site that lists the first two for purchase: www.littleafrica.com/amvideos/children.html
If you can't locate "Champagne and Talking Eggs" in a store, try www.amazon.com.
