The key films of iconoclastic filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles—who died September 21, 2021, at the age of 89—are compiled in this handsome boxed Criterion Collection set that will surprise viewers who may only be familiar with Van Peebles’ signature work Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971).
Having made a couple of short films in 1957, Van Peebles tried to gain entry into the Hollywood studio system but was rebuffed. Traveling to France, he wrote novels, worked as a journalist, and eventually took advantage of a rule that granted writers a director’s card and money to adapt their own stories.
The Story of a Three Day Pass (1967) was released the same year as the similarly-themed Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner but couldn’t be more different. The film opens with black soldier Turner (Harry Baird) earning a promotion and a three-day pass, with his commander’s caveat to not break the “trust” the latter has placed in Turner—code for it’s okay to visit Parisian galleries and museums, but stay away from white Frenchwomen.
Naturally, Turner meets one, Miriam (Nicole Berger), in a nightclub, and the pair charmingly bond while struggling with their respective limited French and English vocabularies. Deciding to drive to the beach the next day, Turner and Miriam banter, stop at a hotel, make love, and generally have a wonderful time. But after reaching the ocean, they are spied by a trio of white soldiers from Turner’s base and he fears that the commander will be informed, jeopardizing his promotion.
The Story of a Three Day Pass is an interracial love story that could not have been filmed in America at the time. In one of the film’s best sequences, Turner and Miriam embrace in the hotel room while their arms tentatively reach behind them, groping for the bed. As they have sex, Turner fantasizes that he is an 18th-century aristocrat riding home to his manor, where he discovers a roaring fire and Miriam waiting in bed.
Miriam, meanwhile, envisions herself being chased and caught by African tribesmen who offer her up to their leader Turner. Some might consider these scenes offensive, but they come across as far less transgressive than playful, an impression furthered by Van Peebles’ use of a wide range of French New Wave cinematic effects, including superimposed shots, jump-cuts, and innovative editing, all punctuated by a jazzy soundtrack.
Winning acclaim for The Story of a Three Day Pass, Van Peebles was now invited to work in the Hollywood studio system that had previously dismissed him, signing a three-picture deal with Columbia. The first (and only) movie he made for the studio was Watermelon Man (1970), which was scripted by Herman Raucher (Summer of ‘42).
Shot in the style of a TV sitcom, with over-the-top acting, the satirical story finds white insurance salesman Jeff Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge, initially seen in whiteface) living the American dream with his wife Althea (Estelle Parsons) and their two children (Scott Garrett, Erin Moran). Gerber, a casual bigot rather than an avowed white supremacist, wakes up one morning to discover that he is black.
Initially, Gerber blames his sunlamp and he bathes in milk and uses skin-cleaning products to try to scrub the black off—unsuccessfully. Before long, the neighbors are asking the Gerbers to move, Gerber’s boss is pushing Gerber to sell insurance policies in black neighborhoods, and Gerber’s wife has decided that romantic Wednesday nights need to be put on hold.
In one of the best scenes, a demoralized Gerber goes to a black nightclub where he sits at the bar while a stripper gyrates behind him: ever so slightly Gerber begins to move his shoulders to the funky beat as he finally begins to accept his blackness.
Van Peebles and Columbia had many disagreements over Watermelon Man, and Van Peebles ultimately went the independent route with his next film, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, which opens with the defiant notice, “This film is dedicated to all the Brothers and Sisters who had enough of the Man.” Marketed as being “Rated X by an All-White Jury,” the film combined a critique of police brutality with elements of pornography (making a porn film allowed Van Peebles to avoid union rules regarding hiring for various filmmaking positions).
In the outrageous title sequence, a 10-year-old Sweetback (Mario Van Peebles, Melvin’s son) is seen naked writhing on a nude woman, who christens the child with his nickname, after which the image changes to reveal an adult Sweetback (now Melvin). Raised in an L.A. brothel, Sweetback becomes a sex worker who performs in naughty skits for mixed audiences. One night, two white policemen appear, asking to borrow a black man to temporarily arrest (and subsequently release) in order to calm community outrage over a murder.
Sweetback becomes their “suspect,” but en route to the station, the policemen also capture a black revolutionary named Moo Moo, who is driven to a field, where he is brutally beaten. At first, passively watching, Sweetback suddenly takes his own loose handcuffs and uses them to pummel the officers unconscious. This incident sets in motion a picaresque odyssey, as Sweetback runs from the police while also engaging in various sexual trysts.
As in The Story of a Three Day Pass, Van Peebles here employs a number of innovative cinematic techniques, especially during extended scenes of Sweetback running through a Watts L.A. cityscape and later across the barren desert in overhead shots, accompanied by a propulsive jazz score. Although it differs from its successors in many respects, “Sweetback” is credited with launching the “blaxploitation” genre that led to early ‘70s hits including “Shaft” and “Superfly.”
The final film of the quartet is Don’t Play Us Cheap (1972), a filmed version of Van Peebles’ titular Broadway musical starring Esther Rolle as Miss Maybell, who is hosting a lively Saturday night birthday party for her adult niece Earnestine (Rhetta Hughes).
Hoping to score points with the Devil, two imps—bats who later take human form—crash the party with the intent to break it up and spoil the evening. The idea is to bust the records, drink up all the booze, and eat all the food, but the records only briefly bend, more bottles are forthcoming, and all one of the imps eats is the appetizers—the main course is yet to come.
As the night progresses, several of the attendees sing songs, including Joshie Jo Armstead’s beautiful rendition of “You Cut Up the Clothes in the Closet of My Dreams,” George “Ooppee” McCurn’s heartfelt “Quittin’ Time,” and the call and response of “The Book of Life.” Van Peebles again uses cinematic effects—breaking the confines of the stage—while serving up a joyous celebration of black resilience and community bonds.
All of the films are presented with 4K digital restorations, with extras including 2003’s Baadasssss!, a fictional feature film based on director Van Peebles’ diaries from the making of Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, directed by and starring Mario Van Peebles, with commentary by father and son; new conversations featuring Van Peebles, film critics, filmmakers, and scholars; a 1997 audio commentary by Melvin Van Peebles on Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song; three early short films directed by Melvin Van Peebles; the 2005 documentary How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It), on Van Peebles’ life and career; the 2004 featurette “The Story Behind ‘Baadasssss!’: The Birth of Black Cinema”; archival interviews with Van Peebles; episodes from “Black Journal”; introductions to all four films by Van Peebles; and a 54-page book featuring essays on the films, including an introduction by film scholar Racquel J. Gates.
An excellent compilation of the major works of a seminal independent filmmaker who is rightly called the godfather of black cinema, this is highly recommended. Editor’s Choice.
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