Hosted by Vanessa Williams, this talent-rich film tribute to legendary African-American song and dance artists combines scholarly commentary from Donald Bogle with interview clips featuring Whitney Houston, Quincy Jones, Little Richard, Smokey Robinson, Debbie Allen, Spike Lee and others. While many of the men and women profiled here who blazed the trail for black entertainers in the 20th century are well-known to most--Michael Jackson, Billie Holliday, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Tina Turner, Jimi Hendrix, Louie Armstrong, Paul Robeson and Sammy Davis Jr.--the program does highlight the work of a handful of undeservedly obscure artists, such as the one-legged tap dancer Crip Heard and the Lewis & Martin-like comic acting team of Stump & Stumpy. Highlights include the Nicholas Brothers' incredible tap duet (which Gregory Hines considers the best tap sequence ever filmed) from the 1943 film Stormy Weather, Paul Robeson's classic rendition of "Old Man River" from the 1936 Showboat and Aretha Franklin asking for a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T in a clip from the 1980 hit The Blues Brothers. [Note: DVD extras include additional interview footage and a couple of bonus clips, including one featuring Sister Rosetta Tharpe playing gospel electric guitar!] Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)
It's Black Entertainment
(2000) 80 min. VHS: $9.98, DVD: $14.98. Showtime Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Closed captioned. ISBN: 1-929732-51-1 (dvd). Volume 16, Issue 6
It's Black Entertainment
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