In solidarity with #BLM, the Criterion Collection — an imprint that brings prestigious, foreign, classic, and independent films to DVD and Blu-ray — and its streaming service the Criterion Channel announced last week that they will be making some of their films by and/or about African-Americans free to stream on their website and apps without a subscription. Here’s what they’re offering:
The Watermelon Woman There aren’t very many films about black lesbians now, and there certainly weren’t many in 1996, when filmmaker Cheryl Dunye made her feature debut with this comedy about a lesbian documentary director (played by Dunye) who dates a white woman. Criterion Channel streams other Dunye short and feature films as well, but they’re behind a paywall.
My Brother’s Wedding Charles Burnett’s 1983 second feature was more or less unseen until it turned up as a bonus feature on the 2007 DVD of Burnett’s debut Killer of Sheep. Now it’s streaming on the Criterion Channel. It’s a low-key drama set in L.A.’s South Central.
Black Mother The Channel streams four films by Khalik Allah, whose most high-profile gig was probably cinematographer on Beyonce’s Lemonade. The most recent of those four films, Black Mother, is the free one here, and is a lyrical documentary about the people of Jamaica.
Portrait of Jason Director Shirley Clarke (The Cool World) made this 1967 profile of Jason Holliday, whose persona and story are hard to forget and harder to reconcile (details are sometimes fuzzy). Still well worth a look.
Suzanne, Suzanne This 25-minute documentary focuses on Suzanne, the troubled niece of Camille Billops, who directed along with James Hatch.
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm The title’s a mouthful, but this avant-garde effort by William Greaves, from 1968, has pleased a lot of people since Steve Buscemi and Steven Soderbergh helped get it re-released almost thirty years later. There is also a sequel, included on Criterion’s physical release of this title. The Channel is also offering an hour-long video about Greaves and a 12-minute interview with Buscemi for free.
Losing Ground/The Scar of Shame A double shot. Losing Ground (1982) is the only feature-length film by Kathleen Collins, the first African-American woman in decades to helm a narrative feature. The movie makes reference to The Scar of Shame (1929), a silent melodrama and early “race movie,” meaning it was made for black audiences and starring a black cast. (The director, however, was white.)
Black Panthers A short 1970 documentary by legendary French director Agnès Varda, focusing on the Oakland demonstration about the imprisonment of Black Panther Huey P. Newton.
A Well-Spent Life Eccentric documentarian Les Blank (Burden of Dreams) points his camera at Texas musician Mance Lipscomb, said to be one of the all-time great guitarists.
Down in the Delta Maya Angelou only made one film, and it was this family drama from 1998 starring Alfre Woodard. What’s always interested me is that Wesley Snipes co-produced and appeared in it the same year he did Blade. I guess he used his action-flick clout to help Angelou get the movie made.
Cane River This seems like a familiar refrain when it comes to African-American cinema, but this 1982 film was considered lost until it turned up in 2013 and got a restoration a couple years ago. It’s a love story directed by Horace Jenkins, who didn’t live to see it released, and the movie was shelved. Richard Pryor had managed to catch a screening and tried to get Warner Bros. to buy it for distribution, but they didn’t bite.
And When I Die, I Won’t Stay Dead Billy Woodberry’s 2015 documentary about poet Bob Kaufman, who was called the “black American Rimbaud.”
Daughters of the Dust Catch up with Julie Dash’s visionary debut before its 30th anniversary next year.
Body and Soul Last but not least is this 1925 silent film, made by trailblazing African-American director Oscar Micheaux and starring the acclaimed Paul Robeson in his film debut. It’s an authentic piece of black cinema history. You can also watch it with commentary, and there’s a 9-minute video about Micheaux’s films.
The Criterion Channel app is available for Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and Android. You can also watch at their website, www. criterionchannel.com. A 14-day free trial is available, after which the subscription cost is $10.99 a month or $99.99 a year.
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