10,000 Black Men Named George 2002  R, 90 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Robert Townsend
Cast: Andre Braugher, Mario Van Peebles, Charles S. Dutton, Brock Peters, Carla Brothers, Karen Eyo, Ellen Holly, Ardon Bess, Kedar Brown, Ernestine Jackson
This made-for-TV film is a biographical account of journalist Asa Philip Randolph (Andre Braugher) and railway porter Ashley Totten (Mario Van Peeples) who had a major impact on labor and race relations in the 1920s when they fought to organize a porters' union.
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 B.A.P.S. 1997  PG-13, 90 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Robert Townsend
Cast: Halle Berry, Martin Landau, Ian Richardson, Natalie Desselle, Troy Beyer, Luigi Amadeo, Jonathan Fried, Dennis Rodman, Pierre Edwards, Bernie Mac
B.A.P.S. is an acronym for Black American Princesses. This film is a satire with waitress Nisi (Halle Berry) and hairdresser Mickey (Natalie Desselle) as two young women who travel to Hollywood to audition for a music video and to Beverly Hills in search of a million dollar husband.
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Book of Love 2002 N/R, 91 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Jeffrey W. Byrd
Cast: Eric George, Salli Richardson, Anthony "Treach" Criss, Mari Morrow, Richard T. Jones, Robin Givens, Adam Clark, Jo D. Jonz, Robert Townsend, Angelle Brooks, Denise Dowse, John Salley
This mockumentary follows dysfunctional relationships of three bachelors (Anthony "Treach" Criss, Eric George, and Richard T. Jones) who have failed to find happiness with their girlfriends (Robin Givens, Mari Morrow, and Salli Richardson) and are now looking for fulfillment in their lives.
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Carmen: A Hip Hopera 2001  PG-13, 88 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Robert Townsend
Cast: Beyonce Knowles, Mekhi Phifer, Mos Def, Rah Digga, Joy Bryant, Jermaine Dupri, Wyclef Jean, Da Brat, Lil' Bow Wow, Casey Lee, Troy Winbush, Sam Sarpong
The Prosper Merimee novel is filmed again, this time updated to modern-day L.A. Policeman Derrick Hill is ordered by his corrupt boss to arrest aspiring actress Carmen (Beyonce Knowles) for involvement in a bar incident. He falls in love with her, and she leads him down the road to ruin.
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Eddie Murphy Raw 1987  R, 91 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Robert Townsend
Cast: Eddie Murphy
Some funny moments in this stand-up performance. Murphy's true talents, however, are not displayed as he relies too much on profanity in his dialogue.
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Holiday Heart 2000 R, 100 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Robert Townsend
Cast: Ving Rhames, Alfre Woodard, Jesika Reynolds, Mykelti Williamson, Jonathan Wallace, Blu Mankuma, Phil Hayes, Lorena Gale, James Kidnie, Benz Antoine
Holiday (Ving Rhames), an aging drag queen, is also a softy. He takes in a homeless woman (Alfre Woodard), a writer turned drug addict, and her 12-year-old daughter. He works at helping them rebuild their lives. Made for cable TV.
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Jackie's Back 1999 TV, 120 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Robert Townsend
Cast: Jenifer Lewis, Tim Curry, T.V. Blake, Tangie Ambrose, Whoopi Goldberg, David Hyde Pierce, Tom Arnold, Julie Hagerty, JoBeth Williams, Robert Bailey Jr.
Told in documentary style, this is the story of Jackie (Jenifer Lewis), a former blues singer who hits the comeback trail and gets TV and media coverage of her comeback concert. Lots of cameos.
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Little Richard 2000 TV, 120 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Robert Townsend
Cast: Leon, Jenifer Lewis, Carl Lumbly, Tamala Jones, Garrett Morris, Mel Jackson, Lahmard J. Tate, Anthony Lee, Anthony Griffith, Jonelle Kennedy
Rock & Roll legend Little Richard's (Leon) rise from a poor, Southern child to phenomenal success in music is told in this made-for-TV film.
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The Meteor Man 1993 PG, 99 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Robert Townsend
Cast: Robert Townsend, Marla Gibbs, Eddie Griffin, Robert Guillaume, James Earl Jones, Roy Fegan, Don Cheadle, Bill Cosby, Frank Gorshin, Sinbad
After mild-mannered schoolteacher Jefferson Reed (Robert Townsend) is struck by a meteor, he obtains superhuman powers and uses them to end crime in his city.
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The Mighty Quinn 1989  R, 98 min.
Genre: Action / Mystery / Drama / Thriller
Director: Carl Schenkel
Cast: Denzel Washington, Robert Townsend, M. Emmet Walsh, James Fox, Mimi Rogers, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Keye Luke, Tyra Ferrell, Art Evans, Esther Rolle, Norman Beaton, Alex Colon, Carl Bradshaw, Fitz Weir, Baldwin Howe
Quinn (Denzel Washington) is the chief of police on a Caribbean island where he is trying to find a murderer. Although the clues point to his boyhood friend Maubee (Robert Townsend) who has become a local folk hero, Quinn believes that Maubee is innocent. Quinn is being pressured to solve the case and continues to investigate–even if it turns out that Maubee really is the murderer.
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A Soldier's Story 1984 PG, 102 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Norman Jewison
Cast: Howard E. Rollins Jr., Adolph Caesar, Denzel Washington, Art Evans, David Alan Grier, David Harris, Robert Townsend, Wings Hauser, Dennis Lipscomb, Larry Riley
Racial hatred in the military is depicted in this story about a black Army lawyer who is given a murder case. When he arrives at the Fort he discovers that proud black soldiers do not understand sneering white soldiers; both groups are so steeped in their prejudices that it seems there is no hope that they can get together. This film does a good job of focusing on man's inhumanity to man and was nominated for an Oscar; Caesar was nominated for Supporting Actor.
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The Taxman 1999 R, 94 min.
Genre: Action
Director: Avi Nesher
Cast: Joe Pantoliano, Wade Dominguez, Elizabeth Berkley, Michael Chiklis, Robert Townsend, Fisher Stevens, Casey Siemaszko, Mike Starr, Vincent J. Mazella, Molly Schulman
A state tax investigator (Joe Pantoliano) is hot on the trail of a tax scam by gas stations. This leads to a bigger problem as he gets close to the Russian Mafia in this Russian inhabited neighborhood in Brooklyn. Not bad.
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| 1. 10,000 Black Men Named George (2002)
2. American Flyers (1985)
3. B.A.P.S. (1997)
4. Book of Love (2002)
5. Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001)
6. Eddie Murphy Raw (1987)
7. The Five Heartbeats (1991)
8. Holiday Heart (2000)
9. Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
10. Jackie's Back (1999)
11. Little Richard (2000)
12. The Meteor Man (1993)
13. The Mighty Quinn (1989)
14. A Soldier's Story (1984)
15. The Taxman (1999)
16. Women at West Point (1979)
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