 American Gangster 2007   R, 158 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lymari Nadal, Ted Levine, Roger Guenveur Smith, John Hawkes, RZA, Yul Vazquez, Malcolm Goodwin, Ruby Dee, Armand Assante, Carla Gugino, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) takes over the Harlem drug world in 1963 when he sees a big business opportunity: he buys drugs in the Middle East and then manages to use military planes to smuggle the drugs into the United States. Although Frank keeps a low profile, police officer Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) spots him at a boxing match where Frank is wearing a chinchilla coat–given to him by his wife Eva (Lymari Nadal)–and he is sitting in front of Mafia boss Dominic Cattano (Armand Assante). Roberts is an honest cop, but his department is corrupt, and Detective Trupo (Josh Brolin) works to compromise Frank's integrity. Violence erupts in the attempt to pin down Lucas, and during the confrontation between Roberts and Trupo only one will emerge victorious. The film received two Academy Award nominations including Best Supporting Actress (Ruby Dee).
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The Atlanta Child Murders 1985  TV, 245 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Erman
Cast: Jason Robards, James Earl Jones, Martin Sheen, Rip Torn, Morgan Freeman, Lynne Moody, Ruby Dee, Paul Benjamin, Bill Paxton, Gloria Foster
This excellent docudrama relates events leading to the 1982 trial and conviction of Wayne Williams for the killing of black children in Atlanta. 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | 03/10/2007 | | I would like to buy the 1985 movie |
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 Baby Geniuses 1999  PG, 94 min.
Genre: Family / Comedy / Drama / Sci-Fi
Director: Bob Clark
Cast: Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd, Kim Cattrall, Peter MacNicol, Dom DeLuise, Ruby Dee, Kyle Howard, Kaye Ballard, Judith Drake, Randy Travis, Bill Wiley, Dan Monahan, Robin Klein
Elena Kinder (Kathleen Turner) and Heep (Christopher Lloyd) work for a successful company that makes baby products. Sounds fine, but there is a problem involving these two trying to crack the code on baby talk by testing real babies in their lab. One day, a baby escapes and tries to round up other babies to free those entrapped in the lab.
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The Balcony 1963 N/R, 84 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Joseph Strick
Cast: Shelley Winters, Peter Falk, Lee Grant, Peter Brocco, Ruby Dee, Kent Smith, Jeff Corey, Leonard Nimoy, Joyce Jameson, Arnette Jens
This satire on politics and religion takes place in a house of prostitution during a revolution. The police chief (Peter Falk) uses the customers to try to suppress the revolution.
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Cat People 1982  R, 118 min.
Genre: Drama / Fantasy / Horror / Thriller / Romance
Director: Paul Schrader
Cast: Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, Annette O'Toole, John Heard, Ruby Dee, Ed Begley Jr., Scott Paulin, John Larroquette, Frankie Faison, Ray Wise, Ron Diamond, Lynn Lowry, Tessa Richarde, Patricia Perkins, Berry Barajas
Nastassja Kinski stars as beautiful dress designer Irena Gallier with a bizarre family trait: when she makes love, she turns into a savage black panther and ravages her mate. The only one she can safely make love to is her brother Paul (Malcolm McDowell)–another cat person. But she loves Oliver Yates (John Heard), the head of a zoo, whom she would kill if aroused. A good–and scary–film. Remake of the 1942 movie starring Simone Simon.
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Do the Right Thing 1989  R, 120 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, John Turturro, John Savage, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, Paul Benjamin, Frankie Faison, Rick Aiello, Joie Lee, Robin Harris, Miguel Sandoval
Italian-American Sal (Danny Aiello) owns a pizzeria in a Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, and his sons–angry bigoted Pino (John Turturro) and congenial Vito (Richard Edson)–work at the pizzeria. The only Black employee is Mookie (Spike Lee) who drives the delivery truck. One hot summer day, Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito) arranges a boycott of Sal's pizzeria because of the lack of racial diversity. Tensions rise and erupt in violence. Spike Lee created critical attention with his much discussed finale.
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Edge of the City 1957 N/R, 86 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Martin Ritt
Cast: John Cassavetes, Sidney Poitier, Jack Warden, Kathleen Maguire, Ruby Dee, Robert F. Simon, Ruth White, Val Avery, John Kellogg, David Clarke, William A. Lee, Estelle Hemsley, Mike Dana, Roy Glenn, Ralph Bell
Longshoremen–cohorts Axel North (John Cassavetes) and Army deserter Tommy Tyler (Sidney Poitier)–confront their bullying, racist supervisor Charles Malik (Jack Warden). The result is death for Tyler. The police investigate, but North, who knows that Malik killed Tyler, keeps silent. It isn't until later that North challenges Malik to a showdown in a one-on-one fight to avenge Tyler's death.
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Go Tell It on the Mountain 1985 TV, 96 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Stan Lathan
Cast: Paul Winfield, Rosalind Cash, James Bond III, Roderick Wimberly, Olivia Cole, Ving Rhames, Alfre Woodard, CCH Pounder, Linda Hopkins, Kadeem Hardison, Ruby Dee, Giancarlo Esposito
This made-for-TV version of James Baldwin's novel features Paul Winfield in the role of a young Black man who struggles against his Southern Baptist roots and takes out his anger on his own family.
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Gone Are the Days 1963 N/R, 99 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
aka: Purlie Victorious
The Man from C.O.T.T.O.N.
Director: Nicholas Webster
Cast: Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Sorrell Booke, Godfrey Cambridge, Hilda Haynes, Alan Alda, Beah Richards, Charles Welch, Ralph Roberts
A self-ordained minister, the Reverend Purlie Victorious Judson (Ossie Davis), returns home to rural Georgia with his wife, Lutiebelle (Ruby Dee). The Reverend wants to purchase an old barn and turn it into a church. With help from the liberal son, Charlie (Alan Alda), of the racially intolerant plantation owner, Ol'Cap' Stonewall Jackson Cotchipee (Sorrell Booke), the barn is purchased and turned into a church. This film captures the theme of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
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Gore Vidal's Lincoln 1988 TV, 200 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Lamont Johnson
Cast: Sam Waterston, Mary Tyler Moore, John Houseman, Richard Mulligan, John McMartin, Ruby Dee, Cleavon Little, James Gammon, Jeffrey DeMunn, Robin Gammell
Good performances by Sam Waterston (Abe) and Mary Tyler Moore (Mary Todd) help this otherwise slow account of Lincoln's time in Washington, D.C. The film is a credit to Vidal's bestseller, and Lamont Johnson won an Emmy for his direction. The musical score is similarly excellent.
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The Incident 1967  N/R, 107 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Larry Peerce
Cast: Tony Musante, Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, Brock Peters, Ed McMahon, Ruby Dee, Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Jan Sterling, Gary Merrill
Two young juvenile delinquents terrorize passengers on the New York subway–until Private Felix Telfinger (Beau Bridges) decides to take action. Sheen's film debut. 2 User Reviews
| User Reviews |
| | Anonymous 03/27/2007 | | I remember seeing this movie when it was first shown in a New York City theater in 1967. Pretty good movie for its time. |
| | Bijou Bobber 02/07/2007 | | This is a sleeper. Outstanding class, first rate plot (high tension), great acting. All the ingredients of a top drawer movie. |
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 The Jackie Robinson Story 1950 N/R, 76 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Alfred E. Green
Cast: Jackie Robinson, Ruby Dee, Minor Watson, Louise Beavers, Richard Lane, Harry Shannon, Ben Lessy, Bill Spaulding, Billy Wayne, Joel Fluellen, Bernie Hamilton, Kenny Washington
Jackie Robinson stars as himself in this biography of the great baseball star who broke the color barrier in the major leagues. It follows him from his playing days in college at U.C.L.A.; through the Negro League team in Kansas City; and his trials, tribulations, and successes in the majors.
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Jungle Fever 1991 R, 132 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Spike Lee, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, John Turturro, Frank Vincent, Anthony Quinn
This Spike Lee offering, "Jungle Fever" (Lee's term for an unhealthy interracial sexual affair), is very amusing, psychologically powerful, and supported by impressive performances. The story involves a married Black man who has an affair with a White woman and how their actions affect those around them.
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Just Cause 1995 R, 102 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Arne Glimcher
Cast: Sean Connery, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Capshaw, Blair Underwood, Ruby Dee, Ed Harris, Hope Lange, Daniel J. Travanti, Kevin McCarthy, Ned Beatty, Christopher Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Victor Slezak, Kevin McCarthy, Lynne Thigpen
In this adaptation of John Katzenbach's novel, Sean Connery plays a Harvard law professor, Paul Armstrong. Opposed to the death penalty, Armstrong agrees to investigate the facts behind Bobby Earl Ferguson's (Blair Underwood) murder conviction.
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Love at Large 1990 R, 97 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Alan Rudolph
Cast: Tom Berenger, Elizabeth Perkins, Anne Archer, Ted Levine, Kate Capshaw, Annette O'Toole, Ann Magnuson, Barry Miller, Kevin J. O'Connor, Neil Young, Ruby Dee, Gailard Sartain
Down-on-his-luck private eye Harry Dobbs (Tom Berenger) is hired by mysterious Miss Dolan (Anne Archer) to tail her boyfriend who she thinks is cheating on her. But, the inept Harry follows the wrong man who also has secrets: two families. Then Harry starts being trailed by Stella (Elizabeth Perkins) who was hired by Harry's jealous girlfriend. The two private eyes end up working together to finish his case.
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No Way Out 1950 N/R, 106 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, Sidney Poitier, Stephen McNally, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Harry Lauter, Stanley Ridges, Will Wright, Jack Kruschen, Mildred Joanne Smith, Harry Bellaver, Dots Johnson, Robert Adler, Ray Teal
Revenge based on racial prejudice is the name of the game in this movie that marks Sidney Poitier's film debut. Poitier plays medical intern Dr. Luther Brooks who is blamed for the death of Ray Biddle's (Richard Widmark) brother George (Harry Bellaver). The Biddle brothers are shot during a robbery and taken to a county hospital. The Biddles are racists, and when Brooks arrives to treat Ray, he refuses treatment because Brooks is Black. George dies while under Brooks' care, and Ray blames Brooks. He calls on his gang to cause violence in the Black neighborhoods, but the Blacks fight back. Ray escapes from the hospital with Brooks as his hostage and plans to kill him. But, Ray's girlfriend Edie steps in and thwarts his plans.
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Passing Glory 1999 N/R, 94 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Steve James
Cast: Andre Braugher, Rip Torn, Ruby Dee, Bill Nunn, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Sean Squire, Tony Colitti, Anderson Bourell, Khalil Kain, Damien Wayans
This riveting story revolves around a real-life, high-school basketball game played between an all-White team and and an all-Black team in New Orleans during the 1960s. Andre Braugher plays the angry Father, Joseph Verrett, who serves as a role model for his undefeated team as it challenges the South's racist structure.
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A Raisin in the Sun 1961 N/R, 128 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Daniel Petrie
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Ivan Dixon, John Fiedler, Louis Gossett Jr., Stephen Perry, Joel Fluellen, Roy Glenn, Ray Stubbs, Rudolph Monroe, George DeNormand, Louis Terrel, Thomas D. Jones
In the 1950s, the African-American Younger family–Lena (Claudia McNeil), her son Walter Lee (Sidney Poitier), his wife Ruth (Ruby Dee), and their college-age daughter Beneatha (Diana Sands)–live a cramped existence in Chicago's South Side. Lena inherits $10,000 when her husband dies, and family members differ on how the money should be spent. Finally, Lena gets her way and buys a home for her family–in an all-White neighborhood in Chicago where the Youngers are the first Black family to move in.
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A Simple Wish 1997  PG, 95 min.
Genre: Family / Fantasy / Comedy
Director: Michael Ritchie
Cast: Martin Short, Kathleen Turner, Mara Wilson, Robert Pastorelli, Amanda Plummer, Francis Capra, Ruby Dee, Teri Garr, Alan Campbell, Jonathan Hadary
Murray (Martin Short) is a male fairy godmother-in-training. While Murray has the best of intentions, his ineptness always comes to the fore. Meanwhile, evil fairy godmother Claudia (Kathleen Turner) has plans to steal wands at the annual gathering of fairy godmothers, and she sees Murray as nothing but trouble.
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The Stand 1994 TV, 366 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
aka: Stephen King's The Stand
Director: Mick Garris
Cast: Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan, Laura San Giacomo, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Miguel Ferrer, Ray Walston, Matt Frewer, Rob Lowe
A deadly virus from a government lab decimates most of the world's population, but this end of the world is just the beginning. The few human survivors dream of either the mystical Mother Abigail (Ruby Dee) or of the amiable Randall Flagg (Jamey Sheridan) whose smile seems a bit diabolical. These two characters represent either good or evil; followers on both sides prepare to take a stand.
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A Storm in Summer 2000 TV, 94 min.
Genre: Family
Director: Robert Wise
Cast: Peter Falk, Aaron Meeks, Nastassja Kinski, Andrew McCarthy, Ruby Dee, Ingrid Torrance, Keith Gordey, Lillian Carlson, Gillian Barber, Alvin Sanders
This made-for-TV remake of a Rod Serling TV story is the tale of a stubborn, old owner of a deli, Abel (Peter Falk), in upstate New York in 1969. When his nephew sponsors a needy African American boy for the summer, Abel is upset about it, but they develop a strong bond.
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Take a Giant Step 1959 N/R, 99 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Philip Leacock
Cast: Johnny Nash, Estelle Hemsley, Ruby Dee, Frederick O'Neal, Beah Richards, Frances Foster, Ellen Holly, Royce Wallace, Pauline Meyer, Dee Pollock
A young African-American, Spencer Scott (Johnny Nash) finds that the world is filled with intolerance in this insightful story about a boy becoming a man.
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| 1. American Gangster (2007)
2. The Atlanta Child Murders (1985)
3. Baby Geniuses (1999)
4. The Balcony (1963)
5. Buck and the Preacher (1972)
6. Cat People (1982)
7. Cop and a Half (1993)
8. Deadlock (1969)
9. Do the Right Thing (1989)
10. Edge of the City (1957)
11. Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985)
12. Go, Man, Go (1954)
13. Gone Are the Days (1963)
aka: Purlie Victorious
aka: The Man from C.O.T.T.O.N.
14. Gore Vidal's Lincoln (1988)
15. The Incident (1967)
16. The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
17. Jungle Fever (1991)
18. Just Cause (1995)
19. Love at Large (1990)
20. No Way Out (1950)
21. Passing Glory (1999)
22. A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
23. A Simple Wish (1997)
24. The Stand (1994)
aka: Stephen King's The Stand
25. A Storm in Summer (2000)
26. Take a Giant Step (1959)
27. Virgin Island (1959)
In The News
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