Panther (1995)
- Starring:
- Kadeem Hardison, Bokeem Woodbine, (more)
- Director(s):
- Mario Van Peebles
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
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This controversial political drama semi-fictionalizes the history of the radical Black Panther Party, an African-American organization that polarized America from 1966-70. Huey Newton (Marcus Chong) and Bobby Seale (Courtney B. Vance) are a pair of Oakland, California, men who form a new political party dedicated to protecting Blacks from bigoted cops through violent means. Their "Black Panther Party for Self-Protection" serves free lunch to kids, educates the community in African-American awareness, gets drug dealers off the streets, and has gun battles with the Oakland police. Two members of the Panther Party are Tyrone (Bokeem Woodbine) and Judge (Kadeem Hardison). When FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (Richard Dysart) suspects that the Black Panthers' leftist leanings are an indication of communist involvement, Judge, an affable Vietnam vet, agrees to become a double agent, reporting to both the Feds and the Panthers. After the Panthers storm the State Assembly in Sacramento, political paranoia grows, and Hoover conspires with the mafia to flood urban streets with cheap heroin, thus destroying the party. Director Mario Van Peebles, who also appears in the role of Stokely Carmichael, worked from a script written by his father, Melvin Van Peebles, based on his book about his real-life experiences with the Black Panthers. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 123 mins
Complete Cast:
- Kadeem Hardison - Judge
- Joe Don Baker - Brimmer
- Tyrin Turner - Cy
- Ralph Ahn - Mr Yang
- Robert Culp - Charles Garry
- Dick Gregory - Reverend Slocum
- James LeGros - Avakian
- Melvin Van Peebles - Old Jailbird
- Roger Guenveur Smith - Pruitt
- Jerry Rubin - Defense Attorney
- Tim Riley - Band at Barbecue
- Manny Perry - Shorty
- Robert Peters - Cop at Ramparts
- Steven M. Gagnon - Prosecutor
- Reginald Ballard - Brother at Meeting
- Thyais Walsh - Bernadette
- Preston Holmes - Prison Guard
- James Bigwood - Grove Street Cop
- Yolanda Whittaker - Pregnant Junkie
- M. Emmet Walsh - Dorsett
- Kool Moe Dee - Jamal
- David Greenlee - Patrolman
- Joseph Culp - Baby Faced Cop
- Bokeem Woodbine - Tyrone
- Courtney Vance - Bobby Seale
- Marcus Chong - Huey Newton
- Charles Cooper - Sheriff
- Richard Dysart - Hoover
- Jay Koch - Ronald Reagan
- Mario Van Peebles - Stokely Carmichael
- John Snyder - Cop
- James Russo - Rodgers
- Chris Rock - Yuck Mouth
- Jeris Poindexter - Black Cop
- David L. King - Berkeley Campus Singer
- Lahmard J. Tate - Gene McKinney
- Bobby Brown - Rose
- Anthony Griffith - Eldridge Cleaver
- William Fuller - Sergeant Schreck
- Mark Buntzman - Pushy Reporter
- Michael Wincott - Tynan
- Ann Weldon - Mrs Dowell
- Jenifer Lewis - Rita
- Anthony Johnson - Sabu
- Mark Curry - Lombard
- Angela Bassett - Betty Shabazz
- Director(s):
- Mario Van Peebles
- Writer(s):
- Melvin Van Peebles
- Producer(s):
- Melvin Van Peebles, Mario Van Peebles, Preston Holmes
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Questionable for Children, Profanity, Violence)
- Closed Captioning:
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- Subtitles:
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