Arthur Agee Movies
Set in the institutionally segregated New Orleans of 1965, the made-for-cable Passing Glory is the story of black priest Father Joseph Verrett (Andre Braugher) and his efforts to arrange the first integrated high-school basketball game in the city's history. Against the wishes of trepid white parish leader Father Robert Grant (Rip Torn), Fr. Verrett encourages the team members of the all-black -- and undefeated -- St. Augustine High School basketball team to prepare to play the equally successful all-white team of Jesuit Prep. Throughout it all, Fr. Verrett must learn to curb his own impatience over the racial status quo, and to keep his own faith afloat. Although some of the scenes are drawn in broad, unsubtle strokes -- especially those involving the bigoted father of Jesuit Prep's best player -- the film is thoroughly credible, right down to the last-second winning basket. Earning extra points for having its heart in the right place, Passing Glory made its TNT cable network bow on February 21, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andre Braugher, Rip Torn, (more)
Widower Jake Barnes (Dirk Benedict) moves with his daughter and son to a fishing village in Alaska, and earns his keep as a bush pilot by ferrying supplies to remote locations throughout the state. While the daughter loves her new home, the son cannot stand it, and is impatiently waiting until he is grown up enough to move away. However, they join forces to look for their father when they learn that he has gone down in an airplane accident. The official search party is called off and Jake is assumed dead, but the children will have none of it, and go off on their own into the Alaskan wilderness. Along the way, they thwart a big-game poacher (Charlton Heston) and his sidekick, and learn about survival in the wilderness. A highlight of the film is its fine footage of wild Alaska. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thora Birch, Vincent Kartheiser, (more)
This documentary about the aspirations of high-school basketball players from inner city Chicago won awards from the Sundance film festival, the New York Film Critics Circle, and the Academy Award (Oscar) for best editing. Two young men are followed during their entire high-school career, beginning with their participation in playground games and ending with their being recruited by colleges. The obstacles these young men face include parental drug addiction, family poverty, and inner-city violence, as well as the usual obstacles that arise in competition, including physical injuries. While each aspires to leave the ghetto, there are many reasons to suppose they may not be able to, despite each beating the odds against them by winning college scholarships. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Gates, Arthur Agee, (more)
