Amiri Baraka Movies

To countless avant-garde novelists, filmmakers, and playwrights, publisher Barney Rosset -- proprietor of the legendary Grove Press -- qualifies as an undisputed hero. Via scores of in-court legal battles, Rosset fought aggressively and valiantly to defend the release of works as varied as William S. Burroughs' novel Naked Lunch, Henry Miller's novel Tropic of Cancer, and Vilgot Sjöman's classic arthouse film I Am Curious (Yellow). As co-directed by Neil Ortenberg and Daniel O'Connor, the documentary Obscene builds a case not only for the idea that Rosset was utterly indispensable in the battle for freedom of speech that descended on America in the late '60s and early '70s, but that he deserves hearty praise for championing works that pushed accepted moral standards into theretofore unacceptable territory. Via a combination of extensive archival footage and interviews, Obscene traces Rosset's professional and personal life, beginning with his early years at the Parker School and Swarthmore through his involvement in the armed forces and his presence in the Manhattan avant-garde with wife Joan Mitchell during the late '40s and early '50s. The film places heaviest emphasis on (and devotes most of its screen time to) Rosset's censorship battles for various works during the mid- to late '60s, before moving into an exploration of his troubled subsequent years that were marked by financial difficulty, violent attacks from disapproving groups, government surveillance, and a host of other complications. Interviewees include Rosset, Al Goldstein, John Waters, Gore Vidal, John Sayles, and Ray Manzarek. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Documentary filmmaker Thomas Gibson directed this investigation into the rise of the Republican right wing in America, and how this has impacted the African-American community. Letter to the President explores the different way in which the policies Reagan and Bush administrations have damaged the lives of black youth, from the government-approved distribution of crack cocaine in inner-city neighborhoods to economic policies that have widened the divide between the rich and the poor. Gibson's film also parallels this phenomenon with the rise of rap and hip-hop music, and how these styles have provided a voice for disenfranchised youth. Letter to the President includes interviews with KRS-One, 50 Cent, Damon Dash, Ghostface Killah, Dick Gregory, Amiri Baraka, and many more; Snoop Dogg narrates. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Made famous by singer Billie Holiday in an unforgettable 1939 recording, the haunting anti-lynching anthem "Strange Fruit" was not, as many believe, written by an African-American. Rather, it grew out of poem penned by a Jewish schoolteacher from the Bronx, Abel Meeropol. Outraged by the shabby and often brutal treatment of black citizens in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, Meeropol gravitated to the burgeoning civil rights movement of the 1930s, where he also found a nurturing home for his left-of-center sentiments (the same sentiments which, years later, moved him to adopt the children of executed atomic spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg). To avoid persecution from the radical right and from the anti-Semites of the era, Meeropol published the song under the pseudonym Lewis Allen, the same name he later used for his less impassioned but equally powerful anti-bigotry ballad "The House I Live In." Naturally, this 60-minute documentary includes film clips of Billie Holiday performing the title song (in her only TV appearance, in 1958), as well as renditions by such activist-artists as Pete Seeger, Josh White, and Cassandra Wilson. Strange Fruit was first telecast as a presentation of the PBS anthology Independent Lens. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This installment of the PBS series features poets Lorna Dee Cervantes, Shirley Geok-lin Lim, and Stanley Kunitz. Host Bill Moyers talks with Kunitz about his love of life and renewal. Moyers, Cervantes, and Geok-lin Lim discuss the theme of otherness, and the poets read selections from their work. ~ Linda J. Shriver, Rovi

This installment of the PBS series showcases the poetry of Amiri Baraka and Robert Pinsky. Host Bill Moyers leads a discussion on the poetry of African-Americans, the experience of blacks in America, and the significance of the English language. Selections of both poets are read. ~ Linda J. Shriver, Rovi

Warren Beatty directed, co-produced (with Pieter Jan Brugge), co-scripted (with Jeremy Pikser), and stars in this political satire, a comedy drama about a U.S. senator who decides to start speaking the truth. Despondent California senator Jay Bulworth (Beatty), up for re-election, is disillusioned by the usual campaign banalities; his marriage to Constance (Christine Baranski) seems equally hollow. In the midst of a nervous breakdown, Bulworth goes without sleep or food for three days and takes out a ten-million-dollar insurance policy on himself while arranging his own assassination. Drinking during a return to Los Angeles, Bulworth is scheduled to speak at an African-American church in South Central L.A. Once there, he tosses aside his prepared speech, startling both the audience and his campaign manager, Murphy (Oliver Platt), by improvising truthful remarks instead of the familiar rhetoric. These loose-cannon salvos gain the attention of an attractive young woman, Nina (Halle Berry). Bulworth finds an exhilaration with this new freestyle approach, and after shocking a gathering in Beverly Hills with further fulminations, Bulworth invites Nina and her girlfriends into his limo. During a spaced-out sojourn at one of South Central's more frenzied after-hours clubs, Bulworth gains respect for hip-hop culture.

Still reeling from insights gained by this nightlife, he arrives the next day for a fundraising function at the Beverly Wilshire, startling everyone with a diatribe delivered in the intonations of a rap artist. His interest in Nina and his new optimistic outlook on life give Bulworth a sense of elation and a will to live. He phones to call off the hit, but the gears have been set in motion. After an assumed hitman turns up during a church appearance, Bulworth flees, and Nina offers him a safe-house hideout at the home of her family, veterans of the civil rights movement. Here Bulworth goes through the final steps in his transformation -- making a Kennedy-styled connection with the disenfranchised as he tunes in to forgotten memories of the '60s. Outfitted in homeboy clothing, the born-again Bulworth heads for a TV station to unleash even more caustic comments on the American political scene. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

In Motion: Amiri Baraka is a fascinating portrait of the poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, activist, and champion of black rights Amiri Baraka. Born Leroi Jones in Newark, NJ, in 1934, the documentary explores his early days as a poet in New York's Greenwich Village and traces his life story to his literary and political activities in the 1990s. Excerpts from Baraka's plays, including The Dutchman, one of the archetypal pieces of the 1960s, are interwoven into the in-depth account of Baraka's artistic development and social activism.
~ Sally Barber, Rovi

Director Ron Mann has put together readings by 24 different poets (after filming a total of 60 writers reciting their works), and then has poet and author Charles Bukowski verbalize "everyman's" criticisms of poetry: it is boring, irrelevant, self-indulgent, and does not make much sense. Then he counterpoints these statements with dynamic, entertaining, and inspiring works by poets such as Allen Ginsberg, Leroi Jones, Anne Waldeman, Helen Adams and 20 others. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi