Mario Van Peebles Movies
The son of African American director/writer Melvin Van Peebles, Mario van Peebles made his acting bow in a small role in his dad's Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971). At the time, Van Peebles had no burning desire to become a performer, choosing instead to study economics at Columbia University. He wavered between a financial and an acting career before becoming a full-time actor with the 1984 film Cotton Club. In 1988, Van Peebles starred in a conformist TV comedy adventure series, Sonny Spoon, playing a glib private eye with a predilection for elaborate disguises; this brief series afforded him his first opportunity to direct. Three years later he made his film directing debut with New Jack City, a film widely praised by some as being a truthful, no-nonsense dissection of inner-city life, and widely derided by others as merely a slick outgrowth of the "blaxploitation" flicks of the 1970s. Van Peebles played a major role in New Jack City, as he would in his subsequent Posse (1993), a revisionist western about a Utopian all-black community. Van Peebles' next directorial endeavor was Panthers (1995), a recounting of the Black Panther Movement that came under fire from several of the real-life activists depicted in the film despite the fact that Van Peebles steadfastly defended it as historically accurate.In addition to making and starring in his own films, Van Peebles occasionally appears in the films of others. He had a starring role in Clint Eastwood's Heartbreak Ridge (1986) and for his performance earned an NAACP Image Award. On television, Van Peebles has starred in a number of prestigious productions, including The Emperor Jones for PBS and The Pool Hall opposite James Earl Jones. For this latter role, Van Peebles was nominated for a Cable ACE award. For his work in Children of the Night he received a Bronze Halo Award. He has also directed episodes of television series, notably those of producer Steven J. Cannell. For directing the ABC After School Special: Malcolm Takes a Shot, he received a nomination for a Directors Guild Award. In the late '90s, Van Peebles joined a growing trend and starred in an elaborate CD-Rom game for Sony called Solo in which he played an android superhero with a human learning capacity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the 1920s, the rights of American workers to join a labor union was still considered an open question, and African-Americans were routinely denied their civil and economic rights. So in 1925, when journalist and political activist Asa Philip Randolph and railway car porter Ashley Totten formed the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, it was a bold gesture which proved to have a major impact in both labor and race relations in America. 10,000 Black Men Named George is a made-for-cable feature which dramatizes the struggle of Randolph (played by Andre Braugher) and Totten (Mario Van Peebles) to organize railway porters -- a demanding and sometimes dangerous job which was held almost exclusively by black men, who were paid low wages for demanding hours -- against the staunch opposition of Barton Davis (Kenneth McGreggor), head of the Pullman railway company and a fierce opponent of both unionization and civil rights initiatives. 10,000 Black Men Named George (the title refers to the fact Pullman porters were often called "George" by white passengers, which was considered a racial slur) also features Charles S. Dutton as Milton Webster, a veteran porter who joined the fight to organize; Carla Brothers as Lucille Randolph, Asa's wife who would play a major role in the early years of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; and Brock Peters as Leon Frey, an early member of the who would in time betray their cause. Directed by Robert Townsend, the film was produced for the Showtime premium cable network, where it first aired on February 24, 2002. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andre Braugher, Charles S. Dutton, (more)
- 1986
Street gang member Jeff (Adam Baldwin) leaves the organization, seeking out a quieter existence. Meanwhile, gang leader Cinco (Danny De La Paz) and his minions have taken over the local high school, dispensing drugs with impunity. When Cinco is arrested, a rumor spreads that he's been sold out by Jeff. In the ensuing hostilities, Jeff's girlfriend (Deborah Foreman) is beaten and bloodied. A showdown is inevitable, and, per the film's title, it takes place just after the last school bell has rung. Filmed in 1984, 3:15 - The Moment of Truth wasn't released until 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Baldwin, Deborah Foreman, (more)
- 2003
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On February 28, 1997, a pair of heavily armed and heavily armored outlaws named Larry Eugene Phillips Jr. and Emil Matasarenu, who had previously cut a crooked swath throughout the Los Angeles area as "The High Incident Bandits," botched the robbery of a bank in North Hollywood. The confrontation that followed has been described as the "most intense shootout in LAPD history," with the police and several SWAT teams trading gunfire with Phillips and Matareanu for three quarters of an hour. The made-for-cable 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shootout is an intense reenactment of this bloody incident, with Andrew Bryniarski and Oleg Taktarov as the bandits, and Michael Madsen, Ron Livingston, and Mario Van Peebles representing the forces of law and order. The final moments of the film includes on-the-spot video coverage of the actual incident. 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shootout originally aired over the FX network on June 1, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Madsen, Ron Livingston, (more)
- 1991
Mario Van Peebles stars as football play Ricky Bell in this made-for-TV biopic. The film touches upon Bell's gridiron accomplishments, then concentrates on the athlete's final years, when he falls victim to a terminal illness. As Bell's physical state deteriorates, he forges a strong friendship with a young handicapped man, played by Lane Davis. Their relationship provides courage and determination for both men, encouraging Davis to make the most of his life after Bell dies at age 29. Substituting bathos for pathos, Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story is not the Brian's Song it desperately wants to be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Notoriously obsessive director Michael Mann and star Will Smith devoted nearly two years and over 100 million dollars from the coffers of Columbia Pictures and other financiers to creating this biography of boxing great Muhammad Ali, which focuses on the ten-year period of 1964-1974. In that time, the brash, motor-mouthed athlete quickly dominates his sport, meets and marries his first wife (Jada Pinkett-Smith), converts to Islam (changing his name from Cassius Clay), and defies the United States government by refusing to submit to military conscription for duty in Vietnam. His world heavyweight champion title thus stripped from him entirely for political reasons, the champ sets about to win back his crown, culminating in a legendary unification bout against George Foreman (Charles Shufford) in Zaire, dubbed the "Rumble in the Jungle." In his travels, Ali becomes a symbol of power to disenfranchised African-Americans everywhere and meets such luminaries as Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles), Martin Luther King Jr. (LeVar Burton) and Maya Angelou (Martha Edgerton). Ali features an all-star supporting cast that includes Jon Voight, Giancarlo Esposito, Jamie Foxx, Nona Gaye, Michael Michele, Joe Morton, Paul Rodriguez, Ron Silver, Mykelti Williamson, and Jeffrey Wright. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, (more)
In 1971, filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles released his third film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which he wrote, directed, and scored. Despite boasting an all-black cast, an X rating, a low budget, and a decidedly non-Hollywood approach to moviemaking, the ground-breaking independent film went on to gross over ten million dollars while inspiring countless other films of the genre that would come to be called blaxploitation. Mario Van Peebles, the director's son, was 13 at the time and got his first taste of show business with a small role in the film. Over three decades later, the younger Van Peebles directed and co-wrote this film, in which he stars as his father. BAADASSSSS! chronicles the director's struggles to get the film made by highlighting the social roadblocks and production pitfalls Van Peebles faced, as well as the personal sacrifices he was forced to make. Also starring T.K. Carter, Ossie Davis, and Nia Long, BAADASSSSS! premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles
Mario Van Peebles and James Remar star in this action drama in which a police detective learns that a murderer he helped put behind bars has been released from prison. The CIA recruited the felon to work as a hired killer for the federal government, but his superiors dangerously underestimated his enthusiasm for this work; the murderer breaks free from custody while in training and goes on a remorseless killing spree, with the detective being one of the only men who knows how to stop him. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles, James Remar, (more)
- 1990
Alfre Woodard plays a Los Angeles DA who moves back to her home town of New Orleans. She does this so that her teenaged son (Keith Williams) can be nearer to his estranged dad (Mario van Peebles). No sooner has Woodard arrived in "The Big Easy" than she is swept up in a local sex scandal. While the main plot is resolved, several secondary story lines are left unresolved, suggesting that Blue Bayou was the pilot film for an unsold series. The film was written by LA Law's Terry Louise Fisher and directed by Cagney and Lacey's Karen Arthur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this belated prequel to director Brian De Palma's 1993 crime drama, gangster Carlito Brigante (Jay Hernandez) rises through the ranks of the New York underworld to establish himself as Spanish Harlem's most powerful kingpin. As the intoxication of ultimate power tightens its firm grip on the rising heroin czar, he soon learns that greed and deception are the unspoken laws of the street. With no one to trust except for his two brothers in crime, Carlito begins building an empire founded on supplying the city's addicts with the one product that is always in demand. His dreams of ruling the city finally becoming a reality, Carlito soon learns that the only way to sustain his power is through loyalty and respect. Adapted from author Edwin Torres' acclaimed novel, Carlito's Way: Rise to Power also stars Mario Van Peebles, Luis Guzmán, and Sean Combs. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Hernandez, Mario Van Peebles, (more)
- 1985
This drama chronicles the good deeds of a sociology student who after doing research into feminine crimes begins taking in teen-age hookers. It is based on a true story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this medium-length (53 minutes) French-U.S. documentary made for European television, black filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles examines African-American film history. Narrating while clips, stills, and location shots are seen behind him in a rear projection, Van Peebles' commentary covers a wide range of racial stereotyping. Beginning with early silent films, even prior to Birth of a Nation, excerpts from more than 70 features are unspooled. At one juncture, Van Peebles departs from mainstream Hollywood films to examine the independent black cinema, made for exhibition in the network of blacks-only theaters. When Van Peebles' self-produced his innovative and potent Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971), the film was a milestone. Embraced by the Black Panthers, it grossed $10 million in the U.S., grabbing the attention of the film industry -- which then used it as a springboard to distort Van Peebles' themes into the more violent "blaxploitation" genre of the '70s. Made in video and transferred to 35mm, this documentary was shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles
- 2008
- NR
Melvin Van Peebles, director of the landmark independent film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, embraces the new age of digital filmmaking with his picaresque comedy, shot using DV equipment and taking full advantage of its creative possibilities. Van Peebles plays a fanciful version of himself, growing tired of life at home when he's only ten years old and deciding he'd rather see the world than read about it in books or hear about it from his mother. Melvin runs away from home and hitches a ride from a friendly truck driver, but things take an unexpected turn when gangsters kill the trucker and the boy is tossed into the river with just an inner-tube for company. The drifting current leads Melvin into New York City, where he takes odd jobs to support himself and meets a kindly woman who takes him in. Domestic life isn't exciting enough for Melvin, and as soon as he's old enough he signs up for the Merchant Marine, where he sees the four corners of the globe and finds adventure and willing women in every port. But with the passage of time, Melvin learns there's a downside to getting everything you want from life. Featuring cameo appearances from Mario Van Peebles, Glen Turner, Stephanie Weeks and Paul Krassner, Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha received its American premiere at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melvin Van Peebles, Stephanie Weeks, (more)
- 1971
Also known as Cross Current, The Cable Car Murder emulates the 1971 theatrical feature Tick, Tick, Tick by teaming a black homicide lieutenant (Robert Hooks) with a white partner (Jeremy Slate). Simon Oakland costars as the team's apoplectic superior (is there any other kind?) Set in San Francisco, the story involves the cable-car murder of a shipping mogul's son, which was committed in broad daylight. Is Special Guest Star Robert Wagner the guilty party? Designed as the pilot for a TV series, Cable Car Murder received very little word of mouth when it premiered on November 19, 1971; after all, everyone was still talking about Steven Spielberg's Duel, which received its first telecast six days earlier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Racial tensions between Hasidic Jews and African-Americans come to a boil in the Crown Heights section of Queens in this powder-keg drama based on real-life events that took place in the summer of 1991. Over the course of three days, the tensions between the borough's racially divided citizens would result in a tragic explosion of murder, riots, and chaos. Only through the aid of two devoted community leaders determined to put their differences aside and bring peace back to the streets will this neighborhood be able to begin to heal the deep-rooted wounds of a summer that will forever haunt the citizens of Crown Heights. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles, Howie Mandel, (more)
- 1984
- R
In one of the last breakdancing movies of the mid-'80s, two competing breakdancing teams have their eye on a $10,000 prize in an upcoming contest. Three of the dancers on one team work as pizza delivery boys. Mean-spirited Spider (Mario van Peebles) from the opposing team convinces the gullible pizza boss that the three must be detained so they can't enter the contest. So one of the three is set up to make a delivery to a gorgeous woman who seduces him. The second is sent to a hospital where he's given new medicine that sidelines him for the rest of the day. And the third is sent to a gallery where he breaks a statue in an exhibition opening that evening and is forced to pose as the broken image, wearing only a fig leaf. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joss Marcano, Tom Sierchio, (more)
This interesting action-horror film stars Mario Van Peebles as a tough cop who becomes the latest recruit in a secret faction of the police which not only operates on the fringes of the law, but is also composed entirely of werewolves. Horror fans who choose to embrace the fundamental goofiness of this premise will find an interesting blend of hyperkinetic John Woo-style action, comic-book fantasy, and good old-fashioned monster mayhem. Inducted into the league of lycanthropic lawmen by one of its more aesthetically pleasing members (Patsy Kensit), Van Peebles partakes of a drug which, like the others on the squad, brings out his animal instincts and endows him with superhuman strength and agility (as well as some unsightly body hair). Despite some touches of black comedy, director Anthony Hickox plays the material fairly straight, with a strong emphasis on slick, tightly edited action sequences. Originally produced for HBO, this was later released on video with some of the gorier footage restored. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles, Patsy Kensit, (more)
In this highly-charged police drama, Officer Michael Rhoades is becoming increasingly disturbed by the amount of white-on-black violence that has been escalating in his quiet town. He is especially disturbed that much of that interracial brutality is coming from the police. Rhoades calls they FBI but lacks sufficient hard evidence to warrant their involvement. Still determined, Rhoades launches his own investigation, but it is his young partner DeBruler whom makes the shocking discovery that connects the police department with a violent gang of locals. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles, Josh Brolin, (more)
When the movie opens, John Kross (Mario Van Peebles) is a U.S. soldier on a covert mission deep inside Iraq on the eve of the Gulf War. What he sees from behind a sand dune is some sort of mysterious excavation, but things go badly and Kross is discovered and wounded. He awakens with vague memories of a baby being born and stolen -- and with hideous symbols carved into his torso. Years later, as a detective for the L.A.P.D., Kross' episode catches up with him when Tel-Al, an invisible, body-shifting supernatural entity, arrives in Los Angeles to claim the stolen child, now a young boy. Meanwhile, Kross is dealing with stopping the flow of a new street drug called Chaos, which is being sold by a malevolent disco owner (Ice-T) and is also connected to the Iraqi excavation that unloosed the evil spirit. The demon takes over Kross' partner's body (James Remar), just as Kross discovers the whereabouts of the boy who is "the chosen one." ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles, James Remar, (more)
This film opens with a big fat close-up of a sweaty prisoner with a fly (on a string) crawling on his face. The prisoner quickly pops the fly in his mouth and spits it out. Then he leeringly laughs about it to the prisoner next door. Nope. This is not a bad undiscovered Sergio Leone spaghetti western. Rather it is the opening shot Deran Sarafin's Gunmen -- a brainless action film without an original thought in its head. Christopher Lambert is the fly-eater, a man named Dani Servigo, the brother of a dead smuggler and a prisoner in a South American jail, who holds the secret to the whereabouts of $400,000 in stolen drug money. The walls of the prison explode, and Cole Parker (Mario Van Pebbles) makes his entrance. Cole is a mercenary working with the DEA who is in this South American hellhole to mop up the drug traders and to avenge his father's death at the hands of the drug traders. He wants Dani to lead him to the gold. In this love-hate buddy film, the two thrown-together friends/enemies race through the Amazon jungle with ruthless assassins in pursuit, as they all gravitate towards the secret stash of money. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lambert, Mario Van Peebles, (more)
An infamous ex-con on the road to redemption finds his quest unexpectedly complicated by the police, the mafia, and two of the nation's most vicious serial killers in a high octane crime thriller starring and directed by Mario Van Peebles and featuring Wesley Snipes and Cybill Shepherd. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cybill Shepherd
Having spent much of his directorial career emulating Don Siegel and John Ford, Clint Eastwood borrows a page from the catalogue of Sam Fuller in Heartbreak Ridge. Eastwood casts himself as an old-fashioned Marine Corps sergeant who is out of step with the new-fashioned military. He returns to his old outfit as a gunnery sergeant, where he runs afoul of 1980s-style superior officers to whom the words "Gung Ho" are foolish anachronisms. But through his tough tutelage, Eastwood's lackadaisical platoon is whipped into a first-rate fighting machine, favoring teamwork over such New Age gobbledygook as "self-fulfillment." Eastwood's men prove their mettle during the invasion of Grenada. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Marsha Mason, (more)
- 1995
- PG13
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Conner MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) returns in this, the third film in the Highlander series. MacLeod is an "Immortal," a 16th century Scottish soldier who has been both blessed and cursed with the gift of eternal life. After the death of his beloved wife (a common occurrence for him, but one he's never gotten used to), MacLeod travels to Japan during the feudal era where he encounters a fellow immortal, the wizard and swordsman Nakano (Mako). Nakano and MacLeod become friends, and the Scott learns many valuable lessons from the wise magician; however, when Nakamo's arch enemy Kane (Mario Van Peebles) -- an immortal who has pledged himself to evil -- finds the sorcerer's hideaway, he promptly chops off the magician's head. The attack causes Nakamo's cave to collapse with Kane trapped inside, and McLeod narrowly escapes. Moving into the 20th century, MacLeod is in New York City where he's become romantically involved with Alex Johnson (Deborah Unger), an archeologist who is planning a dig in Japan; however, the site she's excavating just so happens to be the cave where Kane remains trapped inside. Once the villain is freed, he sets out to find MacLeod and determine once and for all who is to be the final immortal. Highlander: The Final Dimension was trimmed of two sex scenes for its American theatrical release, though they were restored when the film was brought out on home video. Despite the suggestion of the title "The Final Dimension," a fourth Highlander film was released in 2000. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lambert, Mario Van Peebles, (more)
- 2005
Melvin Van Peebles created a new style of African-American filmmaking in 1971, when on a shoestring budget he made Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, a violent action picture about a sex-show stud on the run from the police that below the surface served as a call for revolution in the black community. But Sweet Sweetback was hardly Van Peebles' first or only bold achievement in the arts. After brief careers piloting cable cars in San Francisco and flying fighter planes in the Korean War, Van Peebles moved to Paris, where he wrote five novels, became a regular contributor to an anarchist journal, and directed his first feature film, The Story of a Three-Day Pass. On the strength of its critical acclaim, Van Peebles returned to America and made his first (and only) major studio film, Watermelon Man, which helped him gather the money and connections it took to make Sweet Sweetback. Alongside these cinematic triumphs, Van Peebles launched a recording career in the late '60s, making literate but streetwise albums that paved the way for rap and hip-hop, and staged a series of hit Broadway plays including Don't Play Us Cheap and Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death. In the 1980s, Van Peebles switched careers and became a successful Wall Street options trader, and watched his son Mario Van Peebles become a star. (Mario would also go on to make a film about his dad's adventures making Sweet Sweetback, entitled Baadasssss!) How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It) is a documentary made with Van Peebles' participation that looks back at his multi-faceted career and the brilliant, uncompromising man behind it all. The film includes interviews with a number of Van Peebles' colleagues and admirers, including Spike Lee, Gil Scott-Heron, Gordon Parks, and Elvis Mitchell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Hehmeyer
This hip-hop comedy stars Mario Van Peebles as rapper Chilly D, who becomes possessed by the spirit of outrageous fashion designer Yves Malmaison (Richard Fancy). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, (more)
