Bill Gunn Movies
Bill Gunn was an important figure in the development of contemporary African American cinema. A versatile figure, Gunn also made substantial contributions to the theater, television and literature. His best-known film is Ganja and Hess, a passionate, lyrical vampire movie that blended African and European mythology. While it is considered one of the major films of the early 1970s, it was unfortunately hacked up by producers for American release and its haunting African soundtrack was replaced by a homogenized American one, thereby destroying much of what made the film special. Gunn started out as an actor in the 1950s, and by mid-decade, he was appearing on Broadway. In 1960, he wrote his first play, Murder in the High Grass, and became known as one of the most important black playwrights in American theater. During the '60s, Gunn occasionally appeared on television series, and also wrote novels, screenplays and teleplays. In 1972, Gunn won an Emmy for writing the script to Johannas. From the late '70s through the early '80s, Gunn worked on Personal Problems, an unaired television series. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1986
Cliff (Bill Cosby) resigns himself to another humiliating defeat when he plays pinochle with his dad Russell (Earl Hyman), Russell's cohort Homer (Bill Gunn), and the two old guys' Army buddy Sgt. Stokes (Jason Bernard), a notorious card cheat. Even worse, Cliff is unable to keep apace of the other players' colorful (and highly suspect) war stories. Meanwhile, Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe) falls for Sgt. Stokes' grandson Aaron (Ermundo Russell), which may cause friction between herself and her date for an upcoming skiing party. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Roscoe Lee Browne won an Emmy award for his first appearance as Dr. Barnabus Foster, Cliff's former college English professor and future recurring character on the Cosby Show spinoff A Different World. Having been regularly trounced at pinochle by his dad Russell (Earle Hyman) and Russell's old pal Homer (Bill Gunn), Cliff (Bill Cosby) hopes to turn the tables when Dr. Foster subsitutes for Cliff's ailing partner. Meanwhile, Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) worries that his girlfriend will be less than impressed by the "faux" diamond ring he has purchased from a TV shopping show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Losing Ground is a amusing but standard menage a trois, set in a small college town. The principle difference between this and other such films is that all the characters are African-American. Artist Bill Gunn is married to philosophy professor Seret Scott. She prides herself on being broad-minded and liberal; so why is she so peeved that Gunn is using the gorgeous Maritza Rivera as his model? Although there are no star names, and though it might be well nigh impossible to find, Losing Ground is well worth your while. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A scientist stricken with an insatiable hunger for blood dominates this strikingly atmospheric drama. Dr. Hess Green (Duane Jones), a wealthy and respected African-American anthropologist, is assigned a new assistant, an intelligent but unstable man named George Meda (Bill Gunn). One drunken night, George stabs Hess with a dagger from the ancient African tribe of Myrthia and then kills himself. The Myrthians were cursed with a thirst for human blood, and, by the time George's wife, Ganja (Marlene Clark), comes looking for him, Hess has developed a similar addiction to blood. Hess and Ganja fall in love, and they soon marry, but Hess infects his new bride with the Myrthian curse, which gives them eternal life, but at a terrible price. Actor, playwright, and novelist Bill Gunn was hired to write and direct a low-budget black vampire movie, but instead he delivered a thoughtful, impressionistic film that uses addiction to blood as a metaphor for African-American cultural and spiritual identity (and never once uses the word "vampire"). Ganja and Hess proved too deliberately paced and self-consciously surreal for the producers, who chopped it to 83 minutes, removed Sam Waymon's superb musical score, and retitled it Blood Couple. This mangled version was for many years the only one available, and it appeared under six different titles on home video before Bill Gunn's original version was restored for DVD release in 1998. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- PG
Wealthy, insensitive young Beau Bridges buys an inner-city tenement, planning to evict the present occupants and construct a luxury home for himself. But once he ventures into the tenement, he grows quite fond of the low-income ethnic types who dwell within. He even kicks over the traces of his WASP upbringing by romancing black tenants Diana Sands and Marki Bey. Though essentially a comedy, The Landlord offers several painful truths about ghetto existence. Essentially, Beau Bridges acts as the audience's "eyes:" we learn as he learns, we grow as he grows. The Landlord represents the first directorial effort of Oscar-winning film editor Hal Ashby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, (more)
- 1970
Yuppie-type Michael Berger (Edward Bell) and his bitter wife Lee (Linda Marsh) can barely stand each other as it is. Things don't get much better when they move to Puerto Rico to a house he just inherited from his brother, and the circumstances aren't all that auspicious. It seems his brother murdered his wife before committing suicide. Since they don't see much future in their marriage anyway, they agree to try the then-popular sport of wife-swapping. In this movie, however, more than just wives are swapped, as explicit sexual references and lesbian encounters also take place. Michael goes ballistic from time to time, and his wife is a real queen of sarcasm. Their dislike of each other grows throughout the film, but the bonds which hold them together have never seemed more unbreakable. This movie was produced in 1970 and went commercially unreleased for almost 20 years. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Marsh, Edward Bell, (more)
Bernard Malamud seldom saw his works faithfully transferred to the screen (take a look at The Natural sometime), but he issued no complaints over the cinemazation of his The Angel Levine. Zero Mostel plays an elderly Jew whose life experiences have left him an embittered agnostic. Into Mostel's life floats Alexander Levine (Harry Belafonte), who must convince the old man that life has value, else he'll never earn his wings. The novelty of a black Jewish angel has lost some of its "shock" value over the years, allowing modern audiences to cherish the storyline for its own merits. The Angel Levine was lovingly adapted for the screen by Bill Gunn and Ronald Ribman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zero Mostel, Harry Belafonte, (more)
- 1966
Can armed robbery help save a marriage? These and other questions about modern relationships are pondered in this comedy. Penelope Elcott (Natalie Wood) married James (Ian Bannen) after a very brief courtship, and as his star has begun to rise in the banking business, he spends less and less time with her, leading Penelope to wonder if he still cares for her. Penelope comes up with what she thinks is a good way to get James's attention -- disguising herself as an old lady and robbing his bank of $60,000. The robbery, however, goes off without a hitch, and wracked with guilt, Penelope confesses her crime to her analyst, Dr. Gregory Mannix (Dick Shawn). Mannix, however, isn't much help, since he's crazier than any of his patients and madly in love with Penelope to boot. Penelope also features Jonathan Winters in a one-scene role as Dr. Klobb. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natalie Wood, Ian Bannen, (more)
- 1966
Some extra footage was added to segments of two episodes from the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964-68) to create this feature film-length espionage adventure that was released theatrically in some countries to cash in on the James Bond craze. Ordered by their secret organization U.N.C.L.E. to stop the sinister group THRUSH from obtaining a top-secret nuclear weapon, spies Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) travel to Switzerland. Once there, Solo is lured into a trap by a comely enemy agent, Serena (Senta Berger). Kidnapped by THRUSH, Solo is replaced with an exact double who infiltrates U.N.C.L.E. Kuryakin eventually becomes suspicious due to his friend's odd behavior and takes steps to learn the truth, while Solo attempts to escape from captivity and stop THRUSH's plot to get its hands on the weapon. The episodes represented in the film are "The Double Affair," which first aired November 17, 1964, and "The Four Steps Affair," which originally aired February 22, 1965. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Vaughn, Senta Berger, (more)
- 1965
Working as a bellboy at a desert resort hotel, Kimble (David Janssen)--or as he is now calling himself, "Fred Tate"--cannot help but notice that the manager is cancelling reservations and asking the other employees to leave. The mystery is resolved when several military officers show up at the hotel to brainstorm a secret Army project. Unfortunately, the officers suspect that Kimble is an enemy spy and place him in custody. Ultimately, the nervous fugitive is forced to demonstrate his medical skills without arousing further suspicion as to his true identity--and at the same time expose the real spy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Using a technique that involves the kind of ensemble acting seen in later long-running, large-cast television programs, director David Swift has tried to tie together the stories of five young interns in this routine drama. One of the interns is a woman who is at odds with the chief surgeon (Telly Savalas), another is involved in an ill-advised abortion simply because he has fallen in love with the patient, a glamorous model (also in real life, played by Suzy Parker). Other stories involve romances that turn out well or ill, depending on the case. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Callan, Cliff Robertson, (more)
- 1959
In this filmed adaptation of William Faulkner's seminal work, Yul Brynner stars as Jason Compson, the oldest son of a once-proud Southern family rife with inner turmoil. His promiscuous sister, Caddy (Margaret Leighton), has suddenly rolled back into town with an illegitimate daughter called Quentin (Joanne Woodward) in tow. Finding no love in her own clan, Quentin opts for a relationship with Charlie Bush, an irresponsible circus worker played by Stuart Whitman. Meanwhile, Ben (Jack Warden), a mentally-handicapped uncle, is a never-ending source of embarrassment for all concerned. Directed by Martin Ritt, this was the first film to be made from The Sound and the Fury. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Joanne Woodward, (more)
