Sam Pollard Movies

Academy Award-nominated director Spike Lee (the guiding force behind the critically acclaimed documentary 4 Little Girls) turns to nonfiction filmmaking once again with the heart-wrenching marathon work When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, produced by Lee's Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks and originally screened on HBO. In four "acts" of approximately one hour each, Lee examines the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the late summer of 2005 and the incorrigible response to the catastrophe from U.S. government agencies. The filmmaker then evaluates the overwhelming measures that must be taken for the area to rebound and recover fully, demonstrating time and again that this seems an unlikely prospect in the immediate future. Act One covers the events that immediately preceded Katrina's onslaught of horror, with an in-depth exploration of the Bush administration and FEMA's joint failures to understand the potential calamity at hand. Lee picks up this subtopic again and makes it the central focus of Act Two, which expands into a dissection of the government agencies' failure to respond to the crisis with adequate measures; time and again, the director fills his frame, in this segment, with images and indications of naked human indifference. Act Three plunges headfirst into the toll taken by the hurricane on the lives of Louisiana residents, with protracted glimpses of the destruction wrought. And finally, the film wraps with Act Four, where Lee conducts more recent interviews with experts who question the soundness of the New Orleans levee system in the face of future catastrophes. A number of celebrities and public figures also appear on camera to provide commentary throughout the work, including New Orleans mayor Roy Nagin, actor, singer and social activist Harry Belafonte, and actor Sean Penn. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The enduring relationship between two of the biggest names in Hollywood history is explored in this 2006 documentary from director Sam Pollard. Produced for PBS's American Masters series, the film combines interviews with clips from the fourteen films the John Ford and John Wayne collaborated on, tracing their friendship through such ups and downs as World War II, the McCarthy era and when the Wayne's star eventually eclipsed Ford's. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Produced in part by the National Black Programming Consortium, Shola Lynch's Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed is a documentary about the 1972 presidential campaign of American legislator Shirley Chisholm. After becoming the first black woman elected to Congress in 1968, Chisholm ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972. During her time representing New York state in the U.S. House of Representatives, she fought for women's rights, educational reform, and an end to the Vietnam War. Though she built strong grassroots support, she went unnoticed by the mainstream press. The nomination went to Senator George McGovern from South Dakota, who lost the election to incumbent President Richard Nixon. Unbought and Unbossed is also the name of a book Chisholm published in 1970 by Houghton Mifflin. Chisholm '72 was part of the documentary competition at the Sundance Film Festival before receiving its broadcast premiere on the PBS series P.O.V. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

The second episode of The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow documents the rising black middle class and the birth of African-American political organizations, like the NAACP in 1909. During this time, W.E.B. Du Bois emerged as an outspoken critic of the Jim Crow South in the pages of the NAACP’s magazine, The Crisis. Others, like Charlotte Hawkins Brown, worked to improve educational opportunities for African-Americans. The 1910s would also see the birth of jazz, as artists like Louis Armstrong came to prominence. Despite advances in prosperity and political autonomy, however, many blacks continued to be threatened by violence. In the elections of 1898 in North Carolina, many ballot boxes were stuffed to remove African-Americans from political offices. In Wilmington, violence broke out, leading to a number of deaths. The limitations on black freedom would become more apparent as many African-Americans traveled abroad to fight for democracy in Europe during World War I. "Fighting Back" unfolds as an affecting oral history. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Movie Guide

Spike Lee's documentary on the football star, movie actor, and social activist is a no-frills examination of a man who has rarely been out of the public spotlight for over 45 years. Jim Brown talks about the various phases of his life, from his boyhood in the all-black community of St. Simons Island, GA; to his adolescence on Long Island, where he became a multi-sport star athlete; to his college days at Syracuse University; to his nine-year career as the NFL's leading running back with the Cleveland Browns; to his days as an action star in Hollywood films; to his work with various social programs, many designed to help inner city youth. Among the many interview subjects are Art Modell, the onetime owner of the Browns; former Cleveland Brown teammates Dick Schafrath, John Wooten, Bobby Mitchell, Paul Warfield, and Walter Beach; filmmaking colleagues Fred Williamson and Bernie Casey (both football players turned actors), Raquel Welch, Oliver Stone, James Toback, Melvin Van Peebles, and Stella Stevens; Kim Brown and James Brown Jr., two of Brown's children from his first marriage; and Rockhead Johnson, a former Los Angeles gang leader and officer of Brown's Amer-I-Can organization. Lee does address Brown's ongoing legal problems over various assault charges, many of them involving women, and he tracks down a onetime Brown lover who in the mid-'60s wound up in the hospital after an incident at his Los Angeles home. Brown appeared in a supporting role in Lee's film He Got Game. This film, co-produced by HBO's sports division, was released theatrically for a limited run; a version running 114 minutes premiered on HBO several months later. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

Russell Simmons is the biggest behind-the-scenes figure in hip-hop. As the founder of Def Jam Records, Simmons helped create one of the strongest and longest-lived labels in rap music; as a manager, he helped make Run-D.M.C. the first worldwide superstars of rap; as producer of the television shows Def Comedy Jam and Def Poetry Jam, he expanded the boundaries of spoken-word performance and established its connection to hip-hop culture; and his Phat Farm clothing line has put him on the leading edge of contemporary urban fashion. Journeys in Black: Russell Simmons is a documentary produced for the BET cable network in which Simmons discusses his career and the ideals which have helped make him a success. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When First Unto This Country narrates the origins of American roots music and follows its development through the 1920s. When Africans and Europeans founded the new world in the 17th century, each ethnic group brought its unique musical heritage to the new world. It was the combination of these different heritages that created a uniquely American music, or, American roots music. At the beginning of the 20th century, scholars and musicians became more aware of this musical legacy. At first, traveling musicians had spread blues, folk songs, and "hillbilly" music. The Fisk Jubilee Singers traveled widely in the 1870s, popularizing African-American spirituals. Later, the phonograph and radio accelerated the process, carrying local sounds beyond their region of origin. Ralph Peer recorded both Jimmie Rogers and the Carter Family in 1927 in Bristol, TN, while WSM in Nashville began to broadcast a Saturday night barn dance in 1925, later to be called the Grand Ole Opry. When First Unto This Country includes rare footage of country music founder Rodgers and blues legend Son House, and interviews with Ricky Skaggs, Bonnie Raitt, and Pete Seeger. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Movie Guide

In this video, viewers consider the work and life of Gordon Parks. Perhaps best known as a photojournalist, Parks was also a novelist, poet, musician, and filmmaker. This video offers commentary on every facet of this man's remarkable career, concentrating on the motivation and techniques he used in creating his best-known work, his portraits of American poverty and racial tension. Along with his photography, Parks is well remembered for the essays that accompanied his photos, essays that influenced the way people approached the subjects he documented. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide

All My Children of the Sun narrates the recognition and growth of Cajun, zydeco, Tejano, and Native American music from the 1960s to the present. Inspired by a warm reception at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, Dewey Balfa returned to Louisiana determined to revitalize Cajun music. The steady pulse of Cajun music, intended for dancing, also spread to the African-American community. There, musicians like Clifton Chenier added new rhythms to create a hybrid called zydeco. Many contemporary artists added experimental touches to traditional music. Dakota Sioux Floyd Westerman employed country music to protest the mistreatment of Native Americans, while Robert Mirabal underscores his compositions with ritualistic drama. Other musicians draw freely from multiple roots genres. Banjoist Bela Fleck merges bluegrass with jazz and rock, while singer Gillian Welch fuses old-timey music, gospel, and country blues. All My Children of the Sun includes footage of Native American dancing, and interviews with Robbie Robertson, Flaco Jimenez, and Edwin Hawkins. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Movie Guide