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Corliss, Richard. "The 25 Most Important Films on Race: Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)." Time Magazine Online. 04 Feb. 2008. . New York: 2008.
In a listing about the 25 most important films on race, Richard Corliss arrives at Melvin Van Peebles' Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. This time, over 35 years after its release, its context and place in film history is no clearer now than in 1971. While the Black Panthers used it as a mandatory recruiting video (a la the KKK with Birth of a Nation), Ebony Magazine denounced it. The wide range of responses and reactions seemed to be all on one extreme side of the spectrum or the other. However, Corliss acknowledges three matters that are undebateable: nothing had been seen like it before in a commercial theater, it "instantly shifted the dominant tone of black films from liberal to anarchist, from uplifting message movies to fables of ghetto smarts and stickin' it to the man," and it was an "out-of-nowhere hit," creating the new genre of blaxploitation. Corliss explains why Van Peebles himself was the anti-Sidney Poitier, a black hero that was too threatening and sexual to be allowed on screen. Van Peebles didn't care what whites felt about his film and that liberated him in a way that no Hollywood studio film had ever been liberated. The film even used child pornography (with Van Peebles' son Mario having sex with an adult woman) and because of all these factors, Corliss concludes it is impossible to analyze without some sort of bias.
This article is important and relevant because it finally places Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song into its several historical contexts without needing to provide clarity over which context is "right". Corliss understands the polarization of views this film has caused, as evidenced in the opening paragraph: "Libaration or exploitation? Radical politics or violent nihilism? Mature sexuality or child pornography? Modernist narrative or incoherent narrative? Trailblazer or piece of crap?" All of those views are right in a way, because when reviewing a film, the subjective experience is all that matters. You can never be wrong about an opinion on a film, so long as you have some piece of evidence to back up your claims. With an abrasive, in-your-face movie like Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, it seems that everybody was caught off guard and gave their instinctual reaction. In a cinematic climate where critical reviews and trailers create expectations that almost predetermine a filmgoers' reaction to an extent, the release of this film, outside the traditional Hollywood avenues, created a genuine experience for a variety of viewers. As one might expect, the reaction was just as varied.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948648-1,00.html)
This Time article, “A Father Finds His Son” by Gerald Clarke, discusses the personal life of Dustin Hoffman as it relates to his lead male role in Kramer vs. Kramer. During the production of the movie, Dustin Hoffman’s life in many ways paralleled its plot. After a decade of marriage and the birth of a daughter, Hoffman’s marriage to Anne Byrne reached an end, and the two divorced; negotiations for the divorce occurred during the filming of the movie. The article investigates the unique role Hoffman played in the direction and production of the movie; he exerted an immense amount of effort in the casting of his on-screen son to guarantee an accurate, realistic, and emotional portrayal. Clarke states in his article that Hoffman’s character in the movie was a direct reflection of Hoffman himself, creating a unique tie between his own biography and his character, Ted Kramer. Furthermore, the article notes the strong off-screen friendship between Hoffman and his onscreen son, Justin. Hoffman is reported to have exerted significant control over the plot and message of the movie, and Hoffman recorded many of his conversations with members of the production team regarding the direction of the film.
This article relates to the research topic because it demonstrates the relation between Hoffman’s experience of divorce and the movie’s attempt to depict the reality of divorce. The article gives the movie credence, as much of the story is based on Hoffman as in individual, father, and husband. Because Hoffman’s character is such a focal point of the story and important messages regarding gender roles are conveyed through his character, it is important to understand the changes made to the character due to Hoffman’s creative vision.
This article taken from the January 27, 1941 issue of Time magazine was written shortly after the movie was completed, but a good three months before the theatrical release on May 1st, 1941. The article, written after the initial press screening of Citizen Kane describes the very initial reaction of William Randolph Hearst’s “Cinecolumnist” Lolly Parsons after she sees a private screening of the film with her two lawyers and chauffer. RKO’s first screening of the film included invitations to Hollywood’s “journalistic elite” with the notable exception of Hearst’s representatives. This raising an initial suspicion, compelled Ms. Parsons to insist on a special showing for her review. Though told by Orson Welles that the movie was not about Mr. Hearst, she noted obvious similarities and appealed to RKO to halt the release of Citizen Kane. Hearst’s papers made no mention of the film. The article was written before the official release date was set and claims that RKO has decided to release it in the following month of February. I was also written before Hearst’s famous $800,000 offer to offset the production costs and halt the release.
This article is a fascinating account of the first weeks of the memorable Hollywood clash of Hearst vs. RKO regarding the release of Welles’s potentially libel-generating film Citizen Kane. There are many obvious similarities between Charles Foster Kane and William Randolph Hearst, and Hearst, among others is assumed to be a main inspiration for the movie and the famous character. Ms. Parsons, Hearst’s film columnist, cites the most obvious comparisons to be the multiple relationships Kane has with different women in his younger years and the “wholesale grabs of Europe’s artistic offscourings.” Because of temporal limitations, the article only touches the very beginning of the altercations between Hearst, RKO and Welles. The Hearst newspapers make no mention of the film, it is never reviewed, and eventually he makes an $800,000 offer to keep the film off the market. The 25-year-old Orson Welles reaches – as many consider – his peak. From here, he has a rapid falling out of Hollywood and mainstream cinema for many years.