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Summary:

Harry, a devilish charmer from the Deep South, turns up out of the blue on the South Central Los Angeles doorstep of his old friends. In short order, Harry's presence turns a seemingly peaceful household upside down, exposing smoldering tensions between parents and children, tradition and change, virtue and temptation. Interweaving evocative strains of gospel and blues with rich, poetic-realist images, it is a sublimely stirring film from an autonomous artistic sensibility, a portrait of family resilience.

Contributors:

Burnett, Charles, 1944- , film director, screenwriter, onscreen participant

Pressman, Edward R. , film producer

Chubb, Caldecot , film producer

Byrnes, Thomas S. , film producer

Scott, Darin , film producer

Koulisis, Linda , film producer, onscreen participant

Glover, Danny , actor, onscreen participant

Butler, Paul, 1941 or 1942-2010 , actor

Alice, Mary, 1936-2022 , actor

Lumbly, Carl , actor

McGee, Vonetta , actor

Brooks, Richard, 1962- , actor

Ralph, Sheryl Lee , actor, onscreen participant

Townsend, Robert, 1957- , onscreen participant

Lloyd, Walt , director of photography

Richardson, Nancy (Motion picture editor) , editor of moving image work

SVS Films , presenter, http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/pre

Criterion Collection (Firm) , publisher, http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/pbl

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

In English; optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (SDH).

Included Works:

Of family and folklore

Walk with Charles Burnett

Related Series:

Criterion collection; [volume] 963

Subjects:

African Americans — California — Los Angeles — Drama

African American families — Drama

African American men — Drama

Superstition — Drama

Los Angeles (Calif.) — Drama

African Americans

African American families

African American men.

Superstition

California — Los Angeles

United States

Genres:

Motion pictures

Dark comedy films

Melodramas (Motion pictures)

Feature films

Fiction films

Video recordings for the hearing impaired

Drama

System Details:

DVD; NTSC; region 1; Dolby digital 2.0 surround.

Performers:

Cast: Danny Glover, Paul Butler, Mary Alice, Carl Lumbly, Vonetta McGee, Richard Brooks, Sheryl Lee Ralph.

Production Credits:

Director of photography, Walt Lloyd ; music, Stephen James Taylor ; editor, Nancy Richardson.

General Notes:

Originally released as a motion picture in 1990.
Wide screen (1.85:1).
Special features: New, restored 4K digital transfer, approved by director; Of Family and Folklore, a new interview program, featuring Charles Burnett, actors Danny Glover and Sheryl Lee Ralph, and associate producer Linda Koulisis; A Walk with Charles Burnett, a new hour-long conversation between Burnett and filmmaker Robert Townsend that revisits Burnett's films and shooting locations; Short video tribute to Burnett produced for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards ceremony in 2017. Container insert includes the essay "You Never Know What's in the Heart" by film critic Ashley Clark.

Audience:

MPAA rating: PG.

Physical Description:

1 videodisc (102 minutes) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 insert (16 panels : color illustrations ; folded to 19 cm).

Physical Characteristics:

4 3/4 in.; polychrome

Audio Characteristics:

digital; optical; stereo; Dolby Digital 2.0

Video Characteristics:

NTSC

Digital Characteristics:

video file; DVD video; region 1

Call Numbers:

TO 1990 DVD

ISBNs:

9781681435558
1681435551

Other Standard Numbers:

Universal Product Code: 715515226813
Publisher Number, The Criterion Collection: CC2998D

OCLC Numbers:

1082146831