Best BLACK film.

Yes, I went there!

What's the best film that both stars a black person and features a predominantly black cast and is either written or directed by a black person?

So Color Purple doesn't qualify.

Whatever we list here will be overtaken once Black Panther comes out...but until then lets go with what's available.

 

Do The Right Thing.... easily.

Followed by Malcolm X.

Both directed by... sorry, Sly.

 

MOTHERFU......never mind I forgive you my brother. If that's your opinion, that's fine.

DTRT isn't even Spike's best film: Malcolm X for one thing, shits all over it.

 

You'd be in the minority with that opinion.

DTRT is universally considered Spike's masterpiece.

Even critics who are Spike haters, and there's A LOT of them, can never say anything negative about DTRT.

 

Yeah, pretty much. Jesus, imagine how good they would have been if Spike had replaced himself in both movies with somebody else. Like a young Don Cheadle. Goddamn!

 

As films go, comedies are not taken seriously (no shit!) as quality films...but I think Coming to America is better than any Spike Lee film...with the exception of Malcolm X

 

Doesn't fit your criteria.

 

Shit...you're right!! I thought it was written and directed by Eddie Murphy. My bad

 

Denzel would much better choice than Cheadle in DTRT, given that Denzel's a New Yorker and Cheadle isn't.

Considering the movie is already a classic, if Spike had casted Denzel to play his role, you're probably looking at one the top 5-10 best movies ever.

 

As far as comedies go, you can nominate Friday.... a film by F. Gary Gray, a black director.

 

Devil in a Blue Dress has to rank very highly. GREAT crime mystery, directed by Carl Franklin, a black director.

 

Denzel would have been great, but I'm not getting picky. Any of several dozen other guys would have been better then Spike. Realistically though, I doubt Spike would have been able to afford Denzel at that particular time.

Spike essentially has the lead role, because he was penny pinching. He didn't want to pay for a lead actor. He might have been able to get Fishburne for nothing, coming off "School Daze", but apparently Spike offered him Radio Raheem instead and Fishburne told him to go fuck himself. Not sure he was really right for that part anyways...................but still............would have been better then Spike.

 

Hoe about 'The Last Dragon'?
The movie is hilarious.

 

Coming To America was written & directed by John Landis, a white dude.

 

SUPERFLY was awesome for its time with an all black cast and written & directed by blacks with soundtrack by...you guessed it. I always put Superfly at the top or near the top because of its cultural influence while admitting that movie itself has dated badly and isn't half as good as I remembered it.

More recently SELMA was very good and next year Marvel's Black Panther will make history.

 

Superfly for sure.

As for comedies, Who's the Man is terribly underrated.


TFK

 

Gotta Go by Decades for "Black" Films, by the Definition Put Forth...

Perhaps REED's FAVORITE "Blaxploitation Era" Film is "Let's Do it Again", Starring Sydney Poitier and Bill Cosby, Directed by Poitier...ALL "Blaxploitation Films" are Next to IMPOSSIBLE To Rewatch Today, but "Let's Do it Again" and "Uptown Saturday Night" (Also Directed by Poitier) Come as CLOSE as Any to Holding Up...

In 1980, Poitier Also Directed "Stir Crazy", Probably THE Best Richard Pryor-Gene Wilder Flick Ever...

Love ya, Brother Sly, but Spike Lee Simply CANNOT Be Ignored as a Black Filmmaker...As ARROGANT as he Is, as ANNOYING as His Cinematography Party Tricks Can Be and as Looooooooooooong as it's Been Since he's Had a HIT Film, Dude is THE Greatest Back Filmmaker of All Times...

Gordon Parks Sr. and Melvin Van Peebles were the PIONEERS, but their Films are BARELY Watchable by Today's Standards...Undoubtedly, Spike's ON Mount Rushmore WITH Them and Poitier, if Not in a More LOFTIER Place...



REED

 

Sly lost all credibility after stating Boyz N The Hood is better than Do The Right Thing.

 

Get On The Bus is another brilliant Spike movie... and he's NOT in it.

 

Spike lost his feature film mojo when he tried to make a war movie. Everything since then, not a documentary, has been absolute shit.

Can't believe the same guy who made "Do The Right Thing", "Malcolm X" and "Clockers" also made "Da Sweet Blood of Jesus" and "Chi-Raq".

 

Inside Man was his last quality movie imo. That was 11 years ago.

Clockers is an EXCELLENT movie.

 

Spike Lee is shit!!

Good call on Let's do it again, though. One of my favourite comedies of all time

 

I just think blacks in the States feel compelled to praise Spike Lee. African Americans seem to feel they must be loyal to his ratfaced ass. Why? he's no messiah. He's a race card playing cunt.

 

Boyz is clearly better than do the right thing.

 

Seems to me that you're just one of these spike lee worshippers. I thought people had been delivered from that cult years ago...

 

See this is why I'm working on making a film. If spike lee is the standard if black filmmaking, God help us all.

 

One Spike Lee movie I do like - and re-watched it last month: Crooklyn

 

He just said he hasn't made a decent movie in about 11 years..............which is true.