Afro Promo
Black Cinema Trailers 1946-76
Genres
Overview
Co-curated by Jenni Olson and the late Black gay activist Karl Knapper, this entertaining showcase of vintage movie trailers traces the evolution of African American cinema through its most crucial period, 1952-1976. Filled with insights on race and social dynamics, this fascinating compendium of coming attractions explores an extensive range of stylistic approaches—Blaxploitation, Comedy, Music Bio, Plantation Drama and more—offering an outrageous joyride through motion picture history. Beyond mere camp, these marvelously condensed gems crystallize a range of African American identities and personalities, tracking the meteoric careers of Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, Pam Grier and others through their bold performances in movies both hugely popular and practically forgotten. Afro Promo provides a compact glimpse at the representation of African Americans through twenty-five dynamic years of American cinema history.
Details
Budget
$0
Revenue
$0
Runtime
91 min
Release Date
1997-01-31
Status
Released
Original Language
English
Vote Count
0
Vote Average
0
Sidney Poitier
Self (archive footage)
James Earl Jones
Self (archive footage)
Billy Dee Williams
Self (archive footage)
Richard Pryor
Self (archive footage)
Pam Grier
Self (archive footage)
6.5
42nd Street Forever, Volume 5: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
WELCOME TO THE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE CINEMA, the most awesome post-modern hot spot for exploitation movie revival, deep in the heart of Texas! Home to world-famous events such as The Quentin Tarantino Film Fest, Fantastic Fest and Butt-Numb-A-Thon, the Alamo is one of the last places on earth where you can still see grindhouse classics such as THE DEVIL WITHIN HER and MAD MONKEY KUNG FU. Now, the Alamo has opened their vaults for a peek at some of the most outrageous cinematic gems from several golden ages of sleaze cinema. Digitally re-mastered in high-definition from the actual reels that show every week at the Alamo, this exciting edition of the 42ND STREET FOREVER series is the most bizarre, the most terrifying and the most hilarious one yet!
2009-10-27 | en
0.0
Busby Berkeley: A Journey with a Star
Profile of famed dance director Busby Berkeley's career, in particular "The Gang's All Here"
2007-02-20 | en
7.3
Kirk Douglas: Before I Forget
Kirk Douglas recounts his remarkable life in a celebrated one-man theater performance augmented with rare film highlights. He shares memories of family, marriages, other Hollywood greats, breaking the blacklist and his life-altering stroke – all with honesty and humor.
2009-11-24 | en
10.0
Showbiz Goes to War
While a few Hollywood celebrities such as James Stewart and Clark Gable saw combat during World War II, the majority used their talents to rally the American public through bond sales, morale-boosting USO tours, patriotic war dramas and escapist film fare. Comedian David Steinberg plays host for this star-studded, 90-minute documentary, which looks at the way Tinseltown helped the United States' war effort.
1982-12-31 | en
6.0
Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic
Documentary about the legendary American film director from his introduction to the film industry in its early years to his death in 1959.
2004-04-05 | en
7.6
Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
Paying homage to two of Hollywood's central icons, the film creates an unparalleled portrait of two very different personalities amidst the demise of the studio system.
1999-01-23 | en
0.0
We Were the Scenery
In 1975, soon after the end of the Vietnam War, Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che fled the country on a small boat. After nine days at sea, they docked in the Philippines, where they were utilized as background extras for “Apocalypse Now.”
2025-01-25 | vi
7.0
Hollywood Unplugged
2024, Los Angeles, CA, the city of angels. Plunging us into the moment, this is a visceral cinematic snapshot of the era. What remains is an inventive commentary on the pleasures and dangers of wielding a camera.
2024-03-20 | en
6.3
Roundhay Garden Scene
The earliest surviving celluloid film, and believed to be the second moving picture ever created, was shot by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince using the LPCCP Type-1 MkII single-lens camera. It was taken in the garden of Oakwood Grange, the Whitley family house in Roundhay, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire (UK), possibly on 14 October 1888. The film shows Adolphe Le Prince (Le Prince's son), Mrs. Sarah Whitley (Le Prince's mother-in-law), Joseph Whitley, and Miss Harriet Hartley walking around in circles, laughing to themselves, and staying within the area framed by the camera. The Roundhay Garden Scene was recorded at 12 frames per second and runs for 2.11 seconds.
1888-10-14 | en
7.6
The Pixar Story
A look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios - from the success of "Toy Story" and Pixar's promotion of talented people, to the building of its East Bay campus, the company's relationship with Disney, and its remarkable initial string of eight hits. The contributions of John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs are profiled. The decline of two-dimensional animation is chronicled as three-dimensional animation rises. Hard work and creativity seem to share the screen in equal proportions.
2007-08-28 | en
0.0
John Huston War Stories
During World War II, the propaganda engine of the U.S. government made a pivotal decision with unforeseeable results: they tapped John Huston to shoot war documentaries with an expressly patriotic spin. Few could guess the degree to which Huston's documentaries would depict the sheer brutality and horror of modern warfare - particularly his Let There Be Light and The Battle of San Pietro. The films served (by default) as cinematic protests, even as they graced new and brilliant heights within the scope of American documentary. (Indeed, Light was banned by the government for 35 years). Midge Mackenzie's 1998 documentary John Huston: War Stories explores this little known facet of Huston's career, intercutting clips from the various documentaries with a Huston interview shot just prior to his death.
1999-09-03 | en
7.2
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
A documentary about the rise and fall of the Cannon Film Group, the legendary independent film company helmed by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus.
2014-10-06 | en
4.3
Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast
In the late 1990s, iconic photographer Bruce Weber barely managed to convince legendary actor Robert Mitchum (1917-97) to let himself be filmed simply hanging out with friends, telling anecdotes from his life and recording jazz standards.
2019-02-27 | en
10.0
Disney: Through the Looking Glass
Tito del Amo, a passionate 72-year-old researcher, takes the final step to unravel the enigma about the alleged Spanish origin of the American cartoonist Walt Disney, making the same journey that his supposed mother made to give him up for adoption in Chicago. A journey that begins in Mojácar, Almería, Spain, and ends in New York. An exciting adventure, like Alicia's through the looking glass, to discover what is truth and what is not, with an unexpected result.
2010-01-11 | es
0.0
Our Inflammable Film Heritage
Introduction to an extensive training program for everyone professionally involved in the process of film conservation and film restoration. The realization of this training program was initiated and coordinated by ECIPAR (Bologna-Italy) and the Cineteca del Comune di Bologna. It was produced in co-operation with eleven European film archives and film laboratories and co-financed by the FILM project - FORCE program of the European Community.
1994-01-01 | en
7.0
The Latino List
Documentary film interviews leading Latinos on race, identity, and achievement.
2011-09-29 | en
6.0
Vivement Truffaut
A tribute to the late, great French director Francois Truffaut, this documentary was undoubtedly named after his last movie, Vivement Dimanche!, released in 1983. Included in this overview of Truffaut's contribution to filmmaking are clips from 14 of his movies arranged according to the themes he favored. These include childhood, literature, the cinema itself, romance, marriage, and death.
1985-07-12 | fr
7.1
If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast
Irrepressible writer-comedian Carl Reiner, who shows no signs of slowing down at 94, tracks down celebrated nonagenarians, and a few others over 100, to show how the twilight years can truly be the happiest and most rewarding. Among those who share their insights into what it takes to be vital and productive in older age are Mel Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, Kirk Douglas, Norman Lear, Betty White and Tony Bennett.
2017-05-19 | en
6.8
It Conquered Hollywood! The Story of American International Pictures
A 60-minute salute to American International Pictures. Entertainment lawyer Samuel Z. Arkoff founded AIP (then called American Releasing Corporation) on a $3000 loan in 1954 with his partner, James H. Nicholson, a former West Coast exhibitor and distributor. The company made its mark by targeting teenagers with quickly produced films that exploited subjects mainstream films were reluctant to tackle.
2001-05-01 | en
6.5
Captain Blood: A Swashbuckler Is Born
This documentary is featured on the DVD for Captain Blood (1935), released in 2005.
2005-04-20 | en