I thought about starting off the month with my usual dive into movies that made me who I am from the year 1991 and somehow find a way to tie this into black history month. Surprisingly it wasn’t all that hard, as some seminal movies from prominent black creators came out in 1991. However, I’m not going to tackle that today. Today is for casting a wider net for African American creators and the films they made in the 90s and hopefully giving you a good list of films to watch throughout the month. So today is a Top Five Day.
- Spike Lee
Spike Lee is not just one of the most important African American artists of the past 40 years, he is one of the most important, and prolific, directors in American film history. From his inspired debut She’s Gotta Have It to this years Da 5 Bloods, he’s managed to put out almost a movie a year and has continually challenged himself to do something different, and make no mistake, they are all worth watching. To recommend a film of his from the 90’s is a difficult task because they are all good, but I’m going to go off the beaten path and pick. Much like this year’s Regina King film One Night in Miami, Get On the Bus takes place around one day in history, but instead of revolving around the rich and famous, GOTB gives us a look at a bunch of everyday men on their way to the Million Man March. Along the way they examine what it means to be men, black, fathers, sons, and a million other questions that we all can struggle with.
2. Allen and Albert Hughes
Building off the success of John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood, twin brothers Allen and Albert Hughes debuted with another slice of hard life in Los Angeles with Menace II Society. Much like the harder parts of Boyz, Menace absolutely explodes off the screen from scene one and rarely lets up enough to let you catch your breath. At the time of it’s release the film was praised for its unflinching reality and it’s hard not to get caught up in the life of young boys who are far too often looked at as predators. It doesn’t shy away from stereotypes but is also packed with heart, especially with the performance of a young Jada Pinkett Smith. The brothers would capitalize on the success of this film and branch out to make Dead Presidents, From Hell, and Book of Eli.
3. John Singleton
If we were to take Spike Lee out of the running it would likely be John Singleton who would be named as the black filmmaker of the 90’s. Beginning at the age of 21 with his Academy Award nomination as director of the seminal Boyz N the Hood (stay tuned for next week), Singleton continued making movies that reached into the world of music and hip hop to find his stars. Starting with Ice Cube in Boyz, Singleton would go on to cast Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur in his follow up film Poetic Justice before using Busta Rhymes in his movie Higher Education. While his films were not always the critical success of Boyz they continued to have a strong point of view featuring black voices. He also happened to direct the first film in the multi-billion dollar franchise Fast and the Furious. But if I’m going to recommend a movie of his for black history month, I might as well go with his film about an actual piece of black history, Rosewood.
4. Kasi Lemmons
She might be more well known for her supporting roles in Silence of the Lambs, Candyman, or the under-seen Vondee Curtis-Hall film Gridlock’d, but staring with 1997 Eve’s Bayou Kasi showed the world that she could direct the hell out of a sinisterly charming Samuel L. Jackson in one of his best roles of the 90’s. Journey Smollett (from Lovecraft Country) stars as a young girl who learns some secrets that she would rather not have learned. It’s a film that is absolutely steeped in atmosphere and dread and it’s a shame that Kasi Lemmons isn’t more well known for the talent that she is.
5. Angela Bassett
Sorry Julia Roberts, but if any woman absolutely owned the 1990’s with her performances it was Angela Bassett. She was everything from a supporting caregiver (Passion Fish) to a caring mother (Boyz N the Hood) to a police officer (Strange Days) to the wife of Malcolm X. Oh yeah, and she also showed us how to exhale (Waiting to Exhale) and get our grove back (How Stella Got Her Groove Back). But if you want to see an actor absolutely own a role, her performance as Tina Turner in Whats Love Got to Do with It is a thing of beauty. How that didn’t win her the Oscar is beyond me.
