Slideshow
BODY AND SOUL
*Introduced by series consultant Ina Archer, with live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner
**With live original score performed DJ Spooky, and post-film conversation with DJ Spooky and series consultant Ina Archer
U.S., 1925
Written and directed by Oscar Micheaux
Starring Paul Robeson, Mercedes Gilbert, Julia Theresa Russell
Silent. Approx 92 min. 4K DCP restoration by the George Eastman Museum.
26-year-old Robeson's magnetic preacher moonlights as gambler, extortionist, seducer, thief, and killer — in his first film, arguably Micheaux’s finest. "Robeson is a powerful presence: virile, confident, and intolerably charismatic; he seems completely at ease on screen." – Donald Bogle
With A DARKTOWN REVUE
U.S., 1931
Directed by Oscar Micheaux
Approx. 18 min.
Micheaux’s jaw-dropping spin on the minstrel show.
Reviews
“Robeson's movie debut at the age of 27, and the only word to describe his screen presence is ‘blazing.’”
– Stephen Holden, The New York Times