The movie focused on a black couple, duff, played by ivan dixon, and josie, played by jazz vocalist abbey lincoln. Smith abstract the independently made 1964 film nothing but a man is one of a handful of films whose production coincided with the civil rights insurgency and benefited from input from activists. My fair lady won the academy award for best picture. Review with the recent midterm elections finally at an end, with all its lies and mudslinging, a film like the best man plays like a fresh drink of water cleansing the palate of all the distasteful rhetoric. The humiliation of a black man who settles in the south and finds himself reduced to being less than human by community pressure, but fights against it. Ivan dixon and abbey lincoln in nothing but a man 1964 nothing but a. A lthough he only made two fiction features, filmmaker michael roemer benefited greatly from an early 90s rediscovery, thanks to the fortuitous unearthing of a movie he made in 1969, the plot against harry, a wry, dry comedy starring martin priest.
While killer of sheep chooses its sphere of interrogation in the innercity, nothing but a man mainly chooses the rural south to lay bare the reality of life for blacks. Nothing but a man is a movie about the relentless oppression of blacks by whites in the 50s and early 60s in the united states, whether it is in the north or the south. The film was lauded at both the new york and venice festivals but received limited. Empire is a 1964 blackandwhite silent film by andy warhol. Bfi t his rerelease of the 1964 film nothing but a man, the pioneering drama about africanamerican life, is an enormous pleasure. Starring henry fonda, cliff robertson, and lee tracy, the film details the seamy political maneuverings behind the nomination of a presidential candidate. In 1993, the film was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry by the library of congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Civil rights, labor, and sexual politics on screen in. Nothing but a man is a film more famous than familiar. When her exhusband sues for custody of her child, arguing that a mixed household is an improper place to raise the girl, the new husband fights for his parental rights in court, fighting against a judge who represents the prejudices of the era. James, a young man starting with a large london firm of estate agents and auctioneers, is ambitious to get to the top. Nothing but a man 1964 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Nothing but a man 1964 was cowritten and directed by michael roemer. Why nothing but a man is the one film you should see this week.
Nothing but a man is a 1964 american independent drama film starring ivan dixon and abbey lincoln, and directed by michael roemer, who also cowrote the film with robert m. Bates now plays jimmy brewster, a man on the make who is, as he puts it, on the bottom rung. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. Notes about nothing but a man, 1964, directed by michael roemer, with ivan dixon, abbey lincoln, gloria foster, available from turner classic movies. Staring ivan dixon, abbey lincoln, julius harris and gloria foster.
Ivan dixon, the films star, plays duff a black man who refuses to play by the. Wikimedia commons has media related to films of the united states, 1964. When projected according to warhols specifications, it consists of eight hours and five minutes of slow motion footage of an unchanging view of the empire state building. Ivan dixon gives one of the best performances of his career as the lead character of duff. Nothing but the best is a 1964 british black comedy film directed by clive donner based on the 1952 short story the best of everything by stanley ellin. Read the full synopsis of nothing but a man, 1964, directed by michael roemer, with ivan dixon, abbey lincoln, gloria foster, at turner classic movies. Duffs attempt to encourage solidarity amongst his black coworkers sends him on a grim journey of injustice, abuse and despair. It may be that the best film to come out so far in 1993 was actually made in 1964. His other film, 1964s nothing but a man, is often compared by critics to the slicker, middleamericafriendly films sidney poitier was making. Schaffner with a screenplay by gore vidal based on his play of the same title. From the era when american films almost never put black characters at the center of a movie, nothing but a man stands like a beacon of intelligence and sympathy. Nothing but a man is a story of black life in birmingham, ala.
It is an adaptation of the play by robert bolt it was directed by william sterling who thought the play was the finest in construction and conception on the large heroic scale to come out of england since the war. She was an actress, known for nothing but a man 1964, for love of ivy 1968 and drugstore cowboy 1989. Nothing but a man has the violence, passion, tenderness of a negro man and a girl in a smoldering southern town. A landmark independent film, nothing but a man is the first dramatic story featuring a largely black cast created for an integrated audience the. March 6 elvis presley s 14th motion picture, kissin cousins, is released to theaters. Duff anderson is a black man who works on a railroad section gang a mobile group of workers that repair tracks in the jim crow south.
The 1964 film, directed by michael roemer, depicts black life in early. Unlike other wellintentioned films of the period, nothing but a man presents the main character as neither saint nor scoundrel, but as a complex man with human contradictions. A man for all seasons is a 1964 australian television play. A landmark independent film, nothing but a man is the first dramatic story featuring a largely black cast created for an integrated audience the work of black filmmakers such as oscar micheaux. This subtle, delicately judged, pioneering 1964 drama about african american life is a joy, writes peter bradshaw. Nothing but a man 1964 in 1964, nothing but a man won the san giorgio prize at the venice film festival, awarded to films considered especially important for the progress of civilization.
Nothing but a man 1963 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. The best man is a 1964 american political drama film directed by franklin j. The supporting cast features edie adams, margaret leighton, ann sothern, shelley berman. Nothing but a man is a 1964 american independent drama film starring ivan dixon and abbey lincoln, and directed by michael roemer, who also cowrote the.
Complete national film registry listing film registry. Nothing but a man movie posters from movie poster shop. Nothing but a man 1964 nothing but a man 1964 user. Complete national film registry listing sort films by title, year of release, and year inducted into the registry by using the up and down arrows at the top of each column.
This 1964 cinematic masterpiece presents the portrait of an imperfect man. Now the national rerelease of a restored print reveals that the movie is even better than i remembered it. Ivan dixons performance in the film has been called the best of his career. Michael romer directed and ivan dixon and abby lincoln star in the. This is not easy though, for a black man in the 1960s american deep south, with mounting racial tensions, and the civil rights movement beginning to take shape. Nothing but a man 1964 flickers in timeflickers in time. Nothing but a man is the first dramatic story featuring a largely black cast created for an integrated audience the work of black filmmakers such as. The 60s were the heyday of the civil rights movement, and the movie is set in the rural south in the early 60s. Nothing but a man is an intense, narrative film from the early1960s. A landmark independent film, nothing but a man is the first dramatic story featuring a largely black cast created for an integrated audience the work of black filmmakers such as oscar. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing nothing but a man near you. Nothing but a man full movie 1964 english ivan dixon. Set at a fictional presidential nomination convention in 1964, henry fonda plays william russell, an idealized version of the model modern politician. Cast and crew credits for nothing but a man, 1964, directed by michael roemer, with ivan dixon, abbey lincoln, gloria foster, at turner classic movies.
Overview full credits full synopsis notes music screenplay info original. With ivan dixon, abbey lincoln, julius harris, gloria foster. A landmark independent film, nothing but a man is the first dramatic story featuring a largely black cast created for an integrated audience the work of black filmmakers such as. A black man and his schoolteacher wife face discriminatory challenges in 1960s america. A proud black man and his schoolteacher wife face discriminatory challenges in 1960s america. Download pdf copies of the entire list of registry titles sorted alphabetically or by year of release. Nothing but a man nothing but a man1964 in 1964 nothing. Its one of the defining films about race relations in the south as the civil rights movement was in high gear, bringing about the end of centuries of abuse by whites of africanamericans. It was shot in 1964 at the height of the civil rights movement by two jewish. Duart film and videonothing but a man company first viewingnetflix rental. Nothing but a man full movie 1964 english ivan dixon, abbey lincoln, julius harris. Lauded by critics at the venice and new york film festivals when it first premiered. A landmark independent film, nothing but a man is the first dramatic story featuring a.
The film does not have conventional narrative or characters, and largely reduces the experience of cinema to the passing of time. Since its release in 1964, it has been cited as one of the first and best of a new era of films about african americans, but even at the time its release was spotty, and today there are few people who have seen it. Abbey lincoln was born on august 6, 1930 in chicago, illinois, usa as anna marie wooldridge. October in photoplay magazine, hedda hopper announces that sophia loren and paul newman will star in the film. It documents the struggles of an african american couple trying to live in dignity and purpose in a tumultuous, small, southern town. Nothing but a man 1964 posted on june 16, 2018 by bea.
Since its release in 1964, it has been cited as one of the first and best of a new era of. For roughly its first half hour, michael roemers 1964 film nothing but a man newly available on dvd for the first time fully lives up to its reputation as a classic, conceptually. In 1964, nothing but a man won the san giorgio prize at the venice film festival, awarded to films considered especially important for the progress of civilization. One potato, two potato 1964 letterboxd social film. It was shot in 1964 at the height of the civil rights movement by two jewish white men. The film tells the story of duff anderson, an africanamerican railroad worker in the early 1960s who tries to maintain his respect in a racist small town near birmingham, alabama, after he marries the local preacher.
Nothing but the best is a world away from the new wave northern dramas of only a couple of years previously, and seems to set out to emphasise this difference by having as its star alan bates, who had made such an impression as vic in john schlesingers a kind of loving, one of the key new wave films. She died on august 14, 2010 in manhattan, new york city, new york, usa. The film was added to the national film registry of the library of congress in 1993. Nothing but a man is the first dramatic story featuring a largely black cast created for an integrated audience the work of black filmmakers such as oscar micheaux was intended for audiences who.
Discover what genre nothing but a man, 1964, directed by michael roemer, with ivan dixon, abbey lincoln, gloria foster, belongs at turner classic movies. One night he splits off from his buddies, who are drinking in a pool hall, and instead goes walking downtown. Why nothing but a man is the one film you should see this week duration. Its just that, seems to me us colored folks do a whole lot of. Independent us film nothing but a man is released in through the bfi. Nothing but a man is a 1964 drama that touched on the racial issues of the 1960s.
438 354 1325 65 1032 584 1138 960 1239 708 1582 950 234 238 1648 1096 1256 668 1488 956 1078 784 255 1271 716 1257 682 1010 861 145 1440 932 598 241 989 780 16 629 176 754