Here's the continuation of my "10 Coolest..." list from last week. I'm sure there are a few surprises within, but hey, it's my list..SO THERE! lol I got interesting responses from the 1st part of the list so once again, whether you agree or disagree, let me know what you think.
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6. Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) – The Empire Strikes Back (1979)
Although he was pretty cool as Louis McKay in Lady Sings the Blues, he was kind of an a-hole in Mahogany. But in The Empire Strikes Back, Billy Dee was the first (visible) real black man in sci-fi. He wasn’t an idiot, a weird alien or a slave. Dude was in charge of Cloud City a full over a decade before L. Douglas Wilder became the 1st black governor in the U.S.A., and he beat out Han Solo for the Millennium Falcon. The part rouge, shrewd businessman, all-around pretty boy turned rebel fighter with the tightest mustache this side of the Denovrian Belt, Williams was the total package. Out universe felt safer as soon as he stepped on screen.
7. Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) – In The Heat of the Night (1967)
You better call him Mister! While visiting his family in the South, he’s mistakenly arrested when a wealthy man is killed. But when he is then lent out by his bosses of the Philadelphia P.D. to track the killer, Mr. Tibbs uses his skills and instincts to get his man despite being blocked by the town’s racist bureaucracy. No pansy, this independent never wavered to anyone, physically or mentally. When Rod Steiger’s Chief Gillespie slapped our hero for being ‘insubordinate’, Tibbs slapped him right back…the South had never met a black man that was so bad!
Sidney has often played black men who kowtow to white folks’ idealisms or supporting their stances, and he even kind of does in this flick but less so, and at least this time he’s doing things his own way without outside influences whispering in his ear.
8. Kirikou Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998)
Hands down one of the most entertaining animated movies ever produced, French made Kirikou and the Sorceress follows the story of a tiny little boy who aims to rid his village from the evil of Karaba, the Sorceress. Kirikou is so independent that the movie opens with him demanding to be delivered by his mother. Kirikou then cuts his own cord deciding to birth himself. Smarter than his peers and more resourceful than most of the people in the village, this tiny boy who hopes to get fully grown one day begins to investigate why the stunningly beautiful Karaba has been blackmailing his fellow villagers and kidnapping the men. I won’t go into too much more and ruin your movie experience, but trust that this will be one of the most innovative animation experiences of your life, especially if you’re African-American, and more so if you have some knowledge of folklore. For more info go to: http://www.kirikou.net/
9. Marcus Graham (Eddie Murphy) – Boomerang (1992)
“Marcus? Oh, Marcus?” was the cry that Lady Eloise belted to lure her paramour, corporate-world climber Marcus Graham, to her boudoir. Despite falling beneath her clutches, Eddie Murphy’s performance in the Hudlin Brother’s Boomerang was both his coolest and sexiest up to that point, and beyond. Eddie made us believe that he was the debonair man that every woman wanted, and whom he could control, until he met his match in two woman of totally opposite personalities: Robin Givens as his new boss, the corporate shark Jacqueline, and Halle Berry as the sweet, near perfect artist Angela. Yeah, he played his boy Gerard (David Alan Grier) dirty to get Halle, but she helped craft Marcus into a complete man.
I’m eternally grateful to the writers and the Hudlin brothers for making a movie where Eddie could be both sensitive and roguish, still funny but not a cornball hustler, and certainly, certainly not asexual (whew!).
In addition to Eddie’s performance, Boomerang had a great script and cast that also includes Martin Lawrence (“That’s racial!”), Geoffrey Holder (“Nasty” Nelson), Chris Rock, Leonard Roberts, John Witherspoon (do I even need to quote his life-changing line from the movie?) and Ms. Strange’ herself, the irreplaceable Grace Jones. On a sidenote: a lot of Caucasian critics and folks bashed Boomerang for being set in a virtually “all-Black” world. However, if we watch ANY AND EVERY Woody Allen movie one would be hard pressed to find any black character, much less one that has any significance.
10. Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes) – New Jack City (1991)
Although in no specific order, my 10th selection for “Coolest Black Male Characters…” was the hardest to select. In the end I knew it would be Wesley Snipes, but would it be him as Shadow Henderson in Mo Betta Blues or as Nino Brown in New Jack City? After thinking about it for a couple of days, the decision was solid, as you can see above, but for more than one reason.
New Jack City is a harsh and heinously violent view of a crime family that takes over the drug game in New York City by storm. Although many of the lines and acting were cheesy, it was Wesley as the deliciously evil Nino Brown that makes NJC a classic. You can see the then young Snipes having serious fun with his lines which, combined with his imposing physique, made Nino Brown a depraved gangster. Sick as it was, seeing him pour champagne over his girlfriend then kicking her out while telling his minions to “Cancel that b!%^h!” makes me laugh every time. It’s not until a long overdue re-watching that you remember how cartoon-y NJC can be, but how well it portrays the lack of respect for human life and dignity.
To me, whether he’s playing a laborer or a sax player or a sniper, Wesley Snipes inhabits his roles and really makes you believe for that 90 to 120 minutes that HE IS that person, no faking the funk. That’s essentially what makes Nino just so damned cool.
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It was difficult to decide who can make my 10 Coolest Black Male Characters and Actors in Movie History,
so here is my list of those who didn’t make it, but whom shouldn’t be dismissed.
The Reverend Dr. Purify (OSSIE DAVIS) - Jungle Fever
Lyedecker (JIM BROWN) – 100 Rifles
Sgt. Waters (ADOLPH CAESAR) – A Soldier’s Story
Billy Foster (BILL COSBY) – Let’s Do It Again
Melvin Van Peebles (Mario Van Peebles) – BAADASSSSS!
Lt. Danny Roman - (SAMUEL L. JACKSON) – The Negotiator
Jules Winnfield - (SAMUEL L. JACKSON) – Pulp Fiction
Shadow Henderson (WESLEY SNIPES) – Mo’ Betta Blues
Monday, May 23, 2005
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
the 10 COOLEST BLACK MALE CHARACTERS IN MOVIE HISTORY part1
Cocky or intelligent, good or mean, cool is being your own man, doing your own thing…and surviving to tell about it. Here is PART 1 of my list of the 10 Coolest brothers in movie history.
1. John Slade (Bernie Casey) I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
Not only did he take lead in the movement to take back the streets from Mr. Big, he still made the time to organize street kids into bettering themselves by participating in the Gang Olympics. But most notably, he was the first brother to acknowledge his theme music because “Every Good Hero should have one.” Please forgive the tight leather suit, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka may have been a spoof of so-called Blaxploitation films of the 1970’s, but this still was the eighties.
2. Duff Anderson (Ivan Dixon) - Nothing But A Man (1964)
The masses know him as Mr. Asagai from Raisin In the Sun, of better yet as “the black guy” from Hogan’s Heroes. But before that Ivan Dixon starred in a critically acclaimed performance in Michael Roemer’s Nothing But a Man. This film follows the story of black man trying to do good but so unsure of his place in this racist and classist world that he goes on a search for self-discovery and identity, leaving behind his wife Josie, played by singer Abbey Lincoln. But unlike a lot of European and American led films, he doesn’t cheat on her or do crazy things to find himself…he wanders, returns to his roots, talks to folks, and THINKS. Yes, a black man thinking on film. Uncompromising in his quest for humanity, he chooses to deal with his own problems instead of taking it out on his wife any longer, and thankfully she lets him work it out…like most men need to do. Mature and very real, Nothing But A Man is a somber, but ultimately uplifting film that would not have been as successful without Dixon as its star.
3. Mouse Alexander (Don Cheadle) – Devil In A Blue Dress (1995)
Like the paladins of old, Mouse had has own gun and did indeed travel to post-WWII Los Angeles to help out his boy “Easy” Rawlins on his 1st case as a P.I. just when he needed him the most. Armed with a violent and playful forwardness, the then relatively unknown Don Cheadle played Mouse as the heavy with a short temper in contrast to Denzel Washington’s calm and often naïve Easy. His portrayal propelled Cheadle into the Hollywood limelight and he’s become the gracious actor that many of the others want to work with. I’m disappointed that another of Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins mysteries has never been adapted for the screen.
4. Ben (Duane Jones) – Night of the Living Dead (1968)
He vas the voice of reason among the zombie chaos and led his fellow survivors when leading needed to be done. George Romero didn’t have to cast him, a black man as the highly competent lead in the now seminal horror flick, but it was the best choice he ever made. Okay, he died in the end of the flick, but then so did everyone else. But at least our man didn’t go out like an irrational sucker.
5. Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) – Do The Right Thing (1989)
Remember his intro: The close-up on the radio, then the rings (LOVE & HATE across his fingers-on separate ads) – classic cinema. The strong silent brother, Radio Raheem was a brother who lived to blast P.E. (Public Enemy for all you suckas…boooyyeeee!!!) from his boom-box and enjoy his neighborhood. Just the fact that the street kids stopped the open fire hydrant for Raheem to pass by was a testament to his cool factor – only the Fonz got more love than that. Who knows what would become of the street philospher if the pigs didn’t viciously kill him? Nunn may have never had another stand-out role like this, but he is embedded in movie history.
1. John Slade (Bernie Casey) I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
Not only did he take lead in the movement to take back the streets from Mr. Big, he still made the time to organize street kids into bettering themselves by participating in the Gang Olympics. But most notably, he was the first brother to acknowledge his theme music because “Every Good Hero should have one.” Please forgive the tight leather suit, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka may have been a spoof of so-called Blaxploitation films of the 1970’s, but this still was the eighties.
2. Duff Anderson (Ivan Dixon) - Nothing But A Man (1964)
The masses know him as Mr. Asagai from Raisin In the Sun, of better yet as “the black guy” from Hogan’s Heroes. But before that Ivan Dixon starred in a critically acclaimed performance in Michael Roemer’s Nothing But a Man. This film follows the story of black man trying to do good but so unsure of his place in this racist and classist world that he goes on a search for self-discovery and identity, leaving behind his wife Josie, played by singer Abbey Lincoln. But unlike a lot of European and American led films, he doesn’t cheat on her or do crazy things to find himself…he wanders, returns to his roots, talks to folks, and THINKS. Yes, a black man thinking on film. Uncompromising in his quest for humanity, he chooses to deal with his own problems instead of taking it out on his wife any longer, and thankfully she lets him work it out…like most men need to do. Mature and very real, Nothing But A Man is a somber, but ultimately uplifting film that would not have been as successful without Dixon as its star.
3. Mouse Alexander (Don Cheadle) – Devil In A Blue Dress (1995)
Like the paladins of old, Mouse had has own gun and did indeed travel to post-WWII Los Angeles to help out his boy “Easy” Rawlins on his 1st case as a P.I. just when he needed him the most. Armed with a violent and playful forwardness, the then relatively unknown Don Cheadle played Mouse as the heavy with a short temper in contrast to Denzel Washington’s calm and often naïve Easy. His portrayal propelled Cheadle into the Hollywood limelight and he’s become the gracious actor that many of the others want to work with. I’m disappointed that another of Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins mysteries has never been adapted for the screen.
4. Ben (Duane Jones) – Night of the Living Dead (1968)
He vas the voice of reason among the zombie chaos and led his fellow survivors when leading needed to be done. George Romero didn’t have to cast him, a black man as the highly competent lead in the now seminal horror flick, but it was the best choice he ever made. Okay, he died in the end of the flick, but then so did everyone else. But at least our man didn’t go out like an irrational sucker.
5. Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) – Do The Right Thing (1989)
Remember his intro: The close-up on the radio, then the rings (LOVE & HATE across his fingers-on separate ads) – classic cinema. The strong silent brother, Radio Raheem was a brother who lived to blast P.E. (Public Enemy for all you suckas…boooyyeeee!!!) from his boom-box and enjoy his neighborhood. Just the fact that the street kids stopped the open fire hydrant for Raheem to pass by was a testament to his cool factor – only the Fonz got more love than that. Who knows what would become of the street philospher if the pigs didn’t viciously kill him? Nunn may have never had another stand-out role like this, but he is embedded in movie history.
STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 OF THE LIST LATER THIS WEEK!
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