BaadAsssss Cinema

With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than a complete record. It features interviews with some of the genre's biggest stars, like Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, and Richard Roundtree. Director Melvin Van Peebles discusses the historical importance of his landmark film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. For a contemporary perspective, the excitable Quentin Tarantino offers his spirited commentary and author/critic bell hooks provides some scholarly social analysis.

Director: Isaac Julien

Cast: Larry Cohen, Tamara Dobson, Ron Finley, Pam Grier, Ed Guerrero, Isaac Hayes, Gloria Hendry, bell hooks

Audience-only score — full critic data not yet in the ReelXO vault.