Pioneers of African-American Cinema is a 2015 digitally restored anthology collection of independent Black cinema from the first half of the 20th century.
About Known as "race films," this category of film was made outside of the Hollywood system, and is notable for its exploration of issues of "class, gender, and politics within the Black community." The most important of these filmmakers was Oscar Micheaux, whose films Within Our Gates (1920), with "its head-on confrontation of racism and lynching, The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920), about black homesteaders struggling for survival against the Ku Klux Klan on the Midwestern plains," and Body and Soul (1925), featuring Paul Robeson's film debut as an escaped prisoner, are all included. Directors Spencer Williams, Richard Maurice, writer and ethnographer Zora Neale Hurston, and filmmaking couple James and Eloyce Gist are all represented, too, however, as are a variety of selections from the Ebony Film Corporation, work by Solomon Sir Jones and more.
The complete runtime of the entire anthology is more than 25 hours, and the restoration is of particular significance to scholars, historians, and film aficionados due to its inclusion of formerly inaccessible footage. The restoration includes over 12 feature films, including Hell-Bound Train, Within Our Gates, Birthright, and The Flying Ace. It also includes shorts, fragments, trailers, documentary footage, archival interviews and audio recordings. For greater historical context, some films are presented in pairs, including Hot Biskits and The Blood of Jesus and Verdict Not Guilty and Heaven-Bound Travelers. Musical accompaniment includes compositions by DJ Spooky, Max Roach, Alloy Orchestra, Samuel Waymon, Makia Matsumura, Donald Sosin and others.
Funded in part by a Kickstarter campaign, the series was produced in association with the Library of Congress, with the cooperation of the British Film Institute, George Eastman Museum, Museum of Modern Art, National Archives, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Southern Methodist University, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Curated by scholars Charles Musser and Jacqueline Stewart, the anthology was distributed by Kino Lorber, which specializes in historic arthouse film.
The anthology box set is available for streaming and purchase on Blu-Ray and on DVD, the latter of which is accompanied by a 76-page booklet. J. Hoberman, in a review for The New York Times, has praised the collection and recommended it for educational institutions.
Anthology contents Film titleDirectorYearDurationMusicNotesTwo Knights of VaudevilleEbony Film Co.191511 min.Donald SosinMercy, the Mummy MumbledEbony Film Co.191812 min.Alloy Orchestra(Blu-Ray only)A Reckless RoverEbony Film Co.191814 min.Donald SosinWithin Our Gates Oscar Micheaux192073 min.Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky)The Symbol of the UnconqueredOscar Micheaux192059 min.Max RoachBy Right of BirthLincoln Motion Picture Co.19214 min.Donald SosinBody and SoulOscar Micheaux192593 min.Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky)Screen Snapshots Micheaux footage19201 minuteBonus: An Introduction (7 min.); Bonus: The Films of Oscar Micheaux (8 min.) RegenerationRichard E. Norman192311 min.Donald SosinThe Flying AceRichard E. Norman192865 min.Mont Alto Motion Picture OrchestraTen Nights in a Bar RoomCPFC192664 min..Donald SosinRev. S.S. Jones Home Movies Rev. Solomon Sir Jones1924-2616 min.Andrew SimpsonThe Scar of ShameFrank Peregini192986 min.Makia MatsumuraBonus: The Color Line (5 min.) Bonus: Ten Nights in a Bar Room – An Introduction (4 min.) Bonus: About the Restoration (8 min.) Eleven P.M. Richard Maurice192860 min.Rob GalHell-Bound TrainJames and Eloyce Gist193050 min.Samuel D. WaymonRestored by S. Torriano Berry.Verdict Not Guilty James and Eloyce Gist19348 min.Samuel D. WaymonRestored by S. Torriano Berry.Heaven-Bound Travelers James and Eloyce Gist193515 min.Samuel D. WaymonRestored by S. Torriano Berry. (BLU-RAY ONLY)The Darktown RevueOscar Micheaux193118 min.The ExileOscar Micheaux193178 min.Hot BiskitsSpencer Williams193110 min.The Girl from ChicagoOscar Micheaux193270 min.Ten min. to LiveOscar Micheaux193258 min.Veiled AristocratsOscar Micheaux193248 min.Birthright Oscar Micheaux193873 min.Bonus: Veiled Aristocrats Trailer (4 min.) Bonus: Birthright Trailer (4 min.) Bonus: We Work Again (BLU-RAY ONLY) – WPA Documentary (1937, 15 min.) The Bronze BuckarooRichard Kahn193958 min.Zora Neale Hurston Fieldwork Footage (excerpt)Zora Neale Hurston19283 min.Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort South Carolina, May 1940 (excerpt) Zora Neale Hurston194015 min.The Blood of JesusSpencer Williams194156 min.Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.Spencer Williams194660 min.Moses Sisters InterviewPearl Bowser197832 min.Bonus: Texas Tyler Promo Film with Ossie Davis (1985, 6 min.) Bonus: The Films of Zora Neale Hurston (2 min.) Bonus: The Films of Spencer Williams (7 min.) Bonus: The End of an Era (4 min.)
See also African American cinema Black women in the silent film era Black women filmmakers Race film
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