Black Cinema - incl. 'Blaxploitation'

Filmmaker Isaac Julien uses film clips and interviews to illustrate the history of the so-called "blaxploitation" genre.

A look at the making of Melvin Van Peebles" Sweet Sweetback"s Baadasssss Song (1971) and Mario Van Peebles" Baadasssss! (2003).

Story of a slave revolt on a 19th-century Caribbean island.

Young black man teams up with a Chinese kung-fu expert to fight a drug ring.

Adventures of sexy and sassy black undercover cop Christie Love.

A former gangster fresh out of prison wants to change his life for the better and must save his 10 year old son who has already chosen a gang life.

A wealthy nightclub owner struggles to reconcile his country upbringing with his city environs.

To make money, a Los Angeles street-fighter goes to work for gangsters.

Vengeance drives a tough Detroit cop to stay on the trail of a power-hungry auto magnate who is systematically eliminating his competition.

When "The Man" tries to derail a black candidate"s presidential campaign, Undercover Brother and his fellow secret agents come to the rescue.

A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.

Wayne and Biggs grow up together on the tough and dangerous streets of Kingston, Jamaica. Eventually moving to Miami, they begin a ruthless climb to the top of a criminal enterprise as they aggressively take control of the Jamaican mob.

A group of hippies who live together in a communal apartment are arrested during a peace demonstration. Upon their release, they return home to discuss plans for another demonstration. That evening in a nightclub, the hippies watch as the mother of a young patron, Donna, arrives to take her home, in an effort to remove her from bad company. Sonny, one of the hippie group, passes Donna a note with the address of the communal apartment. Later at the apartment, a young woman experiences a bad LSD trip in which she "gives birth" to a huge egg. Donna arrives and is introduced to LSD during a musical ritual called "Om Pax Om." The next morning the hippies sell newspapers on a street corner. That evening Sonny and Donna go walking and encounter a gangster drug dealer and his friends, who proceed to beat up Sonny for refusing to become a dealer. The next day, after the second peace demonstration, the pushers wait in the alley for Sonny, and when he appears, they shoot at him but accidentally hit Donna instead. The group conducts a solemn procession through the streets carrying Donna"s body.

After the fall of the Philippines in World War II, the Japanese discover that Gen. MacArthur ordered millions of dollars in silver dumped in Manila Bay in order that it not fall into enemy hands. Among the prisoners the Japanese have taken are two American U.S. Navy deep-sea divers, whom they then force to dive in search of the sunken treasure.

Young woman quickly realizes that prostitution is a harsh reality.

Liberal students from Northern cities drive to the South to encourage social justice reform. The overture is confusing with a realism from criminals in office and a hint of national sentiment leaning towards equality for all.

An 1840s slaveowner trains one of his slaves to be a bare-knuckle fighter.

Private detective investigated a series of murders connected with a drug ring in Venice, California.

To take a briefcase from Hong Kong to Mexico City, via Los Angeles, is it necessary to call on that man - Bolt? With the number of dangerous spies and gangsters who are after that briefcase, maybe Jefferson Bolt is not enough.

A flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed.

After he is released from jail, a pimp takes on the criminals and corrupt police officers who framed him in the first place.

After being murdered by his rivals, Petey Wheatstraw is resurrected, in exchange for marrying the devil"s daughter, the world"s ugliest woman.

Dolemite flees to California, where he helps Queen Bee and her Kung Fu prostitutes battle a local gangster.

Pipe Dreams is a 1976 film starring soul singer Gladys Knight in her acting debut as a woman who attempts to regain the love of her husband played by real-life spouse Barry Hankerson. In this drama, her husband must choose between reuniting with her or giving in to pressure of the local boss.

"Thugs, The Musical" is a faux documentary about Michael Gardner, a mediocre, slightly delusional, "non-urban" black actor in Hollywood. After years of auditioning but not being considered "black enough" to be cast in any of the stereotypical roles that his fellow black actors have been getting (the Gangsta, the fast-talking Sidekick, the doomed Black Guy at the party in the horror movie), Michael decides to write, direct and star in his own theater production - an epically bad play called "Thugs, The Musical!" - to show Hollywood (and the world) that he, too, can "act black."