Zoot Suit (1981)

Portrait of Jason (1967)

Summary: Black gay prostitute Jason Holliday is rigorously interviewed on his story and character, revealing nuanced truths about life and art.

Release Date: September 29, 1967

Genres: Documentary, Biography

Director: Shirley Clarke

Runtime: 1 h 45 min

MPAA: Not Rated

Production: Shirley Clarke Productions, Graeme Ferguson Productions

Country: United States

Language: English

St. Louis Blues (1929)

Summary: In her only known film appearance, legendary blues singer Bessie Smith witnesses her lover's betrayal, then sings a powerful rendition of the title song.

Release Date: September 08, 1929

Genres: Drama, Music, Short

Director: Dudley Murphy

Writer: Dudley Murphy

Runtime: 0 h 16 min

MPAA: Not Rated

Production: RKO Radio Pictures

Country: United States

Language: English

Sounder (1972)

Summary: The oldest son of a loving and strong family of black sharecroppers comes of age in the Depression-era South after his father is imprisoned for stealing food.

Release Date: April 26, 1973

Genres: Drama, Family

Director: Martin Ritt

Writers: Lonne Elder III

, William H. Armstrong

Runtime: 1 h 45 min

MPAA: G

Production: Radnitz/Mattel Productions, Rainbow Group

Distributor: American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Paramount Home Entertainment, Sterling Entertainment Group, United American Video, Walt Disney Home Video, MarVista Entertainment, Koch Vision, Mill Creek Entertainment, Buena Vista Home Video, Legacy Distribution, The Criterion Channel

Country: United States

Language: English

Domestic: $ 3,100,601

The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man (2018)

Summary: This documentary explores various urban legends around Hollywood's most elusive star.

Release Date: March 10, 2018

Genre: Documentary

Director: Tommy Avallone

Writers: Tommy Avallone

, Max Paolucci

Runtime: 1 h 10 min

MPAA: TV-MA

Production: Double Windsor Films, Old Lime Productions

Country: United States

Language: English

The Learning Tree (1969)

Summary: A bittersweet, idyllic story about a year in the life of 14-year-old Newt Winger, born into a poor Black family in Kansas, who learns about love, fear, racial injustice, and immorality.

Release Date: March 13, 1970

Genre: Drama

Director: Gordon Parks

Writers: Gordon Parks

, Genevieve Young

Runtime: 1 h 47 min

MPAA: PG

Production: Winger

Distributor: Warner Home Video, The Criterion Channel

Country: United States

Language: English

Movie budget: $ 2,000,000

Flower Drum Song (1961)

Summary: A young woman arrives in San Francisco's Chinatown from Hong Kong with the intention of marrying a rakish nightclub owner, unaware he is involved with one of his singers.

Release Date: March 28, 1962

Genres: Comedy, Musical, Romance

Director: Henry Koster

Writers: Joseph Fields

, C.Y. Lee

, Oscar Hammerstein II

Runtime: 2 h 13 min

MPAA: Approved

Production: Ross Hunter Productions, Fields Productions

Distributor: National Broadcasting Company (NBC), MCA Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE), NBC Universal Television Distribution, Kino Lorber, The Criterion Channel

Country: United States

Language: English

Movie budget: $ 4,000,000

Point of Order! (1964)

Summary: An unfiltered, unflinching document of the notorious 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, compiled entirely from raw TV footage (with no narration, music, or added scenes).

Release Date: January 14, 1964

Genre: Documentary

Director: Emile de Antonio

Runtime: 1 h 37 min

MPAA: Not Rated

Production: Point Films

Distributor: Continental Distributing

Country: United States

Language: English

The Informer (1929)

Summary: In 1920s Ireland, an IRA man betrays his best friend to the police, mistakenly believing him to be his mistress's lover.

Release Date: March 17, 1930

Genre: Drama

Director: Arthur Robison

Writers: Benn W. Levy

, Liam O'Flaherty

, Rolf E. Vanloo

Runtime: 1 h 23 min

Production: British International Pictures (BIP)

Country: United Kingdom

Language: English

From the Manger to the Cross (1912)

Summary: An account of the life of Jesus Christ according to the New Testament, told as a series of tableaus interspersed with Bible verses.

Genres: Drama, Biography

Director: Sidney Olcott

Writer: Gene Gauntier

Runtime: 1 h 11 min

MPAA: TV-PG

Production: Kalem Company

Distributor: General Film Company, Vitagraph Company of America, Kino Video

Country: United States

Language: English

The Power and the Glory (1933)

Summary: The tragic life story of a power-hungry industrialist is recounted in the aftermath of his death.

Release Date: October 06, 1933

Genre: Drama

Director: William K. Howard

Writer: Preston Sturges

Runtime: 1 h 16 min

MPAA: Approved

Production: Fox Film Corporation

Country: United States

Language: English

Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser (1988)

Summary: A documentary film about the life of pianist and jazz great Thelonious Sphere Monk. Features live performances by Monk and his band, and interviews with friends and family about the offbeat genius.

Release Date: October 01, 1989

Genres: Music, Documentary, Biography

Director: Charlotte Zwerin

Runtime: 1 h 30 min

MPAA: PG-13

Production: Malpaso Productions, Michael Blackwood Productions, Monk Film Project

Country: United States

Language: English

Domestic: $ 518,918

The Exiles (1961)

Summary: Follows a family of Native Americans living in the City of Angels.

Release Date: July 13, 1961

Genre: Drama

Director: Kent Mackenzie

Writer: Kent Mackenzie

Runtime: 1 h 12 min

MPAA: Not Rated

Country: United States

Language: English

Movie budget: $ 539

Domestic: $ 30,945

Nothing But a Man (1964)

Summary: A black man and his school-teacher wife face discriminatory challenges in 1960s America.

Release Date: January 12, 1966

Genres: Drama, Romance

Director: Michael Roemer

Writers: Michael Roemer

, Robert M. Young

Runtime: 1 h 35 min

MPAA: Not Rated

Production: DuArt Film and Video, Nothing But a Man Company

Country: United States

Language: English

Movie budget: $ 300,000

Domestic: $ 13,063

4 Little Girls (1997)

Summary: A documentary of the notorious racial terrorist bombing of an African American church during the Civil Rights Movement.

Release Date: July 09, 1997

Genres: Documentary, History

Director: Spike Lee

Runtime: 1 h 42 min

MPAA: TV-14

Production: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Home Box Office (HBO)

Country: United States

Language: English

Domestic: $ 130,146

Stormy Weather (1943)

Summary: The relationship between an aspiring dancer and a popular songstress provides a retrospective of the great African-American entertainers of the early 1900s.

Release Date: November 17, 1943

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Music

Director: Andrew L. Stone

Writers: Frederick J. Jackson

, Ted Koehler

, H.S. Kraft

Runtime: 1 h 18 min

MPAA: Approved

Production: Twentieth Century Fox

Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox, Twilight Time, Key Video

Country: United States

Language: English

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)

Summary: Filmmaker William Greaves auditioned acting students for a fictional drama, while simultaneously shooting the behind-the-scenes drama taking place.

Release Date: October 28, 1968

Genre: Documentary

Director: William Greaves

Writer: William Greaves

Runtime: 1 h 15 min

MPAA: Not Rated

Production: Take One Productions

Distributor: Janus Films, The Criterion Channel, The Criterion Collection

Country: United States

Language: English

The Watermelon Woman (1996)

Summary: A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.

Release Date: March 05, 1997

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Director: Cheryl Dunye

Writers: Cheryl Dunye

, Douglas McKeown

Runtime: 1 h 30 min

MPAA: Unrated

Production: Dancing Girl

Distributor: First Run Features, The Criterion Channel

Country: United States

Language: English

Movie budget: $ 300,000

Domestic: $ 1,989

Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)

Summary: A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.

Release Date: September 28, 1977

Genre: Documentary

Director: Barbara Kopple

Runtime: 1 h 43 min

MPAA: PG

Production: Cabin Creek Films

Country: United States

Language: English