Product Description

All-American athlete, scholar, renowned baritone, stage actor, and social activist, Paul Robeson (1898–1976) was a towering figure and a trailblazer many times over. He made perhaps his biggest impact, however, in the medium of film. The son of an escaped slave, Robeson managed to become a top-billed movie star around the world during the time of Jim Crow America, always striving to use film to educate viewers about equality, democracy, and the rights of workers. Though he eventually left movies behind, using his international celebrity to speak on behalf of those denied their civil liberties and ultimately becoming a victim of ideological persecution himself, Robeson left a film legacy that continues to speak eloquently of the long and difficult journey of a courageous and outspoken African American.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51900 in DVD
• Brand: IMAGE ENT.
• Released on: 2007-02-13
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 586 minutes

Features

• All-American athlete, scholar, renowned baritone, stage actor, and social activist, Paul Robeson (1898-1976) was a towering figure and a trailblazer many times over. He was perhaps most groundbreaking, however, in the medium of film. The son of an escaped slave, Robeson managed to become a top-billed movie star during the time of Jim Crow America, headlining everything from fellow pioneer Oscar Mi

Amazon.com
Paul Robeson is today known for little more than singing "Ol' Man River" in Showboat, but this hefty and potent collection from Criterion (seven movies and a rich trove of documentary features and commentaries) should return Robeson to much-deserved cultural awareness. An imposing, charismatic black actor who demanded respect when most black actors were trapped in mammy and minstrel roles, and a singer whose deep, rolling voice won him acclaim on the concert stages of Europe, Robeson was among the most significant performers of the 20th Century--until the 1950s, when the U.S. government suspended his passport out of fear that Robeson's commitment to social progress and civil rights would project a negative view of America. But even before then, Robeson's career took place outside of the establishment channels of Hollywood. Paul Robeson: Portraits of the Artist includes two silent films (Body and Soul, a melodrama railing against the hypocrisies of the church, made by the pioneering black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux; and Borderline, a startlingly inventive story of an interracial love rectangle, made by film theorist Kenneth Macpherson), both given additional vitality by contemporary jazz scores; three movies from Robeson's rich period in England (Sanders of the Valley, Jericho, and The Proud Valley, which chart both Robeson's rising social conscience and his increasing clout in the industry); Robeson's most significant Hollywood film, The Emperor Jones, adapted from the Eugene O'Neill play that shot Robeson to stardom in the first place; and the movie that probably reflected Robeson's social beliefs more than any, the remarkable and riveting semi-documentary Native Land, which Robeson narrated.

Robeson is one of those rare actors, like Bette Davis or Humphrey Bogart, whose performances drive his movies as much as the director or the screenplay. Much is made of Robeson's powerful voice and intimidating physique, but just as impressive are his piercing eyes; in every role, a questing intelligence bursts through, looking at the world and cutting through charades and illusions. Criterion packages always have phenomenal extras, but Portraits of the Artist is unusually complex because Robeson's life is as important to his stature as his movies. These excellent features capture the world around Robeson, a world that both raised him up and tore him down. Far from a musty historical document, this is a film package that matters, which will reward and surprise viewers used to conventional notions of Hollywood and America. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

An excellent release
This Release of Paul Robeson films is a great release from Criterion. Released for Black History Month, this set includes 7 feature films and two documentaries.

Each disc contains two fims and select special features

"The Emperor Jones" is about a black man who escapes from a chain gang and flees to the West Indies.
"Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist" is a biographial documentary about Robeson narrated by Sidney Poiteir.
"Body and Soul" is about a corrupt preacher.
"Borderline" is about a group of interracial lovers
"Sanders of the River" is about an African tibesman
"Jericho" is about a black World War I soldier who deserts and heads to Africa,
"The Proud Valley" is about a coal miner in Wales
"Native Land" is socialist documentary film about labor unions.


Disc one contains commentary for "The Emperor Jones" by historian Jeffrey C. Stewart, "Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson" a retrospective containing interviews various black filmmakers and performers including James Earl Jones, and an interview with Robeson's son, Paul Robeson Jr.

Disc two contains commentary for "Body and Soul" by Micheaux historian Pearl Bowser. Also included are new scores for both films on the disc

Disc three contains "True Pioneer: The British Films of Paul Robeson" a progarm featuring interviews with Robeson Jr. and other persons

Disc four contains "The Story of Native Land," an interview with cinematographer Tom Hurwitz, and a1958 radio interview with Paul Robeson.

Also included is a booklet with various other materials

An excellent collection of an important man
Semi-terse comments on this box set:

Here is a set that is more historically important than aesthetically interesting or artistically elegant (with the exception of Borderline). It is nice to see Criterion put out a set (like the Monsters and Madmen collection) that is not director focused. Paul Robeson is such a captivating character that he (usually) rises above the flawed material he is in. It is interesting how music made way into most of his films even when it seemed out of context of the movie. His philosophy of getting early roles for Black work fell way to good roles for African American or nothing at all which is why he stopped acting in the early 40s.

The Emperor Jones (1933): A strong characterization from Robeson (reprising his stage role from Eugene O'Neill's play) as a power hungry and conniving Pullman porter who eventually becomes emperor of a Caribbean island. Dated and a lot of racist language that has been cut out for past edits of the film, but the movie is still interesting to watch. The first two-thirds of the film are so strongly presented by Robeson that his eventual collapse seems unconvincing. Jones is a good early example of an anti-hero. One scene with a lover of Jones refuses the money he gives her after breaking up, but she eventually picks it up reminds me of the similar scene in Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing". Excellent commentary by Jeffrey C. Stewart, Professor of History and Art History at George Mason University and author of Paul Robeson: Artist and Citizen, who discusses the context, mise en scenes, actors and comparisons to the stage play. He does not discuss too many biographical details of Robeson though.

Body and Soul (1925): so far the only film I've seen by Oscar Micheaux in one of four extant silent films from this director. Robeson is decent in this silent-film (Robeson's first film) playing two different characters of Isaiah T. Jenkins and his better brother (though he is stiff in his performance). This movie is a strong commentary on the hypocritical aspects of religious leadership. This movie does make you wonder if the mother could have been ignorant enough to ignore the daughter and her cries against the pastor. I wonder if the ending was considered cliché then because it is certainly now though it could have been the fault of the many edits that were forced upon Micheaux to get this film played. This is discussed in the good commentary by Micheaux author/historian Pearl Bowser. She also discusses a variety of topics including the "Race" movies of the time, Micheaux during this time and the actors that are in the film.

Borderline (1930): Beautiful use of editing and montage (Criterion labels this as Eisensteinian) in this film about an interracial love affair (including Robeson's wife Eslanda) and its consequences. There is not much use of intertitles so it forces you to concentrate on the performances and the particular meanings of each countenance. Paul Robeson is not the focal point of the film. Too bad Kenneth Macpherson did not make another film.

Sanders of the River (1935): this film is embarrassing especially for Robeson who still puts in a strong performance. It is a very pro-British imperialistic film. Some beautiful footage of Africa though (mentioned in the extras that several hours were taken).

Jericho (1937): Robeson's had more artistic control (especially how he worked the end and his characters became more utopian and less realistic) but I the film is a bit too simplistic and ends up a little dated -- though still entertaining. Roberson plays Cpl. Jericho Jackson a top notch military man who saves several men but kills a superior. This forces him to go AWOL where he eventually becomes an important leader to Bedouin in northern Africa. It does a nice job to juxtapose the stereotypical black/white duo with comic relief played by Henry Wilcoxon.

The Proud Valley (1940): slow moving idealistic tale of Welsh coal mineworkers (wayward American played by Robeson does make the coal choir club though) during WWII. Proud Valley deals with the dangers of coalminers but more with the Welsh spirit of continuing life even after a calamity (the mine collapsed and the miners had to fight the government to get it back running again). Heartwarming, but ultimately its ending is too naive. An early Ealing production.

Native Land (1942): very biased pro-union film (the union appears almost as a perfect solution) that reminds me of Michael Moore's work. The characters are so one-dimensional and so extremely polarized that the film seems an exercise in finding the logical fallacies. Paul Robeson does the voice-over well though with his booming, brilliant baritone/bass voice in this quasi-documentary.

The extras are good especially the Academy award winning short "Paul Robeson: Tribute To An Artist" (1979), but are far from complete; not much is made on his pro-Stalin comments (especially the written eulogy for Stalin published in the New World Review, April, 1953). It would have been nice if Criterion put out Robeson's last film "Tales of Manhattan" with this set. I am interested in reading his son's (Paul Robeson Jr.) main book on his father, The Undiscovered Paul Robeson, An Artist's Journey, 1898-1939, where he does talk about Paul's career, his political troubles and his long-term affair with an actress. Paul Robeson Jr. was instrumental in getting this set together. This set is long overdue because other than his rendition of "Ol Man River" for "Show Boat" much of Paul Robeson's legacy has been forgotten because of age and political persecution in the 50s.

Dr Ponchita Lopez's review on Paul Robeson
I was ask by Amazon.com to give my review for this video. This video is an Mr Robeson's excellent form of acting. It is so exciting to see beautiful Afro-American women dancing and singing in one of his movie. Mr Robeson,was before his time. Coming from a talented family,you can see were he getts his talent from.

Robeson was born in Princeton, New Jersey. His father, William Drew Robeson I, ran away from a North Carolina plantation where he had been born a slave; he later graduated from Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) and became a church minister. His mother, Maria Louisa Bustill, came from an abolitionist Quaker family . Paul's four siblings included: William Drew Robeson, a physician who practiced in Washington, D.C.; Benjamin Robeson, a minister; Reeve Robeson (called Reed); and Marian Robeson, who lived in Philadelphia. In 1915, Paul graduated with honors from Somerville High School in Somerville, New Jersey, where he excelled academically and participated in singing, acting, and athletics.

When you view his acting in this video you will see his inheritance of intelligence. I watched this video 4 times in a row. This is the best !

Dr Ponchita Lopez