Actors/Artists:  David Alan Grier, Joy Bryant, Khleo Thomas, Mario Van Peebles, Nia Long, Ossie Davis, Paul Rodriguez, Rainn Wilson

Director:  Mario Van Peebles

Audio:

English

DC-DVD Price: £18.75

Critics and audiences alike have gotten behind Mario Van Peebles' candid portrait of his father Melvin's struggle as a young, black director during the socially-shifting early '70s.

Determined to make a film that matters, Melvin (played by son Mario) deals with two-faced backers, a rag tag crew, threatening creditors and various shades of Hollywood hypocrisy. Obsessed with and everything on the line, including his failing eyesight and family, his only choice is to stick to his guns and do whatever it takes to get his neo-blaxploitation epic Sweet Sweetback's Baadassss Song to the audience for which it was envisioned

The real-life father and son dynamic brings an intimacy to this inspiring and often hilarious tribute to the father of black cinema. the result is a seamless layering of entertaining drama and poignant documentary that mirrors itself from every angle and never loses its edge.

WARNING: DVD releases from Columbia TriStar Home Video have recently been known to contain an additional embedded code known as Regional Code Enhancement (RCE). In some cases this code may allow the disc to detect if a DVD Player is region specific, or if it has been manufactured or altered in the market to be “region-free” or “multi-region”. If the player is “region-free” or “multi-region” the RCE may not allow the disc to play the program material. It will instead display a message advising that the machine is not authorized to play the disc. The actual wording will be as follows:

THIS DISC IS INTENDED FOR PLAY ON NON-MODIFIED REGION 1 PLAYERS.
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS REGION 1 DISC.
TO ASSURE PLAYBACK YOU SHOULD PURCHASE OR RENT A DISC DESIGNED FOR YOUR REGION.

Due to the implementation of this system, we are unable to determine whether a disc is RCE encoded prior to its release, and the studios are not forthcoming with this information. Therefore this warning only suggests that the title concerned may be RCE encoded, based on recent releases from Columbia TriStar Home Video. Please note however that we are only able to accept returns on genuinely faulty discs, and not those ordered despite this warning. Non-faulty discs will be returned, incurring postage & packing charges. If in doubt, do NOT order this title!

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this situation which is beyond our control.