Customer Reviews

Black Like Me [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the most powerful film with regards to the race problem in the Unites States that I have ever seen. A white man, doing research in sociology, turns himself black with the use of certain drugs, which allows him a glimpse into how "the other half" lived. Our protagonist gets a full dose of what it was like to be a black man in the middle years of the twentieth century. the attitudes of blacks as well as whites are examined throughout the film, and are quite ineteresting. (It's also a bit interesting to see "Grandpa Walton" playing a racist bigot!) A very important film that I would recommend to anyone, although it is not easy to watch. Anyone who gets through this film may very well have a darker opinion of humanity when it is over.

For those of us of a certain generation, this was a seminal movie. It brought race relations to the fore in a way which Time Magazine articles or even newsreel footage of Civil Rights marchers being sprayed down by power hoses didn't.

The impact came, for me at least, from James Whitmore's understated, slow-burn performance. Nothing that dramatic happens to him in this movie. He's just shunted off incrementally, in one place or another, for no other reason than that he's passing himself off for black. It's really a Spencer Tracy acting turn, in a way. His transformation from weakling to adjudicator is akin to Tracy's in BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK.

The Bad guys are pretty much set up in a row. We also know who the good guy is. Hate to use the analogy, but things are presented in very black and white terms here. We know who the heroes and villains are. But the drama is in how it plays out. Whitmore learns lesson after painful lesson. The upshot is that his story and the film itself acts as a powerful exposé of the segregrationalist policies of the era. It made it a lot harder for the South to justify it's arcane drinking fountain, swimming pool, cafe-seating, bus-seating policies, in other words. One of the really important movies of the era, in other words, and one that should still be receiving kudos!
BEK

I developed a very wierd feeling while I was watching this video. James Whitmore gives a tour de force performance in a movie that is very raw and atmospheric; a film that undoubtedly caused a stir when it was produced. This film is a must see.

I first read this book when I was still a teenager, and got to see the movie years later on those classic movie channels during Black History Month, and it is and was as thought provoking now as it was then. I don't know how this man wanted to do what some deem unthinkable, but he did, and he has my admiration. In the movie after revealing his true heritage, the man of the house wanted to know why would he do such a thing, while the younger man was real critical of him, and to top that, they were wondering why he would take advantage of his hospitality like that. Like a reverse racism thing if you would. But, I think that they were just bewildered by the whole thing. Please check out the book, and the movie if you can. They play it on Turner Classic Movies esp. during Black History Month.

This movie is too good to not let the average person see it because it is cost-prohibited.
It has to be reduced.
It is an excellent movie
Who's making a killing?

Although dated, this film is griping and disturbing and should be seen. It needs to be re-released so that it can be seen. Not all people can aford the collector's price of those very few scarce copies that become available.

Please, Please release this VHS movie on DVD! It is a powerful and important movie. Why has it not been released on DVD?

The acting is stilted, the quality poor, and the script strays too far from the actual book. Since I bought a used VHS, I didn't lose out on all that much, but it most definitely isn't worth the full price for a new video. I showed it to my class of seniors and they found one discrepancy after another. It's a shame they don't remake the movie. It could be a powerful voice, but was quite muted in this version.

I guess it's true when they say you have to walk in the shoes of another before you can understand them. This truth becomes even more apparent in this compelling film. James Whitmore turns in a stellar performance as John Howard Griffin, a white man who became black. Travelling through the Southern states as a black man, he learned much about the state of the races. The film is not a feel good piece of filmmaking. Rather, it presents the state of race relations as they were, (are) without candy-coating, blemishes and all. The truth is that while there has been much progress in race relations, one wonders how much of this is really cosmetics. The given that the racial divide extends to not only race, but language and culture, I suspect that there has not been that much progress. As for how I am able to comment on this film, I don't own the DVD. I have an old VHS copy. It's somewhat trashed, but still watchable. One wonders why this landmark film has not found its way into the Criterion Collection and available to all, rather than as overpriced used copies on Amazon.

Please re-release this amazing film on DVD!!!So that humble people such as myself can afford it. Thanks!!!