Product Details

• Actors: Al Freeman, Mary Alice
• Directors: Maya Angelou
• Format: NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 5553718244

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This family drama begins in a gritty Chicago neighborhood with a jobless, hopeless mother (Alfre Woodard) pouring her efforts into the bottle and various drugs rather than her troubled daughter and wise-beyond-his-years son. But the movie soon heads south, as the title suggests, when Mom and kids are sent to live with an uncle for the summer. Their lives change, of course, but that's the only predictable aspect of this 107-minute film. First-time director Maya Angelou brings her poetic sense to Myron Goble's elegant script, and the performances are uniformly excellent, most notably the always superb Woodard, Al Freeman Jr. as her uncle, and Mary Alice as her mother. Wesley Snipes takes a break from his action career to do some acting as Freeman's son, and the late Esther Rolle is haunting in the last portrayal of her career. The film's touch of mystery is provided by one of its most devastating characters, a candelabra called Nathan. Rated PG-13, but suitable for ages 8 and older. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All THat and More, April 17, 2000

By 

thesavvybamalady "swblkdiamond" (Prichard, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Down in the Delta (DVD)

I wasn't able to see this film initially due to me moving back south, but the minute I saw it on video, I rented it, the minute I saw it on sale, I bought it and don't regret it. I am not surprised that this film is not up there as one of the best family films ever made. Here you have a movie made by one of the most talented and versatile women in this country, a cast of some of the best black actors around, and when the movie comes out,it gets little notice. Go figure. When I first saw this movie, I fell in love with it. The fact that this guy took the very object that his father was sold for and it stayed in that family from generation to generation. Beautiful. I think that the movie should be viewed in schools,churches,wherever you have an audience.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First-Rate Drama, October 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Down in the Delta [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Once again, Alfre Woodard shows us why she's one of the top American actresses. I do not understand why she isn't in more big-budget films. Just remember, this is the actress that lit up the stage twenty years ago in Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide. . . ."

Down in the Delta is a splendid film, rich in character development, themes, and filmmaking. Angelou is to be applauded.

We need more films like this!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A well-acted family story, March 30, 2003

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Down in the Delta (DVD)

"Down in the Delta," directed by Maya Angelou, tells the story of Loretta (played by Alfre Woodard), a single mother who lives in Chicago and faces economic hardships. She and her kids move to the family's rural ancestral home to live with her uncle (Al Freeman, Jr.). This change of setting has a profound impact on the family.

Those familiar with Angelou's fine books will probably see similar themes explored in this film. Solid performances are turned in by the excellent ensemble cast. I was especially impressed by Mpho Koaho as Loretta's young son. And veteran performer Esther Rolle turns in particularly moving performance as Loretta's Alzheimer's-afflicted aunt.

This film does a good job of exploring a variety of interconnected relationships in this multigenerational context. The film celebrates family ties and family tradition, as well as one's capacity to overcome adversity.