Word: jewison
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...science-fiction comedy with more than its share of gags, chills and good feelings. The other is an electrifying whodunit from a veteran director whose films have received 31 Oscar nominations. In a simpler world these two movies-John Sayles' The Brother from Another Planet and Norman Jewison's A Soldier's Story-would pass through the theaters with the usual benediction or indifference from critics and the public. But because the films have casts composed almost entirely of blacks, because Sayles' comedy is set primarily in Harlem and A Soldier's Story...
...rank of high-level executive, argues for Realpolitik: "If you say, 'Let's make X number of black pictures,' you're not being financially responsible." That depends on just what number X is. There is a market; there is a need. As Norman Jewison notes, "All people need heroes. And Hollywood isn't providing blacks with...
...Jewison is white, but he has trudged this weary road before: in 1967 he directed In the Heat of the Night, a crackling confrontation between black man and redneck that won an Oscar for Best Picture. A Soldier's Story is his tautest, funniest, bitterest work since then, with a sparkling cast. For this, credit is due largely to Playwright Charles Fuller, whose A Soldier's Play earned the Pulitzer Prize and just about every other drama award of 1982, and to the Negro Ensemble Company, where the play was first staged. Every actor, from Adolph Caesar...
...latest film, A Soldier's Story, Jewison has stood by his word, creating a thought-provoking though somewhat muddled movie which examines the painful clashes between individuals and cultures. Moreover, his subject-which does not lend itself to an interplanetary plot or elaborate special effects-is no favorite of box-office treasures or Hollywood moguls: racism and discrimination in America...
...result, a fascinating and unusual look behind stereotypes and simple sociological analyses, is the profound achievement of Jewison and screenwriter Charles Fuller, who reworked his own critically acclaimed 1981 drama, the Pulitzer Prize-winning "A Soldier's Play...