Horrible movie


This is a bad movie.

The acting sucked.

And the prayer parts in the movie were very degrading. The women were making sex noises, and people were acting like animals. WTF???

And what is up with the main character falling in love with his adopted sister (I am assuming she is adopted)???

And why the hell was he following that gold digger like a dog???

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I wouldn't say that the acting "sucked", but I agree that this was a pretty lousy movie. I was expecting a lot more from King Vidor. The main character was more than a little off-putting, and yet we were supposed to somehow sympathise with him in the end when he returns to his family? Why were they all so glad to see him? I would have run away screaming, after all the harm he did!

I just did not understand what the message of the movie was supposed to be. Was it supposed to be pro-religion or what? It was confusing and also pretty boring. A lot of people will say that movies from 1929 were always a little stilted and couldn't help but be dull, but I don't think that's true. A lot of my favourite films were made in the early days of sound, including The Broadway Melody of 1929 and Morocco.

I swear, at this point my apathy is palpable.

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Well, the movie was about a man who stuck between good and bad, being religious or a sinner. He got tempted and vamped by a woman who in a way controled him as if she was a devil. She like him had a hard time choosing good or bad. I enjoy the movie but you gotta be the right type of person with color to enjoy the movie. I enjoyed Nina Mae McKinney, if anything, she kept my attention if no one else did. It was a very good movie.

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I thought Nina Mae McKinney was beautiful. I am sorry to say that I had not known of her until I bought this movie. Learning about her, and seeing the Nicholas Bros so young in the featurette made it a worthwhile buy for me. I haven't listened to the commentary yet, but it should be very interesting. Considering the age of the film I thought it looked and sounded fine.

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I've seen worst but I was expecting more with it being a King Vidor film. It has moments but overall just OK. Nina Mae McKinney is the best thing about it. My rating: 6/10

Sarah Palin http://www.jedreport.com/2008/08/sarah-palin-what-is-it-exactly.html

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So don't WATCH it. Millions LOVE this movie, and know it to be one of the great movie classics of all time!

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It's an excellent movie! It was filmed silent and the sound was added in. Its also one of the first African American movies ever.

The scene where the fiance is crying loking for Zeke who has run off with the ho, is a tearjerker.

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I love this movie, it's one of my favorites! Nina Mae's so beautiful and talented I wish she was around today!

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As a Black person, I found this film hard to watch considering the way blacks were depicted. The dialogue was awful.

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I watched the film before and it wasn't very enthralling. I prefer Cabin In The Sky, Carmen Jones, and Porgy & Bess. Those were better all black musicals.

Happiness is seeing Justin Beaver die

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I am formerly known as HillieBoliday....Member since May 2006

I am African-American, and as hard as it may be to watch.....it does depict a true time in the lives of black people and what they experienced living in the rural, oppressive, brutal south!

I am of the generation who had grandparents who lived during these times in the south; and were able to tell us firsthand, their painful experiences of having been there...done that!

I am glad the film is here to remind us how far we've come....or haven't come....depending how you look at it.

I feel....if my people who came before me can live through times like that.....I owe it to them to watch it!



"OOhhhooo....I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"

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I am formerly known as HillieBoliday....Member since May 2006

I am African-American, and as hard as it may be to watch.....it does depict a true time in the lives of black people and what they experienced living in the rural, oppressive, brutal south!

I am of the generation who had grandparents who lived during these times in the south; and were able to tell us firsthand, their painful experiences of having been there...done that!

I am glad the film is here to remind us how far we've come....or haven't come....depending how you look at it.

I feel....if my people who came before me can live through times like that.....I owe it to them to watch it!



"OOhhhooo....I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"

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According to Robert Osborne, many of the actors were not professionals, and critics at the time applauded this fact. For example, the actor playing Zeke's father was born a slave and worked as a janitor when he was cast for this movie.

Nobody gets to be a cowboy forever.

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I guess the original poster never read the part in the BIble about the return of the prodigal son. African Americans are very forgiving religiously. I see this every once in awhile where I live.

If there is a murder case whites always want blood and to even be there when the execution takes place. Black families often ask that the life of the defendant be spared and I have even seen some families on the tv news meet in the hallways outside the courtroom to sympathsize for the effects on both families.

The original poster should stick to the singing and dancing pap Hollywood studios ground out two decades later when it was safer.

I don't know everything. Neither does anyone else

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I enjoyed this for what it was. I'm black and yes, the stereotypes could be hard to take, but I'm willing to overlook them. This film and Raoul Walsh's THE BIG TRAIL are two early talkies that actually "move" and have thrilling outdoor scenes. But if I'd been The "prodigal son's" relative, I'd have tried to kick his natural a#**&^% for having lost that money. I doubt anyone alive today realizes just how much $100 would've meant to a rural family of that time.
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?

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OK I just got through watching this movie on TCM. It's tough to criticize this movie, because it was made in 1929 with people who had no acting experience. And yes I know it was King Vidor directing, but I feel the direction was excellent considering the year this was made, the inexperienced actors, and the fact that it was an all-black cast.

Being white, it is hard to relate to the subject matter. I didn't grow up in the South, so I don't know if the preachy parts were accurately portrayed, nor the scene in the juke joint. I do see that African-Americans watching this would be offended by the stereotypes.

The music overall was wonderful, especially in the juke joint. I think this movie needs to be viewed as for what it was, a 1929 classic for its time, and that the plot needs to be set aside.

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I rewatched the film last week when I was laid up with foot problems and couldn't move around. Yes, I'm STILL set on edge by the in-your-face stereotypes, but compared with most other early talkies I've seen, this is technically in another galaxy. Camera movement, evocative lighting, fairly modern sound recording and nightime scenes.
OK, the odd mixture of professional and amateur performers could be jarring, but I was amazed thht Nina Mae McKinney was only a teenager. Unfortunately, like Dorothy Dandridge a generation later, she'd discover that her career had no where to go.
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?

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