The Black List: Intimate Portraits of Black America (Volume One)

[...]Maynard - Through snow flurries last Wednesday, Hollywood-like beams guided late-arrivals Maura Flynn and me to the renovated Strand Theater in Dorchester for the East Coast Premiere of "Black List Volume Two."To me, this film revolutionizes the documentary in form as well as content. I am intrigued with (and relieved by) the elegant simplicity of both, a powerful simplicity that precludes making points by hitting the audience over the head.On Feb. 26th, "The Black List Volume Two," will debut nationally on HBO. "The Black List Volume One," a 2008 Sundance Film festival selection, debuted on HBO last August. Both are the collaboration of world-renowned portrait-photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and renowned writer, journalist and interviewer, Elvis Mitchell.Together, the conversations of the film's guests as well as the razor-sharp craftsmanship and artistry of the film articulate the speed of social progress in just one generation. Think about it -- more than 50 percent of what comprises the U.S. population today could not vote until the last century.In their own words, all the guests told stories, stories about their choices and beliefs, stories that most of us have not yet heard. A strong current common to all their stories is the current of contribution to an idea greater than the individual.Some of the guests in "BlackList Volume Two" are: Kaya Walker, Maya Rudolph, Gov. Deval Patrick, Dr. Valerie Montgomery-Rice, Angela Davis, Lawrence Fishburne, Patrick Robinson, Bishop Barbara Harris, and Charlie Pride. Guests in "Volume One" include: Chris Rock, Toni Morrison, Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, Susan Rice, Serena Williams, Faye Wattleton, and Sean Combs.Both filmsfeature a montage of several minutes of footage distilled from the hour-long interview with each guest. During the interviews, the guests, dressed in solid colors, stand or sit in front of a gray background. They look straight into the camera and their focus never strays from that point on. The simplicity of the framing magnifies every twitch of the eye, crinkle at the mouth, flash of a smile, and gesture with the hands.Each question is based on intensive research and because the voice of the interviewer is never heard in the film, each guest's direct gaze and fresh responses to the interviewer creates a powerful intimacy. I felt as if I was in a room with Toni, Colin, RZV, and Kaya.Outside-of-the-box editing creates incredibly animated visuals of the portraitures. The editor achieves this dynamic by splicing together ten or so takes, varied for different distances. For example, there are close ups as well as more distant shots of framing that ranges from head shots to three-quarter portrait shots to half torso portrait shots.One of my favorite techniques was the inconsistent lapse in synchronization between the audio track and the visual track in the transitions from one take to another. It created an edginess that reminds me of skips on vinyl spinning on a record player and of the scalloped white borders of old photographs.After the screening, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (director), who, with his mane of white hair reminded me of a Christopher Lloyd from "Back to the Future," Tommy Walker (executive producer), and Gov. Patrick (an interviewee) took seats on the stage and questions from the audience. Timothy spoke about the evolution of the project, Tommy Walker, about the funding, and Patrick, about how expertly the guests were put at ease and encouraged to talk."The Black List Volumes," are to the documentary what adrenaline is to the human body. They take this important media form, turn it upside down and shake it. These films will drive the very essence of the documentary in this millennium.[...]Elizabeth Milligan is a Maynard resident and frequent contributor to The Beacon-Villager.

This series is everything the five-star reviews have already told you.Two things I would add:First, the interviews are brief. This feature makes the series ideal for educators who need to manage their classroom time, but also for those who want to use an individual interview as a jumping-off point for further study.Second, there is no captioning available on my dvd set (copyright 2009). There are no subtitles in other languages, and there are no captions for deaf or hard-of-hearing folks, which is a major disappointment and the reason I only gave four stars.

A very powerful documentary of the most dedicated and influential African-Americans. This unique 90 minute film chronicles the ongoing disease of racism, the strength and courage of Black History, Blacks overcome their adversities to become successful and the appreciation of their culture, the hopes and dreams of their ancestors, along with the determination of remaining strong. Slash (musician) highlights his views as a bi-racial being from childhood to adulthood; Toni Morrison (author) gives her views about the spirit and struggles of Blacks in worldwide; Chris Rock (comedian/actor) expresses his views of how comedy made him a better man and a true thinker; Colin Powell (Ret. General and author) gives his views about serving the military and being in the White House; and, Sean "Diddy" Combs (fashion and music mogul) talks about his dream coming true of becoming a powerhouse in the hip-hop industry. Make this DVD part of your library today.

As a young person of color, I found the The Black List (volume 1) to be inspiring and beautifully done. Elvis Mitchell gathers together people of color who have encountered success across industries from athlete's, politicians, writers, artists, activists and comedians. Each vignette shares a common thread that though they are extremely blessed to reach success by following there dreams, we are reminded that never once did they forget their cultural identity and nor did society allow them to forget either. I particularly liked how many of the featured persons shared a moving experience that occurred when they were children or during the formative years of their careers. It shows a side of the black experience that we rarely get to see. I'd recommend both volumes 1 and 2 for everyone, especially black youth to see, appreciate, and learn from.

Let me emphasize first that this DVD has universal appeal. The Black List is a video compilation of 25 stunning interviews of American persons of color who are exceptional individuals from a variety of life undertakings. I saw the exhibit of their vivid, bigger than life still photo portraits at the Brooklyn Museum, and then sat down there to watch this video. All of the biographical interviews are interesting and effectively edited, most are captivating, and at least four are spectacular: Bill Jones, the dancer and choreographer, Chris Rock, the comedian, Serena Williams, the tennis player, and Vernon Jordan, who is the perfect man of the day for almost anything. Each interview gives you a sense of their groundings in family, the molding of their ambitions, their achievements, and their values. The derth of supporting material with the DVD makes you thirst for more information. An inspiring DVD for any young person.

I loved this series, I am still on the look out for the 3rd volume. I got this once on dvd but the dvd was damaged so I repurchased it. I also have the book.

While I admire the efforts of some to show our hip-hop artists (and all their Bling-Bling), it's nice to see something so well done and put together feature an attractive and articulate group of African-Americans who speak openly and candidly about their many successes and few failures. It's an inspiration for us all to never stop reaching for success in life...