"Century of Black Cinema" is a very good song for folks who know very little about the subject. However, due to the brevity of the film, it's also a bit superficial and I would really love to see a much longer or multi-part documentary about black actors and actresses in film.
The film pretty much gives a chronological overview of the subject-- from the days around "Birth of a Nation" where many of the 'black' actors were actually white folks in black-face to the first inroads of black actors into Hollywood films to the all-black cinema of the 30s and 40s to more mainstream roles in the 1950s and beyond. Many of these early stars and important films were discussed, though because the film is so short, some films were sadly omitted (such as "Imitation of Life" in 1934 and "Intruder in the Dust") and a few actors omitted as well. This is NOT to say it's a bad film. Despite having a distinctly made straight to video look, the film was interesting, well written and worth seeing.
The film pretty much gives a chronological overview of the subject-- from the days around "Birth of a Nation" where many of the 'black' actors were actually white folks in black-face to the first inroads of black actors into Hollywood films to the all-black cinema of the 30s and 40s to more mainstream roles in the 1950s and beyond. Many of these early stars and important films were discussed, though because the film is so short, some films were sadly omitted (such as "Imitation of Life" in 1934 and "Intruder in the Dust") and a few actors omitted as well. This is NOT to say it's a bad film. Despite having a distinctly made straight to video look, the film was interesting, well written and worth seeing.