Nothing But a Man

Pay with

About Nothing But A Man

Amazon.com From the era when American films almost never put black characters at the center of a movie, Nothing but a Man stands like a beacon of intelligence and sympathy. It was shot in 1964 at the height of the Civil Rights movement by two Jewish white men, director Michael Roemer and cinematographer Robert M. Young, who wrote the script after traveling through the South and immersing themselves in African American life. Ivan Dixon (later of Hogan's Heroes) plays a railroad worker who settles down to marry a preacher's daughter (jazz singer Abbey Lincoln), only to find that the system is rigged against him. The film is not condescending or idealizing in its approach; some of the problems of the characters are outside the reality of racism. Aside from its status as a landmark social-issue film, it is good to recognize, 40 years on, what a terrific piece of filmmaking this is, with fine acting (Yaphet Kotto and Gloria Foster are in the cast), lucid dialogue, and a fresh feeling for everyday domestic life. --Robert Horton Product Description A landmark independent film, NOTHING BUT MAN is one of the most sincere and sensitive pictures ever made about the struggles and hardships of Black life in 1960s America. Lauded by critics at the Venice and New York film festivals when it first premiered Additional Features Brief interviews with cast members look back from the perspective of four decades, and liner notes give excellent background on the shooting of the film itself. A short gives the flavor of Abbey Lincoln's singing and personality. Best is a half-hour conversation between German-born director Michael Roemer (who made the long-unseen curio, The Plot Against Harry) and cinematographer Robert M. Young (who went on to direct The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez and Short Eyes). Both men are sharp in their recollections and their admiration for each other. --Robert Horton