Joe Karlosi
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2003
- Messages
- 6,008
A Raisin in the Sun (1961) :star::star::star:1/2
I caught this on TCM and I really was affected by it. Very strong take on the play (which I'd heard of, but have never seen in any form) with mostly gripping performances. Sidney Poitier plays a 35-year-old limo driver who struggles hard to support his family - consisting of his wife, son, sister, and old mother - who must live in a cramped apartment in the ghetto but have a ray of hope when they come into a small insurance settlement after the death of the father. You really feel the frustrations, heartaches, and pain of the poor black family struggling to make ends meet and come together, and it's a very powerful situation. Mousey John Fiedler was the perfect actor to play the disingenuous and creepy man trying to buy back a home that the family has purchased in an exclusively white neighborhood. All the principle performers are terrific, especially the mother (Claudia McNeil) and the young wife (Ruby Dee). Sidney Poitier is interesting in the way he plays his frenzied part, but truthfully his overacting borders on the absurd at times, which is the only reason I felt inclined to shave a half star from my rating. I have no desire or need to see any of the other versions (including a new one supposedly coming soon with P. Diddy, LOL!) as this one affected me perfectly and it would be hard to top.
I caught this on TCM and I really was affected by it. Very strong take on the play (which I'd heard of, but have never seen in any form) with mostly gripping performances. Sidney Poitier plays a 35-year-old limo driver who struggles hard to support his family - consisting of his wife, son, sister, and old mother - who must live in a cramped apartment in the ghetto but have a ray of hope when they come into a small insurance settlement after the death of the father. You really feel the frustrations, heartaches, and pain of the poor black family struggling to make ends meet and come together, and it's a very powerful situation. Mousey John Fiedler was the perfect actor to play the disingenuous and creepy man trying to buy back a home that the family has purchased in an exclusively white neighborhood. All the principle performers are terrific, especially the mother (Claudia McNeil) and the young wife (Ruby Dee). Sidney Poitier is interesting in the way he plays his frenzied part, but truthfully his overacting borders on the absurd at times, which is the only reason I felt inclined to shave a half star from my rating. I have no desire or need to see any of the other versions (including a new one supposedly coming soon with P. Diddy, LOL!) as this one affected me perfectly and it would be hard to top.