The best Melvin Van Peebles’s documentary movies
We present our ranking of the best Melvin Van Peebles’s movies. Do you love cinema? Or are you looking for a movie of your favorite actor to watch tonight? Surely you have some to see or that you did not know yet about Melvin Van Peebles.
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
7.6/10
Examines the evolution of the Black Power Movement in US society from 1967 to 1975. It features footage of the movement shot by Swedish journalists in the United States during that period and includes the appearances of Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, and other activists, artists, and leaders central to the movement.
Classified X
7.4/10
A history of the racially stereotyped portrayal of African Americans in cinema, hosted by film pioneer Melvin Van Peebles.
American Swing
6.2/10
Chronicles the rise and fall of 1970s New York City nightclub Plato's Retreat.
Wattstax
7.7/10
Wattstax is the 1973 documentary film about the Afro-American Woodstock concert held in Los Angeles seven years after the Watts riots. Director Mel Stuart mixes footage from the concert with footage of the living conditions in the current day Watts neighborhood. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Documentary Film.
BaadAsssss Cinema
6.9/10
With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than a complete record. It features interviews with some of the genre's biggest stars, like Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, and Richard Roundtree. Director Melvin Van Peebles discusses the historical importance of his landmark film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. For a contemporary perspective, the excitable Quentin Tarantino offers his spirited commentary and author/critic bell hooks provides some scholarly social analysis.
How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)
7.1/10
Feature-length documentary on renegade filmmaker, novelist, musician and theater impresario, Melvin Van Peebles.
Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat by the Door
7.6/10
A documentary looking at the making and legacy of The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973).
Salty Dog Blues
The film looks at men and women of color in the U.S. Merchant Marine from 1938-1975. Through chronicling the lives of these men and women who, with a median age of 82, are beset with a host of life-threatening illnesses, the movie tells how they navigated issues of racism, disparities in the workplace, gender and familial relations.
The Real Deal: What It Is
This twenty-two minute interview with Melvin Van Peebles has the cult filmmaker starting things off by lighting a cigar, which is something he has done in several interviews. From here he talks about the making of his hit film SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG, which of course broke all sorts of records and is what would kick start the blaxploitation genre. If you're a fan of the film or the director then you should enjoy this featurette, which tries to have a raw look like the film in question, although the effect here is a bit lame. With that said, there are still some very good stories told including one about a STD Van Peebles got during one of the scenes in the film. He talks about a few specific scenes in the picture as well as the now infamous one featuring his son in a sex scene. There's nothing ground-breaking here but it's certainly an entertaining interview.
