Melvin Van Peebles

Known for Acting

8/21/1932

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Melvin "Block" Van Peebles (August 21, 1932 - September 21, 2021) was an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer. He was most famous for creating the acclaimed film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which heralded a new era of African American focused films. He was the father of actor and director Mario Van Peebles. Description above from the Wikipedia article Melvin Van Peebles, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For (55 credits)

Sweet Black Film: The Birth of the Black Hero in Hollywood

8.0

Movie

Sweet Black Film: The Birth of the Black Hero in Hollywood

2022

In 1971, director Melvin Van Peebles turned the figure of the black hero in US cinema upside down with Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song: the story of the making of a seminal movie that initiated the Blaxploitation movement, a short-lived but highly influential sub-genre in the years that followed.

Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking

6.3

Movie

Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking

2021

A look at the extraordinary achievements and contemporary legacy of Oscar Micheaux, a pioneer of the African-American film industry.

4.4

Movie

Armed

2018

A former U.S. marshal discovers that all of the survivors of his old unit are experiencing the same symptoms simultaneously and there may be a larger conspiracy at hand.

5.6

Movie

Peeples

2013

The story follows what happens when a child psychologist surprises his girlfriend by showing up at her political family's annual get-together at their Sag Harbor vacation home only to find them desperately in need of therapy.

Movie

Salty Dog Blues

2012

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.

5.0

Movie

Redemption Road

2011

In Tennessee, Bailey, a debt-straddled blues guitarist, is escorted across the state by a man named Augy so that he can collect his recently deceased grandfather's estate. A drama focused on an individual's spiritual redemption.

7.6

Movie

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

2011

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.

Movie

Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat by the Door

2011

A documentary looking at the making and legacy of The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973).

5.1

Movie

American Swing

2009

Chronicles the rise and fall of 1970s New York City nightclub Plato's Retreat.

Movie

Directors on Directing

2009

A look at the development of film making and its contribution to the social and political times form the perspective of Black film makers.

6.0

Movie

The Black List: Volume Two

2009

THE BLACK LIST: VOL. 2 profiles some of today's most fascinating African-Americans. From the childhood inspirations that shaped their ambitions, to the evolving American landscape they helped define, to the importance of preserving a unique cultural identity for future generations, these prominent individuals offer a unique look into the zeitgeist of black America, redefining the traditional pejorative notion of a blacklist.

6.5

Movie

Confessions of a Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha

2008

A semi-autobiographical story about an adventurer whose journeys take him from Harlem to the high seas and back again