African-American Studies Collections

Filmography: O

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

---

OLD AFRICAN BLASPHEMER.
1977. 55 minutes.
Documentary. Slave Trade, History of. Middle Passage.

"Depicts the horrors of a typical slave ship's crossing of the Atlantic during the late 18th century."
Notes: A BBC production written and narrated Evan Jones. Produced by Christopher Ralling. A segment of the series The Fight Against Slavery.

OMOWALE: CHILD RETURNS HOME.
1965. 30 minutes.
Documentary. African-American Heritage. African-American Studies. (In 16mm only).

"Shows John Williams, a Mississippi born black novelist, on an odyssey to Africa to explore his ancestral roots. He examines the relationship of the American Negro to Africa in visits to the old slave port of Badagary and at tribal religious ceremonies. Includes interviews with Nigerian novelists Cyprian Ekwinsi and Chinua Achebe and also with Civil Rights leader James Meredith."

ONCE UPON A TIME . . . WHEN WE WERE COLORED.
1996. 113 minutes.
Melodrama. African-American Family Life. Segregation. African-American directors. Directed by Tim Reid.

Actor Tim Reid directs a strong cast in this honestly and heartfelt evocation of black family life in the fictional small town of Glen Allan, Mississippi. The film has a serenely quiet pace one set primarily by Reid's clean, unfettered direction and the wondrous grace and graciousness of Al Freeman, Jr.'s performance as the wise, proud grandfather of the young hero's family. With: Phylicia Rashad, Leon, Paula Kelly, Salli Richardson, Anna Maria Horsford, Bernie Casey, Isaac Hayes, Willie Norwood, Jr., Kern Malina White, Damon Hines, Taj Mahal, Iona Morris, Phil Lewos, Polly Bergen, Richard Roundtree.
Notes: Music by Steve Tyrell. Photography by John Simmons. Screenplay by Paul W. Cooper from the book Once Upon a Time . . . When We We're Colored by Clifton L. Taulbert.


ONE FALSE MOVE.
1992. 106 minutes.
Crime melodrama. African-American film directors. Directed by Carl Franklin.

A drug dealer, his girlfriend Fantasia, and cold-blooded henchman pull a drug rip-off in LA They leave five dead people behind. LA police pick up their trail thanks to an overlooked videotape and one eyewitness -- a small boy [whose parents were among the murder victims] left out of pity by the killer's girl friend, Fantasia. With their heist they move East towards Bob and Fantasia's home town in Arkansas, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. In Arkansas, a local police chief teams with LA cops to capture the murderers. This film was almost consigned to video stores only until several film reviewers helped make it a cult and art house hit. It's revitalization is well deserved. Carl Franklin, a black actor turned director has fashioned one of the best crime drama's of the '90s [bested only by his later Devil in a Blue Dress]. It's a violent film, filled with a sinister, frightening tension, yet it has startlingly insightful notions regarding romantic and family relations. The cast is uniformly excellent. One of the best films of 1992. With: Bill Paxton, Cynda Williams, Billy Bob Thornton, Micheal Beach, Earl Billings and Jim Metzler.
Notes: Music by Peter Haycock and Derek Holt. Photographed by James L. Carter. Screenplay by Billy Bob Thornton. Box-office gross: $1,500,000.

OTELLO.
1982. 145 minutes. Sung in Italian with subtitles. (V786).
Opera. Video directed by Preben Montell. Guiseppe Verdi's last tragic opera.

The libretto, by Boito, is an adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice. In this video production, Vladimir Atlantov sings Otello and Kiri Te Kanawa is Desdemona and Iago is played by Peitro Cappuccilli.


OTHELLO.
1965. 167 minutes.
Shakespeare. Laurence Olivier. Directed by Stuart Burge.

Laurence Olivier is Othello, Maggie Smith is Desdemona, Joyce Redman is Emilia and Frank Finlay is Iago in this famous filmed stage production of Shakespeare great tragedy. Olivier's performance is richly observed. He embodies the role like no other European actor ever has. Far and away the most intriguing filming of the great moody play by Shakespeare. The cast also includes Derek Jacobi, Robert Lang, Kenneth Mackintosh, Anthony Nicholls, Shelia Reid,
Notes: Produced by Anthony Havelock-Alland and John Brabourne. National Theatre production and costumes designed by Jocelyn Herbert. Film art director, William Kellner. National Theatre production directed by John Dexter. Music by Richard Hampton. Photography by Geoffrey Unsworth.


OTHELLO.
1987. 187 minutes. (V3345).
Shakespeare. South African Theater. South Africa. Directed by Janet Suzman.

John Kani is Othello, Richard Hadden Haines is Iago, Joanna Weinberg is Desdemona in this South African produced and staged version of the play. For any performance of this play to gain stature, the actor playing the Moor must have better-than-average magnetism. John Kani is a quiet, almost reticent Othello, much too introspective. Richard Haines is a boisterous, mean-spirited Iago. The best performance is that of Joanna Weinberg as Desdemona. Hers is a spirited, honorable woman destroyed by being "loved too well." With: Dorothy Gould as Emilia, Frantz Dobrowsky as Roderigo. Neil McCarthy as Cassio.
Notes: Music by John Oakley-Smith. Edited by Revel Fox. Lighting Designer, Mannie Manim.


OTHELLO.
1951. 91 minutes. (V2874).
Shakespearean Tragedy. Directed by Orson Welles.

Welles' forays into Shakespeare are among the most intriguing and challenging efforts at filming the bard on record. Invariably he operated on minuscule budgets and the most trying of circumstances with each effort except the RKO produced MacBeth. This Othello like his later Chimes at Midnight (FALSTAFF) was done over a period of three years -- Welles had to work in acting jobs (including The Third Man) to get financing, and according to Otto Friedrich in his fine book about 1940s Hollywood, The City of Nets, Welles embarrassed Darryl F. Zanuck into helping to finance this film. Whatever myths surrounds the making of this Othello, it is a fascinating effort. Without the funds sufficient to mount a major production Welles used odd camera angles, grainy black and white photography and stark, simple sets (much of it shot in North Africa) to present this tragedy about jealousy, love, and hatred. The images are raw and forceful though the quality of the sound ranges from poor to atrocious. With: Welles as Othello, Michael Mac Liammoir as Iago, Robert Coote as Roderigo, Suzanne Clotier as Desdemona, Hilton Edwards as Brabanto, Nicholas Bruce as Lodivico, Doris Dowling as Bianca, Fay Compton as Emilia, and Michael Laurence as Cassio.
Notes: Photographed by Arricheis Brizzi, G.R. Aldo, and George Fanto. Music by Franceso Lavagnino and Alberto Barbera. Narrated by Welles.


OTHELLO.
1990. 210 minutes.
Shakespeare, William. Tragedy. Directed by Trevor Nunn.

Ian McKellen is Iago and Willard White, Othello, in this Trevor Nunn production of Shakespeare tragedy of hate and jealousy. With: Imogen Stubbs as Desdemona, Clive Swift as Brabantiko/Gratiano, Sean Baker as Cassio, John Burgess ad Duke of Venice/Lodovico, Brian Lawson, David Hounslow as Servant to the Senate, Philip sully as Montano, Zoe Wanamaker as Emilia, Marsha Hunt as Bianca.
Notes: Music by Guy Woolfenden. Musical direction by Jonathan Goldstein. Cameras by Paul Harding and Jim Day. Adapted for television by David Myerscough-Jones. Produced by Greg Smith. This is one of two versions with black actors portraying the Moor of Venice (the other's Janet Suzman's South African production with John Kani as Othello). The Kenneth Branagh version of the play with Laurence Fishburne as Othello and Brannagh as Iago is not yet available in our collection but has been ordered.


OTHELLO.
1980. 208 minutes. (V823).
Directed by Jonathan Miller.

Anthony Hopkins is the Moor of Venice in this BBC version of Shakespeare's tragic play. Iago is played by Bob Hoskins. It is not a generally well regarded adaptation of the play. Hopkins' performance is an oddity stylistically.


THE OTHER FRANCISCO.
1975. 100 minutes. In Spanish with English subtitles. (V2286).
Cuba. Slavery, Cuba. Directed by Santiago Llapur.

The story of a slave couple in 19th century Cuba whose love is destroyed by the brutality of the slave system. It is a story of brutality and confused liberalism. The film contrasts the life and hell of the slaves with the liberal anti-slavery elite. The film is presented in two parts. The first highlights the sentimental story of the slaves' love. The second part is a dialectical presentation of the same story, in context of the real brutality of slavery when rebellion and the very signs of independence are totally crushed. The film is emotionally raw at times and almost excessively violent. With: Miguel Benavides, Ramon Veloz, Alina Sanches, Margarita Balboa, and Adolfo Llaurado.
Notes: Screenplay by Sergio Ciral, from the novel by Anselmo Suarez Romero. Photographed by Livio Delgado. Music by Leo Brouwer.


THE OTHER SIDE OF THE NEWS see THE BOSTON HOAX: THE POLICE, THE PRESS, AND THE PUBLIC


OUR TIME HAS COME.
1984. 50 minutes. (V931).
Jesse Jackson. Democratic National Convention of 1984. Speech/Address.

A videotape of Reverend Jesse Jackson's stirring speech to the 1984 Democratic National Convention on July 17, 1984.
Notes: Produced by Ray Harris. Photographed by Bruce Talon.


OUT OF AFRICA.
1985. 161 minutes. (V1205).
Isak Dinesen. Romantic Melodrama. Directed by Sydney Pollack.

A wealthy woman makes a marriage of convenience with a nobleman. They move to Kenya where the nobleman has a large estate. On arriving, the woman, Karen Blixen, discovers that her husband is an utter failure at farming. She also finds out more about his womanizing. As they become even more estranged the story becomes one of how Blixen made a go of the estate on her own, of how she fell in love with Kenya and Africa, and of her affair with a famous British explorer. An extremely attractive film, well acted and directed. It is too long, and is definitely a romanticization of author Isak Dinesen's life. With: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen, Mallick Bowens, Joseph Thiaka, Stephen Kinyanjuik, Michael Gough, Suzanna Hamilton, Rachel Kempson, and Graham Crowden.
Notes: Screenplay by Kurt Luedtke. Photography by David Watkin. Music by John Barry. Academy Awards for best picture, director, screen adaptation, photography, art/set decoration, sound, and musical score. Other nominations best actress (Streep), supporting actor (Brandauer), editing, and costume design. Box-office gross: $43,103,469.


OUT OF THE BLACKS INTO THE BLUES: ALONG THE OLD MAN RIVER.
1992. 52 minutes.
Documentary. African-American Music. Blues. Rhythm and Blues, Rural Roots.

Out of the Blacks Into the Blues is a two-part series that focuses on the story of the blues using interviews and performances. The first part, Along the Old Man River features Bukka White, Furry Lewis, Roosevelt Sykes, Robert Pete Williams, and Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry.
Notes: Titles include: Robert Pete Williams-- Old Gal on My Door and Scrap Iron Blues, Bukka White-- Poor Boy Blues and Jelly Roll Blues, Furry Lewis-- When I Lay My Burden Down and St. Louis Blues, Roosevelt Sykes-- Running the Boogie, Driving Wheel and Sweet Home Chicago, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee-- John Henry. Directed by Robert Manthoulis.


OUT OF THE BLACKS INTO THE BLUES: A WAY TO ESCAPE THE GHETTO.
1992. 52 minutes.
Documentary. African-American Music. Blues. Rhythm and Blues. Urban Blues.

Out of the Blacks Into the Blues is a two-part series that focuses on the story of the blues using interviews and performances. The second part, A Way To Escape The Ghetto features B.B. King, Willie Dixon, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Mance Libscomb and Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry.
Notes: Titles include: Junior Wells and Buddy Guy-- ship In the Ocean, Willie Dixon-- Jelly Jam, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup-- Greyhound Bus Station, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee-- Four Word Five Letter Blues and My Baby Done Changed the Lock on that Door, B.B King-- All of Your Affection, Little Bit of Love, and I Need My Woman, Mance Libscomb-- See See Rider, Rock Me Baby, and All Night Long, Directed by Robert Manthoulis.