A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun
by Kenny Leon

List Price: ~~$24.94~~
Our Price: $22.49
You Save: $2.45 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $5.89 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases

Compare Prices for A Raisin in the Sun

Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada

DVD Cover Information

Actor: Audra McDonald, Bill Nunn, John Stamos, Phylicia Rashad, Sean Combs
Director: Kenny Leon
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Ivan Strasburg
Composer: Mervyn Warren
Editor: Melissa Kent
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 131 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-05-13
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures

Movie Reviews of A Raisin in the Sun

Movie Review: It Is Okay To Like This Production
Summary: 5 Stars

What happens when a film classic is revived? Sometimes it flops, but at other times it shines in a way not like the original but stands alone as a fine production. Such is what happens with Kenny Leon's revival of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun," which is a new version for a new audience while still remaining faithful to the original play. Having just seen again the original 1961 movie I was all set to not like the 2008 film. Not to worry. Mr. Leon has every reason to be proud of his work here. The three women are exceptional. Phylicia Rashad as the matriarch of the Younger family brings a youthfulness to the character of a woman still very much engaged in life and seeping with quiet strenth. Audra McDonald becomes the charcter Ruth, and Sanaa Lathan as Beneatha literally shines as the young twenty-year-old so full of ambition and hope for a better life. While Sean Combs is no Sidney Poitier and is not always completely believable as Walter, he redeems himself in the climatic scene when he delivers his "we just want to be good neighbors" speech to John Stamos, the spokesman for the white neighborhood where the Younger family will be moving to shortly.

There are nice touches added to this film not in the original version, if you have to compare the two. There are more scenes outside of the cramped, claustrophobic apartment where much of the action takes place. Additionally the voice over of Morgan Freeman reading the Langston Hughes poem "A Raisin in the Sun" is beautiful.

Incuded with the DVD is a version of the film with running commentary by Mr. Leon as well as interviews with practically everyone connected with the film. Much is made by all of them that this is a classic, that it is all about living one's dreams, the ability to love, etc., etc., etc., all of which is true. But there is an elephant in the room that these folks are too kind to mention: that at the heart of this movie is the ugly word "racism." Unfortunately too many white people in this country still do not want a black family moving into their neighborhood.

"A Raisin in the Sun" is in the same league as other American classics: "A Streetcar Named Desire, "Death of A Salesman" and "Long Day's Journey into Night." It will be produced anew for each generation, whether on stage or in film. Mr. Leon's version certainly gets an A-.

Write your own review

All A Raisin in the Sun Movie Reviews

Summary of A Raisin in the Sun

Pride and poverty collide in this excellent television movie of the classic play A Raisin in the Sun. When Walter Younger (Sean Combs, a.k.a. P. Diddy), his wife Ruth (Audra McDonald, Private Practice), and his sister Beneatha (Sanaa Lathan, Something New) learn that their deceased father has left their mother Lena (Phylicia Rashad, The Cosby Show) with $10,000 in life insurance, their separate ideas of how to spend it threaten to pull the family apart. Lorraine Hansberry's passionate play ranks in the same tier as Death of a Salesman and Long Day's Journey Into Night. This version is taken from an acclaimed stage production, but the actors have expertly re-pitched their performances for the intimacy of the camera and the script has been subtly but effectively opened up to allow scenes to take place at multiple locations. Lathan, McDonald, and Rashad all deliver rich, multilayered performances; the casting of rapper Combs could have been a mere stunt, but though he lacks the chops of the powerhouse women, he acquits himself decently. Excellent supporting performances from Bill Nunn (Do the Right Thing) and John Stamos round out the cast. All in all, a rewarding adaptation of a play that continues to resonate with America's ongoing struggle with race. --Bret Fetzer

Based on the play that inspired a generation, A Raisin in the Sun tells the story of a family living and struggling on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s. A fiercely moving portrait of people whose hopes and dreams are constantly deferred, A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. The classic, still-relevant story now will be showcased in this totally new television movie adaptation.

Sean Combs reprises the role which brought him critical acclaim in the highly anticipated, special three-hour television movie adaptation of the award-winning Broadway revival. Joining him is the cast of the award-winning production, including Emmy and Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad, four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, Tony Award nominee Sanaa Lathan, plus ER star John Stamos.

Drama DVD Video

DVD Video

Movies most talked about in Drama DVD Video

Lost - The Complete Fourth Season
Buena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2008-12-09; DVD
Best price: $38.99
Price in other shops: ~~$59.99~~

P.S. I Love You
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-05-06; DVD
Best price: $12.00
Price in other shops: ~~$28.98~~

Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fourth Season
Buena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2008-09-09; DVD
Best price: $38.99
Price in other shops: ~~$59.99~~

The Other Boleyn Girl
Sony; Release date: 2008-06-10; DVD
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops: ~~$28.96~~

The Wire - The Complete Fifth Season
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-08-12; DVD
Best price: $38.99
Price in other shops: ~~$59.99~~

Bones - The Complete Second Season
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-09-11; DVD
Best price: $24.00
Price in other shops: ~~$59.98~~

Dexter - The Complete Second Season
PARAMOUNT PICTURES; Release date: 2008-08-19; DVD
Best price: $25.99
Price in other shops: ~~$39.98~~

House, M.D. - Season Four
Release date: 2008-08-19; DVD
Best price: $38.99
Price in other shops: ~~$59.98~~

Mad Men - Season One
LION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2008-07-01; DVD
Best price: $29.93
Price in other shops: ~~$49.98~~

John Adams (HBO Miniseries)
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-06-10; DVD
Best price: $32.91
Price in other shops: ~~$59.99~~

Similar DVD Movies

Cover
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-05-13; DVD
Best price: $17.00
Price in other shops: ~~$26.98~~

Mad Money
STARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2008-05-13; DVD
Best price: $6.58
Price in other shops: ~~$29.97~~

What's Done in the Dark...
LION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2008-02-12; DVD
Best price: $11.85
Price in other shops: ~~$19.98~~

A Good Man Is Hard to Find
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-05-13; DVD
Best price: $17.00
Price in other shops: ~~$26.98~~

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? (Full Screen Edition)
LION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2008-02-12; DVD
Best price: $15.68
Price in other shops: ~~$29.95~~

Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns
LION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2008-07-01; DVD
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops: ~~$29.95~~

First Sunday
Sony; Release date: 2008-05-06; DVD
Best price: $8.48
Price in other shops: ~~$28.95~~

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (Widescreen)
WELCOME HOME ROSCOE JENKINS - WS (DVD MOVIE); Release date: 2008-06-17; DVD
Best price: $13.69
Price in other shops: ~~$29.98~~