Hallelujah
by King Vidor, Roy Mack
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Daniel L. Haynes, Eubie Blake, Fayard Nicholas, Harold Nicholas, Nina Mae McKinneyDirector: King Vidor, Roy Mack
Brand: Warner Brothers
Writer: King Vidor
Writer: A. Dorian Otvos
Writer: Marian Ainslee
Writer: Ransom Rideout
Writer: Richard Schayer
Writer: Wanda Tuchock
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-01-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Hallelujah
Movie Review: "It was wrong then and it's wrong now."
Summary: 5 Stars
Before the main feature we have two musical shorts that include the stage tapping Nicholas Brothers. Little Harold, a remarkably energetic dancer, would later perform a fine rendition of "Across the Sea" in the opening Las Vegas segment of FUNNY BONES (1995). He's here with older brother Fayard; both look dapper. (As we learn from the PBS special entitled VAUDEVILLE, the brothers always refused to dress in rags or do anything that denigrated African-Americans. This steadfastness limited their movie career.)
The first short, PIE, PIE BLACKBIRD (1932) has Eubie Blake and a small jazz band playing from inside an open pie crust! The Nicholases dance, but they don't get near those blackbirds in their pie.
The second two-reeler is equally egregious.
THE BLACK NETWORK (1934) is about a radio show sponsored by "Pullman Porter Shoe Polish." A rather homely comedienne named Amanda Randolph sings badly on this live broadcast while her movie husband, 'Basement' Brown grimaces behind her back and makes "get outta here with that" motions. The Washboard Serenaders are enjoyable; Harold and Fayard sing and dance in their sharply-tailored matching suits. It's solid entertainment despite stereotypes.
HALLELUJAH! (1929) is preceded by a lengthy disclaimer from WARNER's that decries the film's stereotypes: "It was wrong then and it's wrong now."
After duly-noted warnings, what we see is how life was for Southern sharecroppers, who still existed much as their Antebellum ancestors had: laboring long hours in cotton fields, living in dirt floor shacks and sharing a fervent, demonstrative faith. Arkansas pickaninny dialect is the only regrettable element in King Vidor's presentation of what was at that time a way of life for many.
A subsequent story of the floozie who, along with a loaded-dice carrying ally, cheat an unsophisticated farmer out of his hard-earned hundred dollars also rings true. A skirmish between this fleeced man and the cheater results in the accidental shooting of the victim's kid brother. Back home, our grief-stricken farmer wails a song of pain to the Lord. Other mourners encourage him to become a minister, which he does.
HALLELUJAH! is a beautifully-rendered motion picture of great power, easily the best of the first generation of talkies. Transfer quality from a well-preserved print is excellent. Highest recommendation!
Summary of Hallelujah
Hallelujah is a cinematic milestone: the first all-black feature from a major studio and famed director King Vidor's (The Champ, The Big Parade) first talkie. But the film surpasses its historical significance, telling a story of such profound dignity and understanding that it as fresh and moving as the day it premiered. Featuring a largely unknown cast and infused with spirituals, folk songs, blues and jazz (Irving Berlin provided two songs for the production), Hallelujah follows the fortunes of Zeke (Daniel L. Haynes), a poor cotton farmer. He succumbs to the temptations of Chick (Nina Mae McKinney), a mercenary honky-tonk girl, finds salvation in religion, and falls again when his obsession for Chick overpowers his better self. Love, loss, passion, redemption and brilliant moviemaking: Hallelujah has it all.Made in 1929, Hallelujah is an artifact of no small historical significance: the first major studio movie with an all-black cast and a white director (the esteemed King Vidor), it was also one of the earliest "talkies" after the silent film era. But it also has considerable artistic merit; simply put, Hallelujah is damned entertaining. Sure, the story isn't exactly subtle, a morality tale chronicling the tribulations of Zeke (Daniel L. Haynes), a poor cotton farmer who, succumbing to the carnal charms of the sexy Chick (Nina Mae McKinney, who was sometimes known as "the black Garbo"), finds himself caught up in a soul-scarring cycle of sin and salvation. There's also some painful dialogue of the "Where is you gwine?" and "Honey, I likes anything you's got!" variety. But the major themes presented here--temptation and transgression, redemption and repentance--are pure and universal, the dancing and singing (including two songs by Irving Berlin) are marvelous, and there are several scenes of extraordinary intensity. Those include Zeke's family's weeping, wailing response to the tragic death of his younger brother, followed by the repentant Zeke's turning to God, a sequence in which he's transformed into a latter day Martin Luther King, Jr., preaching with rhythms and cadences of hypnotic power. DVD extras include audio commentary by historian Donald Bogle, plus two shorts ("Pie, Pie Blackbird" and "The Black Network") featuring McKinney's singing, Eubie Blake's music, and the Nicholas Brothers' dance moves. A final note: Victoria Spivey, who portrays Missy Rose, the down home girl devoted to Zeke, was also one of the finest blues singers of the time. When she underwent a career revival in the early 1960s, she formed a record label whose first recording featured accompaniment by none other than Bob Dylan. --Sam Graham
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