Lackawanna Blues
by George C. Wolfe
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Carmen Ejogo, Louis Gossett Jr., Marcus Carl Franklin, Mos Def, S. Epatha MerkersonDirector: George C. Wolfe
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-08-23
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Movie Reviews of Lackawanna Blues
Movie Review: Baybeyyyy, we gone dance!
Summary: 5 Stars
I won't pontificate, but whatever you do, rent/buy this film. It is one moving, stirring piece of work. The characters are gritty but lovable. Ms. Merkerson gives a simply outstanding performance. You just want to HUG her! She is the epitome of "Nanny." Anyone lucky enough to have had an older matriarch in a family knows what I'm talking about. One can almost feel her warmth and smell her simmering neck bones on the stove. She brought tears to my eyes--she reminded me so much of what a lot of black American families need--a stabling force to be reckoned with. Just her uttering the title of my review, "Babeyy, we gone dance!" makes me remember the love I had for a great aunt who once had to come to my rescue after witnessing the terror in my eyes upon being approached by a belligerent alcoholic. She was my "Nanny," God bless her...
Summary of Lackawanna Blues
Based on the award winning play by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, this poignant and colorful drama tells the inspirational story of a courageous woman, Nanny, whose spirit and strength served as the foundation for a struggling community trying to survive during the segregation era. Starring an exceptional ensemble cast led by Jimmy Smits, Rosie Perez, and Macy Gray, this inspiring drama from HBO Films is a celebration of the good things in life, no matter how tough times may be.DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Audio Commentary with director George C. Wolfe and writer Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Deleted Scenes
Featurette
Cool music, a wonderful atmospheric feel, and first-rate performances by a stellar cast distinguish Lackawanna Blues, a 2005, 90-minute film originally broadcast by HBO. Director George C. Wolfe's theater background (as a writer and/or director he's been responsible for The Colored Museum, Jelly's Last Jam, and Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk) is apparent; adapted by scriptwriter Ruben Santiago-Hudson from his own autobiographical play, Lackawanna Blues is less a story than a reminiscence, told by a young man (an affecting performance by Marcus Carl Franklin) raised by the indefatigable Rachel "Nanny" Crosby (an equally fine turn by S. Epatha Merkerson, known to many from her role in TV's Law & Order) in that upstate New York town. The focus is on Nanny's rooming house, which is populated by all manner of colorful characters (played by the likes of Macy Gray, Jeffrey Wright, and many others, with Jimmy Smits and Carmen Ejogo as the boy's wayward parents). The roomers include drunks, hustlers, ex-cons, and other shady types, but while plenty of bad stuff goes on, it's all coated with a certain patina of sentiment that tends to minimize the hard realities of life for African Americans in the early 1960s. That's fine; Wolfe, with the help of some superb editing by Brian Kates, gives the film such a delightful period vibe that it's easy to overlook its few shortcomings. The music (available on a soundtrack CD), ranging from downhome country blues to uptown swing, jump blues, and more, also makes a major contribution to the delightful diversion that is Lackawanna Blues. --Sam Graham
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