Come back, Africa / Milestone Film release ; distributed by Oscilloscope ; produced and directed by Lionel Rogosin ; written by Lionel Rogosin with Lewis Nkosi and William Modisane ; Lionel Rogosin Films.
Edition:
The deluxe edition.
Publisher:
Milestone Film & Video,
Copyright Date:
2014
Description:
2 videodiscs (341 min.) : sound, color and black and white ; 4 3/4 in.
Contains (work): Black roots. Contains (work): American in Sophiatown. Contains (work): Bitter sweet stories. Contains (work): Have you seen Drum recently?
Notes:
Miriam Makeba, Lewis Nkosi, Bloke Modisane, Can Themba. Come back, Africa originally released in 1959. Black roots originally released in 1970. Restored by the Cineteca di Bologna and the laboratory L'Imagine Ritrovata with the collaboration of Rogosin Heritage and the Anthology Film Archives in 2005. Supported by Fondazione Officina Cinema Sud-Est with the contribution of Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio. Special features: an introduction by Martin Scorsese; An American in Sophiatown, about the making of Come back, Africa; Lionel Rogosin talks about Come back, Africa; Come back, Africa theatrical trailer; Bitter sweet stories, a documentary on the making of Black roots; Have you seen Drum recently?, a film by Jürgen Schadeberg.
Contents:
disc 1. Come back, Africa (1959, 86 min.) -- [Martin Scorsese introduction] (2 min.) -- An American in Sophiatown / directed by Michael Rogosin and Lloyd Ross (64 min.) -- [Lionel Rogosin talks about Come back, Africa] (1978, 19 min.) -- Come back, Africa theatrical trailer (2 min.) -- disc 2. Black roots (1970, 63 min.) -- Bitter sweet stories / directed by Michael Rogosin (27 min.) -- Have you seen Drum recently? / directed by Jürgen Schadeberg (1989, 74 min.).
Summary:
In 1957, Rogosin travelled to South Africa and created a powerfully, moving drama exposing the harsh reality of life under the system apartheid. Filmed secretly under the noses of the feared South African police, Rogosin, his crew, and cast risked arrest and deportation. Miriam Makeba was banned from her country after travelling to Venice for the movie's premiere. The scenes shot in the vibrant black ghetto of Sophiatown are precious images of a lost world. Rogosin took the fight for equality to his homeland with Black roots, his documentary on African American life. The extraordinary cast, including Reverend Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick, attorney and feminist activist Florynce "Flo" Kennedy, musicians Jim Collier, Wende [i.e. Wendy] Smith, Larry Johnson and Reverend Gary Davis, tell stories of heartbreak and despair while their songs blow the roof off the rafters. The film combines tales of oppression with hauntingly beautiful images of the faces of black men, women and children.
Series:
The Milestone Cinematheque Films of Lionel Rogosin; volume II
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.