Miracle's Boys
Miracle's Boys is a six-part miniseries based on the novel of the same name by Jacqueline Woodson, shown on The N in February 2005. The series was directed by Neema Barnette, LeVar Burton, Ernest R. Dickerson, Bill Duke, and Spike Lee and was filmed on-site in Harlem, New York. It also includes a theme song by rapper Nas.
Casts & Crew
Also Directed by Spike Lee
Moses and Kitch, two young black men, chat their way through a long, aimless day on a Chicago street corner. Periodically ducking bullets and managing visits from a genial but ominous stranger and an overtly hostile police officer, Moses and Kitch rely on their poetic, funny, at times profane banter to get them through a day that is a hopeless retread of every other day, even as they continue to dream of their deliverance.
Mike Tyson's one-man show is a fascinating journey into his storied life and career. MIKE TYSON: UNDISPUTED TRUTH is a rare, personal look inside the life and mind of one of the most feared men ever to wear the heavyweight crown. Directed by Academy Award® nominee Spike Lee, this riveting one-man show goes beyond the headlines, behind the scenes and between the lines to deliver a must-see theatrical knockout.
Pavarotti And Friends for the Children of Liberia
From Spike Lee comes this vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school-teacher, her stubborn jazz-musician husband and their five kids living in '70s Brooklyn.
Fired from his job, a former executive turns to impregnating wealthy lesbians for profit.
Spike Lee takes us into the world of NBA nicknames, focusing on how Ray Allen's starring role in Lee's HE GOT GAME, forever associated him with his character, Jesus Shuttlesworth.
When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.
When University of Missouri football players threatened to boycott their game with Brigham Young University last November unless president Tim Wolfe resigned, they made news far beyond the sports pages and Columbia, Missouri. But that was only one chapter in a tale that began long before that - a tale that director Spike Lee unspools in this Lil' Joints documentary for ESPN Films. Yes, the athletes played a significant role in forcing Wolfe's resignation, but it was really the female organizers of the Concerned Student 1950 movement, as well as a man, Jonathan Butler, willing to starve himself, who stood tallest in the confrontation with institutional racism at Mizzou. Indeed, their courage and resolve brings hope to the message chanted at the end of the film: "We gonna be all right."
A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.
A successful and married black man contemplates having an affair with a white girl from work. He's quite rightly worried that the racial difference would make an already taboo relationship even worse.
Also Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson
A man on the run is hunted by a demon known as the Collector.
Jim Natter, the leader of a violent Kuk Klux Klan lodge, is shot dead. His teenage son Eric Natter is found nearby, and taken into police custody for his protection pending the investigation. While four cops drive him to a safe-house, they are ambushed. Three of them shot dead, including Deputy Lawrence, and his black partner Jerry Robinson is accused of the murders.
An undercover police officer named Rock Keats befriends a drug dealer and car thief named Archie Moses in a bid to catch the villainous drug lord Frank Coltan. But the only problem is that Keats is a cop, his real name is Jack Carter, and he is working undercover with the LAPD to bust Moses and Colton at a sting operation the LAPD has set up.
Mason is a man down on his luck with nothing to lose when he's approached to lead a group of wealthy hunters on an expedition in the Pacific Northwest. But things get really twisted when Mason discovers the group isn't after wild animals -- they're after him.
Moyher's good boy Benny Silman from Brooklyn becomes an economics student at Arizona State University for the sun and sexy girls- and the proximity of gambling paradise Las Vegas. Benny aces his studies, being a mathematical genius, but the one who earns money from him at sports is bookie Troy, who however recruits him as subcontractor, making a few thousand for himself. The next year Benny starts for himself, with a few dozen student vassals, and makes a hundredfold.
A drug kingpin's return home touches off a turf war.
Over 20 years after his death by a gunshot, Jimmy Bones comes back as a ghost to wreak revenge on those who killed him and to clean up his neighborhood.
"Fact-based story about the sexual harassment suit filed by Anita Hill during the appointment trials of Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court during the George Bush Presidential administration. The film gives both parties a fairly even presentation and does not try to assess blame. It does, however, show a lot of background political maneuvering that took place, particularly on the part of Kenneth Duberstein, an administrative spin doctor."
The true story of two African-American teen radio reporters and their documentary investigation of a notorious child murder.
The exploits of a group of men and women who serve the City of New York as police officers, firemen, and paramedics, all working the same fictional 55th precinct during the 3pm to 11pm shift - the 'Third Watch'.
Also Directed by Bill Duke
In 1934, the second most lucrative business in New York City was running 'the numbers'. When Madam Queen—the powerful woman who runs the scam in Harlem—is arrested, Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson takes over the business and must resist an invasion from a merciless mobster.
From the creator and director of the critically acclaimed documentary Dark Girls, award-winning filmmaker Bill Duke continues the conversation on colorism with Light Girls. Sharing the untold stories and experiences of lighter-skinned women, Light Girls dives deep into the discussion of skin color, preference, privilege, pain and prejudice. The documentary features interviews with Russell Simmons, Soledad O'Brien, Diahann Carroll, India Arie, Iyanla Vanzant, Michaela Angela Davis, Kym Whitley, Salli Richardson-Whitfield and more.
A woman who wishes to become a priest hires a lawyer to file suit against the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
Berrenger's is an American primetime television soap opera created by Diana Gould that aired on NBC in 1985. The series revolved around the Berrenger family, a New York dynasty which owned the glamorous department store which bore their name. Following in the tradition of Dynasty and Dallas, Berrenger's played up to the familiar motifs of 1980s soap operas - glamorous and beautiful characters, using money and power in games of love, business and betrayal. The series was cancelled after 13 one-hour episodes had been produced. In North America, only 11 of the 13 episodes were screened. Because of studio television output deals it was screened in Europe and Australia, and has sustained a modest cult following.
During World War I, a poor black Southerner travels north to Chicago to get work in the city's slaughterhouses, where he becomes embroiled in the organized labor movement.
Made especially for the HBO cable network, this well-wrought feature is comprised of three short stories by three noted black American authors, each of which is directed by a respected black director.
Interrupted at dinner by a street kid with a strange story, Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin find themselves drawn into a strange case when their young informant is found murdered. The victim's mother soon appears with his life savings totally $4.30, Wolfe's fee for taking the case! Archie's fancy legwork brings Wolfe to a mysterious woman with golden spider earrings. And when everyone else investigating the matter hits a dead end, only the inimitable Wolfe can get to the bottom of the crime.
When someone is murdered on New Year's Eve, the prime suspect is Valerie Maas, a church-going home-maker whose life unravels when she discovers that her husband of many years has been leading a double life. Her strength of character and faith keep her going as the revelation of her husband's betrayal threatens to destroy all that they have known.
A beautiful black gangster's moll flees to Harlem with a trunkload of gold after a shootout, unaware that the rest of the gang, and a few other unsavoury characters, are on her trail. A pudgy momma's boy becomes the object of her affections and the unlikely hero of the tale.
Angel is a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of rap's most conflicted and charismatic MC. DMX commands arena stages, wrecks his competition in battles, and takes time to show fans some tough love. Leading off this two-hour tale of the X is the 20-minute short "Angel" directed by Bill Duke. It's a mini-movie about DMX's rise to super-stardom and his constant fight with evil. Co-stars Mary J. Blige. View "Angel" once and then forget about it... the rest of the DVD is what makes it a must-have. "Tales of X" is a look into the life and times of DMX. You can finally hear him, understand him and enter his world. "One More Road to Cross" documents step-by-step how X and his team lay down an album in the studio and the creative and emotional intensity surrounding the process. A full taste of DMX in front of a hometown audience is given by "Survival of the Illest" shot during his legendary 1999 performance at the Apollo Theater.
Also Directed by LeVar Burton
A drama about the local field office that investigates criminal cases affecting military personnel in The Big Easy, a city known for its music, entertainment and decadence.
A young girl's aunt tells her the tale of a young ice skater and an enchanted reindeer.
Soul Food: The Series is a television drama that aired Wednesday nights on Showtime from June 28, 2000 to May 26, 2004. Created by filmmaker George Tillman, Jr. and developed for television by Felicia D. Henderson, Soul Food is based upon Tillman's childhood experiences growing up in Wisconsin, and is a continuation of his successful 1997 film of the same name. Having aired for 74 episodes, it is the longest running drama with a predominantly black cast in the history of North American prime-time television.
With his father coaching him and his mother providing a strong spiritual influence, Tiger Woods rose to fame and fortune. But his success came at a price, as he endured personal struggles with racism, self-doubt and cultural identity.
Ben Cooper and his family struggling to get a grip on household chores, school and work. Ben is the family caretaker. So when Ben sees that a Smart House is being given away, he enters the competition as often as he can. The family wins the house (named Pat). After moving in Pat's personality begins to radically change, the family starts to resent her.
Old and bitter, Alvin just wants some peace and quiet in his last days. His wish, however, is not granted when a young, vibrant and ironically full of life Kevin becomes Alvin's hospice roommate. Through this "odd couple" relationship, Alvin learns that its not the minutes in our life, its the moments in your life that matter.
Dr. Daniel Pierce, a neuroscientist and professor, is recruited to help the federal government crack difficult cases. His intimate knowledge of human behavior and masterful understanding of the mind give him an extraordinary ability to read people, but his eccentric view of the world and less-than-stellar social skills can often interfere with his work.