Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking

This 80-minute documentary shines the spotlight on one of the single most important creators in the history of Black cinema. Hardly anybody my age (or any age for that matter) knows of Oscar Micheaux, or the obstacles he overcame to make the films he did. This documentary uses film footage, animation, interviews, and on-location footage to retrace the steps of the well-traveled Micheaux and the result is an exemplary introduction to the filmmaker and the insane world he captured through his lens. Oscar Micheaux left a tangible impact on the world of filmmaking, and I have no doubt his influence and legacy will only strengthen as more of his work is discovered and shown to a world that desperately needs his insight. This documentary is an excellent start.

This film does what all good documentaries do, namely make you interested enough in the subject so that you want to go off and do some research of your own. In this case, that means watching the guy's movies, especially the silent ones where the actors seem less stiff and wooden than in the talkies which are plagued, like many early sound films, by too loud and declamatory readings of dialogue. My only criticism, and it is a fairly major one, is that there is alarmingly little about Micheaux's personal life or personality beyond the fact that he was persistent, energetic and embittered in his last years. Why did he become so curdled? What kind of a husband was he? Why and how did he get the movie bug? Who were his favorite film makers? Who were his friends? Enemies? What were his political views, if any? The documentary is so focused on the subject's historical and societal importance that it loses sight of the man. I noticed this, as well, in docs on Paul Robeson, at least the ones TCM shows. I did not notice this absence of the personal in docs about white film makers of the period, like Chaplin or Griffith. This bothers me. Give it a B. PS...Speaking of Robeson it was interesting to note that the only time he played an out and out villain on screen it was in Micheaux's "Body And Soul". PSS...Love the title with it's not so subtle jab at the racism and provincialism of Metropolis, Ill.

This film does what all good documentaries do, namely make you interested enough in the subject so that you want to go off and do some research of your own. In this case, that means watching the guy's movies, especially the silent ones where the actors seem less stiff and wooden than in the talkies which are plagued, like many early sound films, by too loud and declamatory readings of dialogue. My only criticism, and it is a fairly major one, is that there is alarmingly little about Micheaux's personal life or personality beyond the fact that he was persistent, energetic and embittered in his last years. Why did he become so curdled? What kind of a husband was he? Why and how did he get the movie bug? Who were his favorite film makers? Who were his friends? Enemies? What were his political views, if any? The documentary is so focused on the subject's historical and societal importance that it loses sight of the man. I noticed this, as well, in docs on Paul Robeson, at least the ones TCM shows. I did not notice this absence of the personal in docs about white film makers of the period, like Chaplin or Griffith. This bothers me. Give it a B. PS...Speaking of Robeson it was interesting to note that the only time he played an out and out villain on screen it was in Micheaux's "Body And Soul". PSS...Love the title with it's not so subtle jab at the racism and provincialism of Metropolis, Ill.

This 80-minute documentary shines the spotlight on one of the single most important creators in the history of Black cinema. Hardly anybody my age (or any age for that matter) knows of Oscar Micheaux, or the obstacles he overcame to make the films he did. This documentary uses film footage, animation, interviews, and on-location footage to retrace the steps of the well-traveled Micheaux and the result is an exemplary introduction to the filmmaker and the insane world he captured through his lens. Oscar Micheaux left a tangible impact on the world of filmmaking, and I have no doubt his influence and legacy will only strengthen as more of his work is discovered and shown to a world that desperately needs his insight. This documentary is an excellent start.