DVD
The films of Lionel Rogosin. Volume II, Come back, Africa
Edition
The deluxe edition.
Languages
English, Afrikaans and Zulu, with subtitles in English.
Publication Information
[Harrington Park, NJ] : Milestone Film & Video, [2014]
Physical Description
2 videodiscs (314 min.) : sound, color and black and white ; 4 3/4 in.
Audience
Not rated.
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 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.
Notes
Contains films originally produced 1959-1989.
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.
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.).