Ralph Ellison: An American Journey (19 Feb. 2002)

This documentary presents a portrait of African American author Ralph Ellison, one of the great American novelists of the twentieth century.

Directors:

Avon Kirkland, Elise Robertson

Writers:

Ralph Ellison (novel), Avon Kirkland

Stars:

Andre Braugher, John Amos, Paul Benjamin

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Andre Braugher	...	Narrator (voice)
John Amos	...	Dr. Bledsoe
Paul Benjamin	...	Grandfather
Jacques C. Smith	...	Invisible Man
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Amiri Baraka	...	Himself
Stanley Crouch	...	Himself
Henry Louis Gates	...	Himself
Toni Morrison	...	Herself
Cornel West	...	Himself
A'da Alison Woolfolk	...	Mattie Lou Trueblood

Storyline

An examination of the life and influence of writer Ralph Ellison, whose only novel "Invisible Man" was a watershed work in African-American literature. Dramatic recreations from the novel are featured to complement the perspectives of several major African-American writers and scholars on Ellison's role regarding the continuing issue of race in America; Toni Morrison reads excerpts from Ellison's uncompleted second novel "Juneteenth."

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Plot Keywords:

african american | writer | literature | racism | based on novel

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | History | Music | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

American Masters: PBS companion site California Newsreel

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 2002 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Masters, Independent Television Service (ITVS), National Black Programming Consortium

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

a movie version of I'm?

do you think there will be a movie version of Invisible Man? when i first read the book, i totally saw it as a movie playing out the narration of the unnamed black man. the protagonist in the movie Rebecca had no name, thanks to the direction of Sir Alfred Hitchcock. If they did a movie with an unnamed hero like Rebecca, why not Invisible Man? they can come up with creative ways to keep the narrator from being named, right? Like in the documentary, have the guy narrate the voice-over and the same guy acting out the events that the narrator points out. let me say this, i personally love this book because the details captured my mind.