Black movies
by snoopyandsnow | created - 20 Jan 2011 | updated - 20 Jan 2011 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Color Purple (1985)
PG-13 | 154 min | Drama
A tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery
Votes: 97,425 | Gross: $98.47M
2. Waiting to Exhale (1995)
R | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Based on Terry McMillan's novel, this film follows four very different African-American women and their relationships with men.
Director: Forest Whitaker | Stars: Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, Lela Rochon
Votes: 12,208 | Gross: $67.05M
3. Sparkle (1976)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Music
Three sisters form a singing group in 1950s Harlem, but success threatens to ruin their relationship forever.
Director: Sam O'Steen | Stars: Philip Michael Thomas, Irene Cara, Lonette McKee, Dwan Smith
Votes: 1,886 | Gross: $4.00M
4. Crooklyn (1994)
PG-13 | 115 min | Comedy, Drama
Spike Lee's vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school teacher, her stubborn jazz musician husband and their five kids living in Brooklyn in 1973.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo, David Patrick Kelly, Zelda Harris
Votes: 11,341 | Gross: $13.64M
5. Super Fly (1972)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The daily routine of cocaine dealer Priest who wants to score one more super deal and retire.
Director: Gordon Parks Jr. | Stars: Ron O'Neal, Carl Lee, Sheila Frazier, Julius Harris
Votes: 8,608
6. Lean on Me (1989)
PG-13 | 108 min | Drama
The dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school he is determined to improve by any and all means.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, Robert Guillaume, Alan North
Votes: 22,994 | Gross: $31.91M
7. The Wiz (1978)
G | 134 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
An adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz" that tries to capture the essence of the African-American experience.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross
Votes: 17,060 | Gross: $21.05M
8. New Jack City (1991)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A crime lord ascends to power and becomes megalomaniacal while a maverick police detective vows to stop him.
Director: Mario Van Peebles | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Allen Payne, Chris Rock
Votes: 38,856 | Gross: $47.62M
9. Foxy Brown (1974)
R | 92 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A voluptuous vigilante takes a job as a high-class prostitute to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.
Director: Jack Hill | Stars: Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas, Peter Brown, Terry Carter
Votes: 12,054 | Gross: $2.46M
10. The Wire (2002–2008)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
Stars: Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce
Votes: 378,007
11. Cooley High (1975)
PG | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In 1964 on Chicago's Near-North Side, the lives of four carefree high school seniors and best friends, including an aspiring playwright and an all-city basketball champion, takes a tragic turn.
Director: Michael Schultz | Stars: Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Garrett Morris, Cynthia Davis
Votes: 5,552
12. Soul Food (1997)
R | 115 min | Comedy, Drama
One person can keep a family together and, when that one person is gone, a family can be torn apart.
Director: George Tillman Jr. | Stars: Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach
Votes: 9,017 | Gross: $43.49M
13. Claudine (1974)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In the 1970s Harlem, garbage collector Roop feels intimidated by the idea of dating Claudine who is a single mother of six on welfare.
Director: John Berry | Stars: Diahann Carroll, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Tamu Blackwell
Votes: 2,514 | Gross: $3.51M
14. The Women of Brewster Place (1989)
Not Rated | 178 min | Drama
A multi-generational story of the lives of several black women who call an inner-city tenement home.
Stars: Oprah Winfrey, Mary Alice, Olivia Cole, Robin Givens
Votes: 1,401
15. Boyz n the Hood (1991)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama
Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Hudhail Al-Amir, Lloyd Avery II
Votes: 154,781 | Gross: $57.50M
16. Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
R | 144 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the troubled life and career of the legendary Jazz singer, Billie Holiday.
Director: Sidney J. Furie | Stars: Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan
Votes: 4,848 | Gross: $6.03M
17. Malcolm X (1992)
PG-13 | 202 min | Biography, Drama, History
Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee
Votes: 102,098 | Gross: $48.17M
18. Sister Act (1992)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Family, Music
When a nightclub singer is forced to take refuge from the mob in a convent, she ends up turning the convent choir into a soulful chorus complete with a Motown repertoire, until the sudden celebrity of the choir jeopardizes her identity.
Director: Emile Ardolino | Stars: Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Harvey Keitel, Bill Nunn
Votes: 108,478 | Gross: $139.61M
19. Carmen Jones (1954)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
Contemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.
Director: Otto Preminger | Stars: Harry Belafonte, Dorothy Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, Olga James
Votes: 5,925
20. Coming to America (1988)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Romance
An extremely pampered African prince travels to Queens, New York and goes undercover to find a wife that he can respect for her intelligence and strong will.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Paul Bates, Garcelle Beauvais, Feather
Votes: 223,703 | Gross: $128.15M
21. Glory (1989)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
Robert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 144,558 | Gross: $26.83M
22. Roots (1977)
TV-14 | 74 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.
Stars: LeVar Burton, Robert Reed, John Amos, Louis Gossett Jr.
Votes: 18,890
23. Mahogany (1975)
PG | 109 min | Drama, Romance
Tracy, an aspiring designer from the slums of Chicago puts herself through fashion school in the hopes of becoming one of the world's top designers. Her ambition leads her to Rome spurring ... See full summary »
Directors: Berry Gordy, Tony Richardson, Jack Wormser | Stars: Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Perkins, Jean-Pierre Aumont
Votes: 2,228 | Gross: $5.00M
24. Amistad (1997)
R | 155 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 82,833 | Gross: $44.18M
25. Buffalo Soldiers (1997 TV Movie)
G | 100 min | Drama, History, Western
The all-black US Cavalry Troop H pursues Apache warrior Victorio while dealing with racial bigotry and myths about their designated enemies.
Director: Charles Haid | Stars: Lamont Bentley, Tom Bower, Timothy Busfield, Gabriel Casseus
Votes: 933
26. 4 Little Girls (1997)
TV-14 | 102 min | Documentary, History
A documentary of the notorious racial terrorist bombing of an African American church during the Civil Rights Movement.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Maxine McNair, Walter Cronkite, Chris McNair, Fred Lee Shuttlesworth
Votes: 3,581 | Gross: $0.13M
27. How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
R | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Stella is a highly successful, forty-something San Francisco stock broker who is persuaded by her colorful New York girlfriend Delilah to take a well deserved, first-class vacation to Jamaica.
Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan | Stars: Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, Whoopi Goldberg, Regina King
Votes: 8,332 | Gross: $37.67M
28. Beloved (1998)
R | 172 min | Drama, History, Horror
A slave is visited by the spirit of a mysterious young woman.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Yada Beener, Emil Pinnock
Votes: 9,586 | Gross: $22.85M
29. American Gangster (2007)
R | 157 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin
Votes: 452,790 | Gross: $130.16M
30. Daughters of the Dust (1991)
TV-PG | 113 min | Drama, History, Romance
A languid, impressionistic story of three generations of Gullah women living on the South Carolina Sea Islands in 1902.
Director: Julie Dash | Stars: Cora Lee Day, Alva Rogers, Barbarao, Trula Hoosier
Votes: 3,294 | Gross: $1.64M
31. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
PG | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
An old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti LuPone
Votes: 117,607 | Gross: $106.59M
32. The Hurricane (1999)
R | 146 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Denzel Washington, Vicellous Shannon, Deborah Kara Unger, Liev Schreiber
Votes: 102,522 | Gross: $50.67M
33. Coffy (1973)
R | 90 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A sexy Black nurse takes vigilante justice against inner-city drug dealers after her sister becomes their latest victim.
Director: Jack Hill | Stars: Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliott
Votes: 12,950
34. Anna Lucasta (1958)
Passed | 97 min | Drama
A young woman struggling with a sordid past finds that her biggest enemy had larger demons than she did.
Director: Arnold Laven | Stars: Eartha Kitt, Frederick O'Neal, Henry Scott, Rex Ingram
Votes: 721
35. Nothing But a Man (1964)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, Romance
A black man and his school-teacher wife face discriminatory challenges in 1960s America.
Director: Michael Roemer | Stars: Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, Julius Harris, Gloria Foster
Votes: 1,992 | Gross: $0.02M
36. Within Our Gates (1920)
Not Rated | 79 min | Drama, Romance
Abandoned by her fiancé, an educated black woman with a shocking past dedicates herself to helping a near bankrupt school for impoverished black youths.
Director: Oscar Micheaux | Stars: Evelyn Preer, Flo Clements, James D. Ruffin, Jack Chenault
Votes: 3,632
37. The Preacher's Wife (1996)
PG | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
An angel comes to Earth to help a preacher save his church and his family.
Director: Penny Marshall | Stars: Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Courtney B. Vance, Gregory Hines
Votes: 13,738 | Gross: $48.10M
38. Do the Right Thing (1989)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson
Votes: 112,509 | Gross: $27.55M
39. Clockers (1995)
R | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Young drug pushers in the projects of Brooklyn live hard dangerous lives, trapped between their drug bosses and the detectives out to stop them.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Delroy Lindo, Mekhi Phifer
Votes: 23,545 | Gross: $13.04M
40. City of God (2002)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama
In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
Directors: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund | Stars: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Matheus Nachtergaele, Phellipe Haagensen
Votes: 801,645 | Gross: $7.56M
41. Jason's Lyric (1994)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Two brothers, survivors of family tragedy, take different life paths: one falls for a high-spirited waitress and dreams of success, the other follows a life of petty crime. Their lives reconnect in shattering fashion.
Director: Doug McHenry | Stars: Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Anthony 'Treach' Criss
Votes: 4,692 | Gross: $20.85M
42. A Rage in Harlem (1991)
R | 115 min | Comedy, Crime
A gangster's girlfriend flees to Harlem with a trunkload of gold after a shootout, unaware that the rest of the gang are on her trail.
Director: Bill Duke | Stars: Forest Whitaker, Gregory Hines, Robin Givens, Zakes Mokae
Votes: 2,357 | Gross: $10.44M
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