Pioneers of African-American Cinema: About the Restoration (2016)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
When Kino released the Pioneers of African-American Cinema set, there were all sorts of issues that could have been made about the films they presented and here producer Bret Wood gets to talk about the set. If you're a fan of these types of mega-sets then you'll certainly love this narrated piece where Wood talks about the countless decisions that had to be made when it came down to film selection as well as restoring the picture. We get discussions on why lost films were included in their fragment state. I actually agree with Wood that these scenes should be viewed even if they are in rough shape. We also hear about what could and couldn't be cleaned up in the film print. The most interesting thing is a discussion about the Oscar Micheaux films where you can hear the director giving the actors advice as well as one clip where you can see him in a mirror. This eight-minute featurette is certainly highly entertaining and worth watching.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
When Kino released the Pioneers of African-American Cinema set, there were all sorts of issues that could have been made about the films they presented and here producer Bret Wood gets to talk about the set. If you're a fan of these types of mega-sets then you'll certainly love this narrated piece where Wood talks about the countless decisions that had to be made when it came down to film selection as well as restoring the picture. We get discussions on why lost films were included in their fragment state. I actually agree with Wood that these scenes should be viewed even if they are in rough shape. We also hear about what could and couldn't be cleaned up in the film print. The most interesting thing is a discussion about the Oscar Micheaux films where you can hear the director giving the actors advice as well as one clip where you can see him in a mirror. This eight-minute featurette is certainly highly entertaining and worth watching.
