Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is a 1971 American independent action thriller film written, co-produced, scored, edited, directed by and starring Melvin Van Peebles.
His son Mario Van Peebles also appears in a small role, playing the title character as a young boy.
It tells the picaresque story of a poor black man on his flight from the white authority.
Van Peebles began to develop the film after being offered a three-picture contract for Columbia Pictures.
No studio would finance the film, so Van Peebles funded the film himself, shooting it independently over a period of 19 days, performing all of his own stunts and appearing in several sex scenes, some reportedly unsimulated.
He received a $50,000 loan from Bill Cosby to complete the project.
The film's fast-paced montages and jump-cuts were unique features in American cinema at the time.
The picture was censored in some markets, and received mixed critical reviews.
However, it has left a lasting impression on African-American cinema.
The musical score of "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" was performed by Earth, Wind & Fire.
Van Peebles did not have any money for traditional advertising methods, so he released the soundtrack album prior to the film's release in order to generate publicity.
Initially, the film was screened only in two theaters in the United States.
It went on to gross $15.2 million at the box office.
Huey P. Newton celebrated and welcomed the film's revolutionary implications, and "Sweetback" became required viewing for members of the Black Panther Party.
According to "Variety", it demonstrated to Hollywood that films which portrayed "militant" blacks could be highly profitable, leading to the creation of the blaxploitation genre, although critic Roger Ebert, commenting on a review of the 2004 film about the making of this movie, did not consider this example of Van Peebles' work to be an exploitation film.
The Wonderful World of Captain Kuhio
The film was released in Japan on 10 October 2009.
Watermelon Man (film)
Watermelon Man is a 1970 American comedy film directed by Melvin Van Peebles and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Estelle Parsons, Howard Caine, D' Urville Martin, Kay Kimberley, Mantan Moreland, and Erin Moran.
Written by Herman Raucher, it tells the story of an extremely bigoted 1960s- era white insurance salesman named Jeff Gerber, who wakes up one morning to find that he has become black.
The premise for the film was inspired by Franz Kafka's" Metamorphosis", and by John Howard Griffin's autobiographical" Black Like Me".
Van Peebles' only studio film," Watermelon Man" was a financial success, but Van Peebles did not accept Columbia Pictures' three- picture contract, instead developing the independent film" Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song".
The music for" Watermelon Man", written and performed by Van Peebles, was released on a soundtrack album, which spawned the single" Love, That's America".
In 2011, the single received much mainstream attention when videos set to the song and featuring footage of Occupy Wall Street went viral.
Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin" Block" Van Peebles( born August 21, 1932) is an American actor, filmmaker, playwright, novelist and composer.
He is most famous for creating( and starring in) the acclaimed film" Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song", which heralded a new era of black- focused films.
He is the father of actor and director Mario Van Peebles.
Hammer (film)
Hammer is a 1972 blaxploitation film directed by Bruce D. Clark.
The film was released following the successes of" Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" and" Shaft", notable 1971 films that popularized black cinema.
It starred Fred Williamson as B.J. Hammer.
Williamson went on to become a staple of the genre.
Baadasssss!
Baadasssss! is a 2003 American biopic, written, produced, directed by, and starring Mario Van Peebles.
The film is based on the struggles of Van Peebles' father Melvin Van Peebles( played by Mario himself), as he attempts to film and distribute" Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song", a film that was widely credited with showing Hollywood that a viable African- American audience existed, and thus influencing the creation of the Blaxploitation genre.
The film also stars Joy Bryant, Nia Long, Ossie Davis, Paul Rodriguez, Rainn Wilson, and Terry Crews.
The Delhi Way
The Delhi Way is a 1964 documentary about Delhi produced, written, photographed and directed by James Ivory.
It is narrated by Leo Genn.
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (soundtrack)
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is the soundtrack to Melvin Van Peebles' 1971 feature film" Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song".
The soundtrack was performed by then- unknown Earth, Wind& Fire and released in 1971 on Stax Records.
To attract publicity for the film without spending significant money, the soundtrack was released before the movie; it performed well, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart.
Shirin Farhad (1931 film)
Shirin Farhad is a 1931 Hindi language musical film.
It was the second Indian film with sound.
It was based on the love story from the" Shahnameh" of Farhad and Shirin by Nizami Ganjavi.
The film was directed by J.J. Madan and starred Nissar and Jehanara Kajjan.
" Alam Ara" was released earlier the same year and was the first Indian film with sound.
Hammer (film)
Hammer is a 1972 blaxploitation film directed by Bruce D. Clark.
The film was released following the successes of" Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" and" Shaft", notable 1971 films that popularized black cinema.
It starred Fred Williamson as B.J. Hammer.
Williamson went on to become a staple of the genre.

Question: Which film was released earlier, The Delhi Way or Sweet Sweetback'S Baadasssss Song?
Answer: The Delhi Way