Melvin Van Peebles

After saving a Black Panther from some racist cops, a black male prostitute goes on the run from "the man" with the help of the ghetto community and some disillusioned Hells Angels.

From the immensely popular FIST OF THE NORTH STAR comic book series, comes a new hero. The fate of mankind rests with superhuman warrior Kenshiro who roams the wastelands of the future waging a battle against overwhelming evil. With the spiritual guidance of his dead father, Kenshiro fights to free his stolen love from the brutal tyrant Lord Shin. Through his struggle he must confront his destiny.

O.C. and Stiggs aren't your average unhappy teenagers. They not only despise their suburban surroundings, they plot against it. They seek revenge against the middle class Schwab family, who embody all they detest: middle class.

With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than a complete record. It features interviews with some of the genre's biggest stars, like Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, and Richard Roundtree. Director Melvin Van Peebles discusses the historical importance of his landmark film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. For a contemporary perspective, the excitable Quentin Tarantino offers his spirited commentary and author/critic bell hooks provides some scholarly social analysis.

The story follows what happens when a child psychologist surprises his girlfriend by showing up at her political family's annual get-together at their Sag Harbor vacation home only to find them desperately in need of therapy.

In order to escape from the mob, an African-American man must disguise himself as a white man.

A semi-autobiographical story about an adventurer whose journeys take him from Harlem to the high seas and back again

Drama about a young man who defies his parents by dropping out of college to pursue his dream of owning a fishing boat, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

A black police officer discovers a cell of white supremacist vigilantes within his department.

Melvin Van Peebles was one of the first black directors to challenge the white establishment in his films, which include "Watermelon Man" and "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song." In this documentary, the life of Van Peebles is discussed, including his work not only in film, but also as a novelist, actor, musician, stock trader and even Air Force pilot. Interview subjects include Gil Scott-Heron, Spike lee and Melvin's son and fellow filmmaker, Mario Van Peebles.

A documentary film about the Afro-American Woodstock concert held in Los Angeles seven years after the Watts riots. Director Mel Stuart mixes footage from the concert with footage of the living conditions in the current day Watts neighborhood. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Documentary Film.

A history of the racially stereotyped portrayal of African Americans in cinema, hosted by film pioneer Melvin Van Peebles.

Chronicles the rise and fall of 1970s New York City nightclub Plato's Retreat.

A maverick skydiver and a former KGB agent team up to stop the Russian mafia from stealing gold.

Examines the evolution of the Black Power Movement in US society from 1967 to 1975. It features footage of the movement shot by Swedish journalists in the United States during that period and includes the appearances of Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, and other activists, artists, and leaders central to the movement.

After another deadly shark attack, Ellen Brody decides she has had enough of New England's Amity Island and moves to the Caribbean to join her son, Michael, and his family. But a great white shark has followed her there, hungry for more lives.

This twenty-two minute interview with Melvin Van Peebles has the cult filmmaker starting things off by lighting a cigar, which is something he has done in several interviews. From here he talks about the making of his hit film SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG, which of course broke all sorts of records and is what would kick start the blaxploitation genre. If you're a fan of the film or the director then you should enjoy this featurette, which tries to have a raw look like the film in question, although the effect here is a bit lame. With that said, there are still some very good stories told including one about a STD Van Peebles got during one of the scenes in the film. He talks about a few specific scenes in the picture as well as the now infamous one featuring his son in a sex scene. There's nothing ground-breaking here but it's certainly an entertaining interview.

The film looks at men and women of color in the U.S. Merchant Marine from 1938-1975. Through chronicling the lives of these men and women who, with a median age of 82, are beset with a host of life-threatening illnesses, the movie tells how they navigated issues of racism, disparities in the workplace, gender and familial relations.

A former U.S. marshal discovers that all of the survivors of his old unit are experiencing the same symptoms simultaneously and there may be a larger conspiracy at hand.

The zany crew of a New York cable TV station accidentally bounce a signal off the moon, bringing them worldwide attention.

A Jewish blaxploitation hero saves Hanukkah from the clutches of Santa Claus's evil son.

A black man steals to afford to marry the woman he loves. After being released from prison, he returns in time to see his daughter's wedding.

A group of mostly black infantrymen return from the Spanish-American War with a cache of gold. They travel to the West where their leader searches for the men who lynched his father.

A documentary looking at the making and legacy of The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973).

Following the death of his father, young Danny Madigan takes comfort in watching action movies featuring the indestructible Los Angeles cop Jack Slater. After being given a magic ticket by theater manager Nick, Danny is sucked into the screen and bonds with Slater. When evil fictional villain Benedict gets his hands on the ticket and enters the real world, Danny and Jack must follow and stop him.

Arrabal's sixth film based on his novel from 1969 with the same name as the movie.

Marcus is a successful advertising executive who woos and beds women almost at will. After a company merger he finds that his new boss, the ravishing Jacqueline, is treating him in exactly the same way. Completely traumatised by this, his work goes badly downhill.

In Tennessee, Bailey, a debt-straddled blues guitarist, is escorted across the state by a man named Augy so that he can collect his recently deceased grandfather's estate. A drama focused on an individual's spiritual redemption.

A look at the extraordinary achievements and contemporary legacy of Oscar Micheaux, a pioneer of the African-American film industry.

A rapper finds himself possessed by the soul of a dead fashion designer; frequently switching personalities.

A look at the development of film making and its contribution to the social and political times form the perspective of Black film makers.

In 1971, director Melvin Van Peebles turned the figure of the black hero in US cinema upside down with Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song: the story of the making of a seminal movie that initiated the Blaxploitation movement, a short-lived but highly influential sub-genre in the years that followed.

René Vautier, le rebelle

Three converging story lines involving bootleggers, a serial killer and drug dealers are followed. A former drug dealer tries to go straight, but comes across a stash of stolen drugs. Meanwhile, a middle-aged suburban housewife hides a sadistic and vicious streak.

THE BLACK LIST: VOL. 2 profiles some of today's most fascinating African-Americans. From the childhood inspirations that shaped their ambitions, to the evolving American landscape they helped define, to the importance of preserving a unique cultural identity for future generations, these prominent individuals offer a unique look into the zeitgeist of black America, redefining the traditional pejorative notion of a blacklist.

BLACKOUT takes you inside the personal journey of what went down and what it was really like in Brooklyn, NY on August 14. It examines the nature of man to take advantage of his own fellow man outside of normal conditions, in times of weakness and vulnerability

An interview/overview on the influential careers of Gordon Parks, Ossie Davis, and Melvin Van Peebles.

The Behind-the-Scenes documentary of the dramatic comedy Do the Right Thing.

Panther is a semi-historic film about the origins of The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. The movie spans about 3 years (1966-68) of the Black Panther's history in Oakland. Panther also uses historical footage (B/W) to emphasize some points.

In April 1992, following the notorious Rodney King verdict, the streets of Los Angeles became a battlefield, the backdrop to four personal intertwined stories.

14-year-old Enid Crowley hates her name and everything about her boring life. All this changes when she becomes a full-time babysitter to a sheltered boy. The two hook up for some hilarious adventures in the park with a mysterious bag lady and a street musician. With the help of Enid's boyfriend, Seth, they try to give the park dwellers a "special evening," but their good deed backfires and lands them in trouble.

A racist insurance agent lives in a typical suburban neighborhood. But his bigoted world of taunting and harassing black people on and off the job is turned upside down when his skin inexplicably turns dark overnight.

Wide eyed Marty O Neil (Lee Homes) takes to the road on a quest to give his life meaning. When his motorcycle breaks down outside an adult bookstore in small town America Marty takes a job at the store to make money to fix his bike. While struggling to understand the gruff owner (Max Boone Junior) Marty befriends Elmore (Melvin Van Peebles) an old beet poet who frequents the shop and becomes enamored with Mary Jane (Jenette Goldstein) the cynical stripper who stars in the stores peep show booth. Marty discovers the meaning of his quest in one simple question What is SMUT?

Featuring Robert Crumb, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tiny Tim, Russ Meyer and more this volume of the “Midnight Blue” collection focuses on celebrities.

A masseur gets mixed up in the family plots at the mansion of a recently deceased Beverly Hills millionaire.

The series revolves around the friendship of four African-American women in different phases of their lives. They explore the many trials and tribulations that most women face today such as relationships, family, friends and other current issues that will interest most women. Whether it’s getting over a divorce, finding a career, or looking for true love, Girlfriends delivers along with comedy and wit.

Living Single is an American television sitcom that aired for five seasons on the Fox network from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends who share personal and professional experiences while living in a Brooklyn brownstone. Throughout its run, Living Single became one of the most popular African-American sitcoms of its era, ranking among the top five in African-American ratings in all five seasons. The series was produced by Yvette Lee Bowser's company, Sister Lee, in association with Warner Bros. Television. In contrast to the popularity of NBC's "Must See TV" on Thursday nights in the 1990s, many African American and Latino viewers flocked to Fox's Thursday night line-up of Martin, Living Single, and New York Undercover. In fact, these were the three highest-rated series among black households for the 1996–1997 season.

Sonny Spoon is a detective program aired in the United States on the NBC television network in 1988. The series was created by Michael Daly, Dinah Prince, Stephen J. Cannell and Randall Wallace and produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions.

An American police procedural chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.

Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The longest-running primetime series in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning during 1951 and continuing into 2013. From 1954 onward, all of its productions have been shown in color, although color television video productions were extremely rare in 1954. Many television movies have been shown on the program since its debut, though the program began with live telecasts of dramas and then changed to videotaped productions before finally changing to filmed ones. The series has received eighty Emmy Awards, twenty-four Christopher Awards, eleven Peabody Awards, nine Golden Globes, and four Humanitas Prizes. Once a common practice in American television, it is the last remaining television program such that the title includes the name of the sponsor. Unlike other long-running TV series still on the air, it differs in that it broadcasts only occasionally and not on a weekly broadcast programming schedule.

Sex: The Revolution was a four-part 2008 American documentary miniseries that aired on VH1 and The Sundance Channel. It chronicled the rise of American interest in sexuality from the 1950s through the 1990s. The version shown on VH1 was pixelated to censor nudity including in discussions of censorship of nudity. VH1 Latin America aired the uncensored version.

The 25-year reunion of members of a black athletic-social club brings together nine of its members for the first time to honor their old coach but is marred by a murder investigation involving one of the gents.

The family life, romantic life, and career of Martin Tupper, a divorced New York City book editor. The show distinctively interjected clips from older black and white television series to punctuate Tupper's feelings or thoughts.

A new caretaker moves with his family into the mysterious Overlook Hotel for the winter.