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6 Degrees Entertainment

Panther: Special Edition [Blu-ray]
(Marcus Chong, Courtney B. Vance, Kadeem Hardison, Bokeem Woodbine, Joe Don Baker, et al / Blu-ray / R / (1995) 2022 / MVD Visual)

Overview: A time of tension. Of rioting in the streets. A time of change. In Oakland, California, 1968, The Black Panthers led by Huey Newton (Marcus Chong, The Matrix) and Bobby Seale (Courtney B. Vance, The Preacher’s Wife) have armed themselves and are ready to fight for freedom.

To the people, they’re heroes, but to the FBI they’re Public Enemy Number One. Now the Feds will do everything they can - on the right or wrong side of the law - to bring them down.

Written by legendary filmmaker and author Melvin Van Peebles (Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song), based on his own novel, and directed by Mario Van Peebles (New Jack City, Posse), Panther features an all-star cast including Kadeem Hardison (Drive), Bokeem Woodbine (Queen & Slim), Joe Don Baker (GoldenEye), Angela Bassett (Black Panther), Chris Tucker (Rush Hour), Chris Rock (The Longest Yard), James Le Gros (Guncrazy), M. Emmet Walsh (Blood Simple), Robert Culp (I Spy), James Russo (Django Unchained), Bobby Brown (Ghostbusters II) and Tyrin Turner (Menace II Society).

Blu-ray Verdict: In truth, Panther’s depictions of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense and the opposing white establishment are perhaps a bit simplistic; nevertheless it made the movie no less thrilling to watch.

Mario Van Peebles uses television footage from the civil rights struggles in the 1960s to demonstrate why the Black Panther Party came into existence. The scenes of police brutality and the Party standing up to the police were shot well and enable the viewer to grasp the fear as well as frustration of the times.

Whether or not the film portrays an accurate account of history and the reasoning behind the creation of the Party is debatable. Of course, no film is completely historically accurate, and most producers, writers and directors have their own agenda when making a film.

However, all that being said, it is not difficult to believe that the white establishment behaved either exactly or near to the way it is depicted in the film.

Indeed, we need only read our history books, newspapers and watch footage (some of which was shown in the film) of the white establishment’s appalling actions during that period and indeed for centuries before that to determine that the depictions of overt racism and inhumane treatment dished out by the police and others in the film were not far fetched.

One other fact to consider is that the Panthers were considered an enemy to the established order and therefore the propaganda surrounding the history of the Party depicts them as worse than they actually were.

The film, I believe, breaks those negative images down. It goes beyond the headlines of the time and depicts the problems facing black Americans then and indeed to some extent now.

Indeed the most impressive aspect of the film is how it portrayed the need for the Black Panther Movement. One finds it difficult to advocate violence; however when one’s life is on the line and those who are meant to protect are the perpetrators, then the right to defend oneself is the right of every person. The most powerful message this film sends is that the Panther Party was the result of a need not simply a desire.

The film may not be completely historically accurate, however, it does present a different view of the Panther Party and its objectives, one that is long overdue. This film is a must see! [M.S.]

www.MVDvisual.com





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