{"id":154627,"date":"2021-08-05T13:48:30","date_gmt":"2021-08-05T17:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/?p=154627"},"modified":"2021-08-05T16:01:49","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T20:01:49","slug":"melvin-van-peebles-essential-films-for-the-first-time-on-five-blu-ray-special-edition-box-set","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/melvin-van-peebles-essential-films-for-the-first-time-on-five-blu-ray-special-edition-box-set\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films&#8217; For The First Time on Five-Blu-Ray Special Edition Box Set"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Director, writer, composer, actor, and one-man creative revolutionary <strong>Melvin Van Peebles<\/strong> jolted American independent cinema to new life with his explosive stylistic energy and unfiltered expression of Black consciousness. Though he undeniably altered the course of film history with the anarchic&nbsp;<em>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song,<\/em>&nbsp;that pop-culture bombshell is just one piece of a remarkably varied career that has also encompassed forays into European art cinema (<em>The Story of a Three Day Pass<\/em>), mainstream Hollywood comedy (<em>Watermelon Man<\/em>), and Broadway musicals (<em>Don\u2019t Play Us Cheap<\/em>).  <strong>AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each facet of Van Peebles\u2019s renegade genius is on display in this collection of four films, a tribute to a transformative artist whose caustic social observation, radical formal innovation, and uncompromising vision established a new cinematic model for Black creative independence. Also included in the set is&nbsp;<em>Baadasssss!,<\/em>&nbsp;a chronicle of the production of&nbsp;<em>Sweet Sweetback<\/em>&nbsp;made by Van Peebles\u2019s son Mario Van Peebles\u2014and starring the younger Van Peebles as Melvin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>FIVE-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION COLLECTOR\u2019S SET FEATURES<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>New 4K digital restorations of all four films, approved by filmmaker Mario Van Peebles, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks for\u00a0<em>The Story of a Three Day Pass, Watermelon Man,<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song<\/em>\u00a0and 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack for\u00a0<em>Don\u2019t Play Us Cheap<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/li><li><em>Baadasssss!,<\/em>\u00a0a 2003 fictional feature film based on director Melvin Van Peebles\u2019s diaries from the making of\u00a0<em>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song,<\/em>\u00a0directed by and starring his son Mario Van Peebles, with commentary by father and son<\/li><li>New conversations between Mario Van Peebles and film critic Elvis Mitchell; producer Warrington Hudlin and critic and filmmaker Nelson George; and scholars Gerald R. Butters Jr., and Novotny Lawrence\u00a0<\/li><li>Audio commentary by Melvin Van Peebles from 1997 on\u00a0<em>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song<\/em><\/li><li>Three early short films directed by Melvin Van Peebles<\/li><li><em>How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It),<\/em>\u00a0a 2005 documentary on Van Peebles\u2019s life and career\u00a0<\/li><li><em>The Story Behind \u201cBaadasssss!\u201d: The Birth of Black Cinema,<\/em>\u00a0a 2004 featurette\u00a0<\/li><li><em>Melvin Van Peebles: The Real Deal,<\/em>\u00a0a 2002 interview with the director on the making of\u00a0<em>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song<\/em><\/li><li>Episodes of\u00a0<em>Black Journal<\/em>\u00a0from 1968, 1971, and 1972, on\u00a0<em>The Story of a Three Day Pass, Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song,<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Don\u2019t Play Us Cheap<\/em><\/li><li>Interview from 1971 with Van Peebles on\u00a0<em>Detroit Tubeworks\u00a0<\/em><\/li><li>French television interview from 1968 with Van Peebles and actors Harry Baird and Nicole Berger on the set of\u00a0<em>The Story of a Three Day Pass<\/em><\/li><li>Excerpts from a 2004 interview with Van Peebles for the Directors Guild of America Visual History Program<\/li><li>Introductions to all four films by Van Peebles\u00a0<\/li><li>Trailers<\/li><li>New English subtitle translation for\u00a0<em>The Story of a Three Day Pass<\/em><\/li><li>English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing\u00a0<\/li><li>PLUS: A 64-page book featuring writing on the films, including an introduction by film scholar Racquel J. Gates<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>THE FILMS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-expand=\"600\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1 1'%2F%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-05-at-1.40.15-PM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-154633\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>THE STORY OF A THREE DAY PASS<\/strong> \u2014 Melvin Van Peebles\u2019s edgy, angsty, romantic first feature could never have been made in America. Unable to break into segregated Hollywood, Van Peebles decamped to France, taught himself the language, and wrote a number of books in French, one of which,&nbsp;<em>La permission,<\/em>&nbsp;would become the stylistically innovative&nbsp;<em>The Story of a Three Day Pass.<\/em>&nbsp;Turner (Harry Baird), an African American soldier stationed in France, is granted a promotion and a three-day leave from base by his casually racist commanding officer and heads to Paris, where he finds whirlwind romance with a white woman (Nicole Berger)\u2014but what happens to their love when his furlough is over? Channeling the brash exuberance of the French New Wave, Van Peebles creates an exploration of the psychology of an interracial relationship as well as a commentary on France\u2019s contradictory attitudes about race that is playful, sarcastic, and stingingly subversive by turns, and that laid the foundation for the scorched-earth cinematic revolution he would let loose just a few years later.<br>1967 \u2022 86 MINUTES \u2022 BLACK &amp; WHITE \u2022 MONAURAL \u2022 IN FRENCH AND ENGLISH, WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES \u2022 1.66:1 ASPECT RATIO <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Watch blackfilm.com&#8217;s interview with Mario Van Peebles On The Restoration of Melvin Van Peebles\u2019 \u2013 \u2018The Story of a Three Day Pass\u2019<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/2021\/05\/mario-van-peebles-on-the-restoration-of-melvin-van-peebles-the-story-of-a-three-day-pass\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">HERE<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-expand=\"600\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1 1'%2F%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-05-at-1.34.14-PM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-154629\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WATERMELON MAN<\/strong> \u2014 Melvin Van Peebles\u2019s only foray into Hollywood filmmaking,&nbsp;<em>Watermelon Man<\/em>&nbsp;is one of the most audacious, radically conceived works to be financed by a major American studio in the 1970s. Comedian Godfrey Cambridge delivers a virtuoso performance (initially in whiteface) as Jeff Gerber, a loudmouthed, bigoted white insurance salesman whose sitcomlike suburban existence is jarringly upended when he wakes up to discover, in a wild spin on Franz Kafka\u2019s&nbsp;<em>The Metamorphosis<\/em>, that he has become a Black man. What ensues is a ferocious satire of society\u2019s racist double standards that gradually transforms into an empowering portrait of awakening Black consciousness, executed with a mix of acerbic irreverence and deadly serious political commentary by a relentlessly subversive Van Peebles.<br>1970 \u2022 110 MINUTES \u2022 COLOR \u2022 MONAURAL \u2022 1.85:1 ASPECT RATIO<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-expand=\"600\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1 1'%2F%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-05-at-1.34.25-PM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-154630\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SWEET SWEETBACK\u2019S BAADASSSSS SONG<\/strong> \u2014 A landmark of Black and American independent cinema that would send shock waves through the culture,&nbsp;<em>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song<\/em>&nbsp;was Melvin Van Peebles\u2019s third feature, after he walked away from a contract with Columbia in order to make his next film on his own terms. Acting as producer, director, writer, composer, editor, and star, Van Peebles created the prototype for what Hollywood would eventually co-opt and make into the blaxploitation hero: a taciturn, perpetually blank-faced performer in a sex show, who, when he\u2019s pushed too far by a pair of racist cops looking to frame him for a crime he didn\u2019t commit, goes on the run through a lawless underground of bikers, revolutionaries, sex workers, and hippies in a kill-or-be-killed quest for liberation from white oppression.&nbsp;<em>Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song<\/em>\u2019s incendiary politics are matched by Van Peebles\u2019s revolutionary style, in which jagged jump cuts, kaleidoscopic superimpositions, and psychedelic sound design come together in a sustained howl of rage and defiance.<br>1971 \u2022 97 MINUTES \u2022 COLOR \u2022 MONAURAL \u2022 1.85:1 ASPECT RATIO<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-expand=\"600\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1 1'%2F%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-05-at-1.34.38-PM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-154631\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DON\u2019T PLAY US CHEAP<\/strong> \u2014 Melvin Van Peebles\u2019s film version of his own Tony Award\u2013nominated Broadway musical is a bold blend of theater and nervy, New Wave\u2013inflected cinematic invention. A cast of Black stage and screen luminaries including Esther Rolle, Mabel King, and Avon Long stars in this charmingly offbeat, fablelike fantasy in which a pair of mischief-making devil-bats dispatched by Satan assume human form in order to wreak havoc on a Saturday-night house party in Harlem\u2014only to find their diabolical plan thwarted by their hosts\u2019 infectious generosity of spirit. Staged with ebullience, the original blues- and gospel-infused songs by Van Peebles burst forth in a life-affirming celebration of Black joy, tenderness, resilience, and strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-expand=\"600\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1 1'%2F%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CYzMcNAogqAQ8h4PsZviojQVyF5FEi_original-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-154638\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO JOIN THE CRITERION CHANNEL VISIT&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/r20.rs6.net\/tn.jsp?f=001YoIjdBeOB9E4ZTxqDRuKzNxrdP8MvAZ5gBTALrKZv-dsQet5GWA1MywmEbBf04AdayaYE_QrsNPWSVeGSCLVF3qeyQe6EASbtgZmpeeGqVEBtXkY0KMs_87nVq7ESk40cjo4OfZCB6GLGba-ytAhuQlPihCL0829KzKZcItb1fwy22S7IcEtJ54MlTiTG3TC&amp;c=a8kiGYZOjdCBK7sCGJza5MUGCBdkMlT7GPDaFIf7rxyyVxM8JONeHg==&amp;ch=cq5qbof4A6TgAoiEyty_e9KsgXd8_ILLGP2Dq2Knvu54TOtkDlUucA==\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">HERE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Director, writer, composer, actor, and one-man creative revolutionary Melvin Van Peebles jolted American independent cinema to new life with his explosive stylistic energy and unfiltered expression of Black consciousness. Though he undeniably altered the course of film history with the anarchic&nbsp;Sweet Sweetback\u2019s Baadasssss Song,&nbsp;that pop-culture bombshell is just one piece of a remarkably varied career [&hellip;] <a class=\"g1-link g1-link-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/melvin-van-peebles-essential-films-for-the-first-time-on-five-blu-ray-special-edition-box-set\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":154638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[145,16,143],"tags":[32280,34421,34422,3806,34518,2383,8099,33585,33563,34517],"reaction":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-154627","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-news","9":"category-read","10":"tag-black-directors","11":"tag-black-space-film","12":"tag-black-space-movies","13":"tag-blackfilm","14":"tag-dont-play-us-cheap","15":"tag-mario-van-peebles","16":"tag-melvin-van-peebles","17":"tag-sweet-sweetbacks-baadasssss-song","18":"tag-the-story-of-a-three-day-pass","19":"tag-watermelon-man"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.7 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&#039;Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films&#039; For The First Time on Five-Blu-Ray Special Edition Box Set - blackfilm.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Director, writer, composer, actor, and one-man creative revolutionary Melvin Van Peebles&#039; four features will be Available on BLU-RAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/melvin-van-peebles-essential-films-for-the-first-time-on-five-blu-ray-special-edition-box-set\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films&#039; For The First Time on Five-Blu-Ray Special Edition Box Set\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Director, writer, composer, actor, and one-man creative revolutionary Melvin Van Peebles&#039; four features will be Available on BLU-RAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/melvin-van-peebles-essential-films-for-the-first-time-on-five-blu-ray-special-edition-box-set\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"blackfilm.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/blackfilm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-05T17:48:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-05T20:01:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CYzMcNAogqAQ8h4PsZviojQVyF5FEi_original-e1628193229237.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ellen J. 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