Directed by Michael Roemer • 1964 • United States
Starring Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, Julius Harris
Michael Roemer’s groundbreaking first feature, sensitively shot by his close collaborator Robert M. Young, is a still-resonant expression of humanity in the face of virulent prejudice. Made at the height of the civil rights movement, NOTHING BUT A MAN reveals the toll of systemic racism through its honest portrait of a southern Black railroad worker (Ivan Dixon) confronting the daily challenges of discrimination and economic precarity, as he attempts to settle down with his new wife (jazz great Abbey Lincoln) and track down his father (Julius Harris). Admired by Malcolm X and now recognized as a landmark of American cinema, this tender film grounds its social critique in characters of unforgettable complexity and truth.
Up Next in American Independents
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The Plot Against Harry
Directed by Michael Roemer • 1969 • United States
Starring Martin Priest, Ben Lang, Maxine WoodsA treasure of American independent filmmaking that was neglected for decades until its triumphant rediscovery, writer-director-producer Michael Roemer’s feature follow-up to his landmark NOTHING BUT ...
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Vengeance Is Mine
Directed by Michael Roemer • 1984 • United States
Starring Brooke Adams, Jon DeVries, Ari MeyersLike director Michael Roemer’s prior features—the powerful civil-rights-era landmark NOTHING BUT A MAN and the offbeat mob comedy THE PLOT AGAINST HARRY—this continuously surprising, cuttingly incisi...
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Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Directed by John Cameron Mitchell • 2001 • United States
Starring John Cameron Mitchell, Andrea Martin, Michael PittWith this trailblazing musical, writer-director-star John Cameron Mitchell and composer-lyricist Stephen Trask brought their signature creation from stage to screen for a movie...
