The title of Elvis Mitchell’s documentary “Is That Black Enough for You?!?” is a rallying cry heard in Ossie Davis’ “Cotton Comes to Harlem,”It reflects the exuberant tone in this essayistic tribute to Black-centered films of the 1970s.
Mitchell describes the intentions behind the soundtrack, and says that this movie is an examination on how “one decade forever changed the movies and me.” Though we never see him on screen, it is Mitchell’s voice guiding us throughout, and that voice is never less than lively, witty and provocative.
Premiering at New York Film Festival, on its way to Netflix “Is That Black Enough for You?!?” runs 135 minutes and takes in an enormous amount of material; Mitchell’s insights into any particular film or subject have to be both brief and acute, and this suits Mitchell perfectly, because he has always been a writer who can say more with one sentence than many writers can with a page of text.
Mitchell has assembled a distinguished group of interview subjects. “Is That Black Enough for You?!?”He showcases them like a party host, eager to let his guests shine. At the top of this list is 95-year-old legend Harry Belafonte, who describes his own troubles getting worthy work as an actor in the 1950s and ‘60s with above-it-all authority.
Mitchell’s documentary goes year by year from about 1968 to 1977 and takes in as many Black-led movies as possible, but he keeps his structure open so that a trip back to the past is never out of the question if it will help raise a larger point or provide context. Threaded throughout is Mitchell’s central theme, that the “procession of assured Black talent”The 1970s saw a contrast in screen characters to the national mood. This was evident in Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino’s portrayals of anti-heroes.
Several of the interview subjects here — including Samuel L. Jackson, Laurence Fishburne and director Charles Burnett — say that their first experience of the movies came from watching Westerns, and Mitchell carefully traces this influence in some of the initial films made in what would come to be known as the “Blaxploitation” genre. Mitchell also credits George Romero as the director of his classic zombie movie. “Night of the Living Dead”Duane Jones, whose race was never mentioned onscreen.
Mitchell will sometimes take a moment to pay tribute to Jones and Rupert Crosse, who were nominated for Oscars for their roles in “The Reivers”) and the gifted Diana Sands, who gave her finest performance in “The Landlord”In the 1970s, but did not get the star-making lead role. “Claudine”When she died, she was 39 years old.
Two very different films broke new ground in 1972: “Lady Sings the Blues,”A fictionalized biopic about Billie Holiday’s life that highlighted the glamour and chemistry between Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams. “Sounder,”Cicely Tyson was the Matriarch of a rural Black Family. Williams, when interviewed here, admits to being a little infatuated with himself. “Lady Sings the Blues”In the scene that he descends some stairs to find flattering lighting, which was previously reserved for white stars.
Mitchell is devoted to films like these, and Pam Grier who is the Blaxploitation Queen. But it is evident that Mitchell’s greatest interest lies in deeper cuts of Black independent movies, and the soundtracks that made them hit. He takes his audience on a tour through pictures such as “Cool Breeze,” “Willie Dynamite,” “Cooley High” “Honeybaby, Honeybaby,”It provides a sharp, valuable, critical perspective that is all too often lacking in survey documentaries such as this.
When Mitchell reaches “Saturday Night Fever” and shows us how the strut of John Travolta’s Tony Manero is so close to the physical presentation of Blaxploitation heroes, he has primed us to see how tropes from the Black community have been absorbed by a white show-business culture concerned above all with making money. There is a strong sense of loss after 1978, but also joy and discovery. “Is That Black Enough for You?!?”That allows us to view a whole universe of lesser-known films that just wait to be viewed, reviewed and appreciated in new ways.
“Is That Black Enough for You?!?”Netflix premieres November 11