Underrated Black Films
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- DirectorJordan Walker-PearlmanStarsGabrielle UnionBilly Dee WilliamsZoe SaldanaA painter living in exile returns home where his family endured generations of racial violence. There he begins to fantasize the people around him as a series of portraits in order to bury the pain and find something beautiful to feel.
- DirectorMaya AngelouStarsAlfre WoodardAl Freeman Jr.Mary AliceIn a desperate attempt to change her life, Loretta -- a troubled single mother from a tough Chicago neighborhood -- is sent to spend a summer at her family's ancestral home in rural Mississippi.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsRobert Ri'chardPeter GallagherGloria ReubenSet in nineteenth-century New Orleans, the story depicts the gens de couleur libre, or the Free People of Colour, a dazzling yet damned class caught between the world of white privilege and black oppression.
- DirectorDebbie AllenStarsLynn WhitfieldVanessa WilliamsJasmine GuyFour young black women are trying to achieve their dreams of success in the 1930s Harlem.
- DirectorChristopher Scott CherotStarsChristopher Scott CherotChenoa MaxwellHill HarperLee Plenty is a flailing, wannabe writer, homeless and apartment-sitting for his friend, the wealthy Havilland Savage, while she is off visiting family. So Lee jumps at the chance to see Havilland, whom he has secretly loved for years.
- DirectorMatty RichStarsLarenz TateJoe MortonSuzzanne DouglasA shy, troubled young man who set his own house on fire and has an imaginary friend, is sent to a vineyard where he finds himself in the middle of his political-arguing, party-loving family and his love torn between two girls.
- DirectorChristopher Scott CherotStarsRichard T. JonesBlair UnderwoodChenoa Maxwell"G" is a Gatsbyesque love story set against Hip-Hop's invasion of the Hamptons.
- DirectorJulie DashStarsAlfre WoodardLoretta DevineCCH PounderA woman returns to her home town to sort out her troubled marriage and finds new happiness in the rekindling of a broken friendship with her cousin.
- DirectorPreston A. Whitmore IIStarsBoris KodjoeMichael Kenneth WilliamsSticky FingazA father's eight year old son is murdered in a gangland shooting. The father (Boris Kodjoe) gets himself thrown into prison to avenge his son's death.
- DirectorNeema BarnetteStarsLisaRaye McCoyN'Bushe WrightYasiin BeyFrances is in the pen for killing her abusive husband. The abused the prisoners rise up against the "new plantation" that harvest human labor for profit. Nothing will stop Frances and her fellow inmates in this brutal battle for justice.
- StarsJohn BeasleyMary AliceUlysses ZakeryA weekend in the life of the Arnett family. The events of a forty eight hour period have a rainbow of incidents. From a preacher to a drug dealer; from an innocent young school girl to a reformed drug addict gone bad. The same scenario that millions of American families encounter each day in suburbia; both black and white and brown and yellow. There are no racial boundaries to the ups and downs of the real American life.
- DirectorKathleen CollinsStarsSeret ScottBill GunnDuane JonesSara, a cold college professor, and her husband, an ecstatic painter, spend a summer away from the city, straining their rocky relationship.
- DirectorKevin HooksRolando HudsonStarsTommy DavidsonJoseph C. PhillipsAnne-Marie JohnsonSharp social satire in which the uneven friendship between an ambitious Black businessman and his streetwise pal is thrown into further confusion when the professional falls in love with a mind-numbingly gorgeous waitress.
- DirectorRobert TownsendStarsRobert TownsendMarla GibbsEddie GriffinA high school teacher from a troubled inner city Washington D.C. neighborhood becomes a super-powered hero and takes on the gang that has been terrorizing his streets.
- DirectorRobert TownsendStarsRobert TownsendCraigus R. JohnsonHelen MartinAn actor limited to stereotypical roles because of his ethnicity, dreams of making it big as a highly respected performer. As he makes his rounds, the film takes a satiric look at African American actors in Hollywood.
- DirectorDarrell RoodtStarsWhoopi GoldbergLeleti KhumaloMiriam MakebaSouth African teenagers fight against apartheid in the Soweto Uprising.
- DirectorJohnny E. JensenStarsCarl LumblyDulé HillVictoria DillardIn 1940s New Jersey, a poor, working man aspires to give his six daughters opportunities that he never had.
- DirectorDebbie AllenStarsKeshia Knight PulliamPhylicia RashadDorian HarewoodAn orphan tries to use gladness to unite the people in a small southern town.
- DirectorDebbie AllenStarsKeshia Knight PulliamPhylicia RashadDorian HarewoodBroadway style songs are used to tell this interesting story of an ingenious orphan who gets involved in matchmaking and striving for inter-racial understanding in 1956 Alabama.
- DirectorDoug McHenryStarsLL Cool JJada Pinkett SmithVivica A. FoxWhen a despicable family member expires at last, his relatives gather to comfort one another--and to settle old scores.
- DirectorKasi LemmonsStarsSamuel L. JacksonJurnee SmollettMeagan GoodWhat did little Eve see--and how will it haunt her? Husband, father and womanizer Louis Batiste is the head of an affluent family, but it's the women who rule this gothic world of secrets, lies and mystic forces.
- DirectorRobert TownsendStarsVing RhamesAlfre WoodardJesika ReynoldsA drag queen takes in a drug addict and her daughter and helps raise the daughter.
- DirectorKrishna ShahStarsCicely TysonJames Earl JonesLouis Gossett Jr.An intimate look at life in the ghetto: Johnny Williams is a house painter who moonlights as a poet, struggling to financially and emotionally support his cancer-ridden wife Mattie. But times are tough and the poverty-troubled streets are even tougher, and it takes every ounce of Johnny's love and courage for the couple to make it through their strife, finding redemption in the River Niger.
- DirectorMichael SchultzStarsGlynn TurmanLawrence Hilton-JacobsGarrett MorrisIn 1964 on Chicago's Near-North Side, the lives of four carefree high school seniors and best friends, including an aspiring playwright and an all-city basketball champion, takes a tragic turn.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsBrandon Quintin AdamsEverett McGillWendy RobieTwo adults and a juvenile break into a house occupied by a brother and sister and their stolen children. There, they must fight for their lives.
- DirectorMira NairStarsDenzel WashingtonSarita ChoudhuryRoshan SethAn ethnic Indian family is expelled from Idi Amin's Uganda in 1972 and lives in Mississippi 17 years later. The dad sues Uganda to get his property back. The grown daughter falls in love with a Black man.
- StarsOprah WinfreyMary AliceOlivia ColeA multi-generational story of the lives of several black women who call an inner-city tenement home.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsJon VoightVing RhamesDon CheadleA dramatization of a 1923 horrific racist lynch mob attack on an African-American community.
- DirectorGregory NavaStarsHalle BerryVivica A. FoxLela RochonThree women each claim to be the widow of 1950s doo-wop singer Frankie Lymon, claiming legal rights to his estate.
- DirectorJonathan LynnStarsCuba Gooding Jr.BeyoncéMike EppsA New York advertising executive travels to a small Southern town to collect an inheritance but finds he must create a gospel choir and lead it to success before he can collect.
- DirectorRusty CundieffStarsTisha CampbellRusty CundieffPaula Jai ParkerTwo pairs of best friends - Montel & Clyde and Brandy & Adina meet at the party, where Clyde makes Adina think he is very rich and gets her into bed the same evening. When Adina finds out that she's been fooled, she becomes Clyde's worst enemy. Meanwhile Montel and Brandy fall in love and plan to marry, and Adina and Clyde try to do everything to stop them.
- DirectorCarl FranklinStarsDenzel WashingtonTom SizemoreJennifer BealsA Black war hero is hired to find a mysterious woman, and gets mixed up in a murderous political scandal in 1948 Los Angeles.
- DirectorJames Bond IIIStarsJames Bond IIIKadeem HardisonBill NunnAn evil succubus is preying on libidinous black men in New York City, and all that stands in her way is a minister-in-training, an aspiring actor, and a cop who specializes in cases involving the supernatural.
- DirectorDaisy von Scherler MayerStarsJada Pinkett SmithTommy DavidsonDuane MartinGorgeous and extravert Woo meets insecure and straight-laced law clerk Tim at a blind date.
- DirectorBoaz YakinStarsSean NelsonGiancarlo EspositoSamuel L. JacksonDeath and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsHoward E. Rollins Jr.Adolph CaesarArt EvansAn African-American officer investigates a murder in a racially charged situation in World War II.
- DirectorMark BrownStarsVivica A. FoxMorris ChestnutAnthony AndersonAn arrogant career woman plays a series of heartless mind-games with her boyfriend to "put him in line," only to discover that he has a few tricks up his own sleeve.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsAlfre WoodardDelroy LindoDavid Patrick KellySpike Lee's vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school teacher, her stubborn jazz musician husband and their five kids living in Brooklyn in 1973.
- DirectorJeff PollackStarsJamie FoxxTommy DavidsonVivica A. FoxTwo friends who have gone too long without sex set out to get some.
- DirectorLionel C. MartinStarsBill BellamyNatalie Desselle ReidLark VoorhiesA playboy gets the tables turned on him when a party is arranged with all of the women he has been two-timing are in attendance.
- DirectorDoug McHenryStarsAllen PayneJada Pinkett SmithBokeem WoodbineTwo brothers, survivors of family tragedy, take different life paths: one falls for a high-spirited waitress and dreams of success, the other follows a life of petty crime. Their lives reconnect in shattering fashion.
- DirectorTamra DavisStarsChris RockAllen PayneDeezer DA guy makes a documentary of the rap band CB4 by following them. CB4 got popular by stealing Gusto's name, background and image. He wants them dead.
- DirectorRandall MillerStarsChristopher ReidChristopher MartinAndre Rosey BrownA valedictorian and a juvenile delinquent have their school records switched and begin to be treated like the other.
- DirectorBruce W. SmithStarsFaizon LoveVanessa Bell CallowayRobin HarrisTo impress his new girlfriend, a man agrees to look after her friend's kids, only to find that they are uncontrollably rambunctious.
- DirectorPeter MacDonaldStarsDamon WayansStacey DashMarlon WayansA con man, seeking to gain the affections of a woman he saw entering an office building, aquires a job in the same building working for an executive who has plans to use his skills for more than just the workplace.
- DirectorMartin LawrenceStarsMartin LawrenceLynn WhitfieldRegina KingA fast paced, womanizing nightclub promoter gets paid back in full when he scorns a beautiful woman with psychotic tendencies who will punish him for breaking her heart.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDenzel WashingtonSpike LeeWesley SnipesJazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam makes questionable decisions in his professional and romantic lives.
- DirectorTim ReidStarsAl Freeman Jr.Phylicia RashadLeonA narrator tells the story of his childhood years in a tightly knit Afro-American community in the deep south under racial segregation.
- DirectorCharles BurnettStarsHalle BerryEric ThalLynn WhitfieldIn 1950s Massachusetts, a wealthy black woman engaged to a poor white beatnik learns about her family history. The stories revolve around the racial and class complexities of interracial and class-based marriages.
- DirectorGina Prince-BythewoodStarsSanaa LathanWesley SnipesMichael ImperioliA couple in the midst of a tumultuous relationship fight to stay together.
- DirectorEddie MurphyStarsEddie MurphyRichard PryorRedd FoxxDuring the 1930s, a New York City illegal gambling house owner and his associates must deal with strong competition, gangsters, and corrupt cops in order to stay in business.
- DirectorLeon IchasoStarsWesley SnipesMichael WrightKhandi AlexanderA drug dealer tries to get out of the life and start anew with his girlfriend, but the transition is tragically difficult.
- DirectorJeff PollackStarsDuane MartinTupac ShakurLeonStory of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
- DirectorErnest R. DickersonStarsOmar EppsTupac ShakurJermaine HopkinsFour inner-city teenagers get caught up in the pursuit of power and happiness, which they refer to as "the juice".
- DirectorGeorge C. WolfeStarsS. Epatha MerkersonMarcus Carl FranklinYasiin BeyIn a story fueled by rhythm and blues, a young boy's life is shaped by love and the stories of a cast of characters in the boarding house where he lives in 1960s Lackawanna, New York.
- DirectorMichael SchultzStarsSheila E.Joseph SimmonsDarryl McDanielsThe story of a man who has started a new hip-hop/rap label called Krush Groove.
- DirectorMichael SchultzStarsTaimakVanityChristopher MurneyIn New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.
- DirectorMatty RichStarsGeorge T. OdomAnn D. SandersLawrence Gilliard Jr.A young man living in poverty makes a plan to rob a drug dealer and change the life of his family.
- DirectorJohn BerryStarsDiahann CarrollJames Earl JonesLawrence Hilton-JacobsIn the 1970s Harlem, garbage collector Roop feels intimidated by the idea of dating Claudine who is a single mother of six on welfare.
- DirectorMartha CoolidgeStarsHalle BerryBrent SpinerKlaus Maria BrandauerDorothy Dandridge's way to fame and fortune as a dancer, singer and actress.
- DirectorDarnell MartinStarsHalle BerryRuben Santiago-HudsonMel WinklerA drama set in the 1920s, where free-spirited Janie Crawford's search for happiness leads her through several different marriages, challenging the morals of her small town. Based on the novel by Zora Neale Hurston.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsHarry BelafonteDorothy DandridgePearl BaileyContemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsMbissine Thérèse DiopAnne-Marie JelinekRobert FontaineA black girl from Senegal becomes a servant in France.
- DirectorLance RiveraStarsQuran PenderJenifer LewisJa RuleTodd Anderson's life changes overnight when he signs a $30 million contract with the NBA. Determined not to forget who he is and where he's from, he throws a cookout for his family and friends from the hood, in his new neighborhood.
- DirectorSalim AkilStarsPaula PattonLaz AlonsoAngela BassettTwo very different families converge on Martha's Vineyard one weekend for a wedding.
- DirectorRobert TownsendStarsMekhi PhiferBeyoncéYasiin BeyA contemporary, urban retelling of the classic story, Carmen: A Hip Hopera follows the life of a police sergeant whose world is turned upside down when an irresistible woman enters his life.
- DirectorSalim AkilStarsJordin SparksCarmen EjogoWhitney HoustonIn the 1960s, three sisters form a girl group and soon become local sensations with major label interest, but fame becomes a challenge as the close-knit family begins to fall apart.
- DirectorChristopher ErskinStarsCedric The EntertainerShannon ElizabethShad MossBuckle up for the wildest road trip of the year. A comedy adventure about a misfit family trying to survive outrageous obstacles (including one another) on a cross-country trek to their annual family reunion.
- DirectorJohn SchultzStarsShad MossJonathan LipnickiMorris ChestnutA 13-year-old orphan becomes an NBA superstar after trying on a pair of sneakers with the faded initials "MJ" inside them.
- DirectorDoug AtchisonStarsAngela BassettLaurence FishburneKeke PalmerAkeelah, a young gifted girl, comes from a dysfunctional family and is on the verge of quitting school. She discovers that she has a high aptitude for spellings and enters a spelling bee contest.
- DirectorRaoul PeckStarsIdris ElbaCarole KaremeraPamela NomveteWhen the Hutu nationalists raised arms against their Tutsi countrymen in Rwanda in April 1994, the violent uprising marked the beginning of one of the darkest times in African history which resulted in the deaths of almost 800,000 people.
- DirectorDarnell MartinStarsDanny HochElvis CostelloQ-TipA young man lives and learns while growing up on the street and in and out of correctional facilities.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDenzel WashingtonAngela BassettDelroy LindoBiographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.
- DirectorRick FamuyiwaStarsElayn J. TaylorOmar EppsRichard T. JonesWhile dealing with a friend's cold feet on his wedding day, a writer reminisces about his youth with his best friends.
- DirectorJoseph MandukeStarsMoses GunnRosalind CashBernie CaseyA 12-year-old is traumatised by the murder of his friend, a star basketball player.
- DirectorJulie DashStarsCora Lee DayAlva RogersBarbara OA languid, impressionistic story of three generations of Gullah women living on the South Carolina Sea Islands in 1902.
- DirectorBrett RatnerStarsCharlie SheenChris TuckerHeather LocklearSought by police and criminals, a small-time huckster makes a deal with a TV newsman for protection.
- DirectorLes MayfieldStarsMartin LawrenceLuke WilsonPeter GreeneA former convict poses as a cop to retrieve a diamond he stole years ago.
- DirectorMike BinderStarsDamon WayansDavid Alan GrierRobin GivensA simpleton inventor becomes a superhero with a bulletproof costume and a low budget.
- DirectorDJ PoohStarsBrian HooksN'Bushe WrightFaizon LoveRob has 2 strikes and 3 strikes now means 25 to life. Leaving prison, he's picked up in a stolen car later stopped by the police. Can he prove his innocence before he's caught?
- DirectorLouis C.K.StarsChris RockLance CroutherJ.B. Smoove"The Man" is baffled by a chill hero's invincible weapon: gibberish.
- DirectorDavid C. JohnsonStarsEriq La SalleVondie Curtis-HallVing RhamesThe DROP (Deprogramming and Restoration of Pride) Squad is an outlaw organization that abducts and "deprograms" African-Americans who exploit and/or deny their cultural heritage. But their persuasive methods become increasingly violent.
- DirectorKevin HooksStarsLindsey HaunShadia SimmonsCarl LumblyA white South African girl finds herself in a difficult situation when she is sent to spend a term with a Black family in America.
- DirectorGina Prince-BythewoodStarsMonica CalhounLark VoorhiesMalinda Williams"What About Your Friends" is a one-hour film that takes a unique look at the senior year successes and failures of three high school girlfriends as they prepare for college.
- DirectorBill ParkerStarsJasmine GuyGiancarlo EspositoStafford AshaniStoney is a photographer who travels to Jamaica to photograph the KLA$H, the world's best reggae and dance hall bands. Stoney re-unites with an old girlfriend Blossom, and Blossom has a big payday via a criminal plan she puts in motion.
- DirectorPeter Gathings BuncheStarsShemar MooreNia LongErnie HudsonDeceit, body heat and pulsing street beats converge in this explosive story about the music industry!
- DirectorAnita W. AddisonStarsOprah WinfreyKeith DavidMark LaneFrom Publishers Weekly The devastating story of brothers Lafayette and Pharoah Rivers, children of the Chicago ghetto, is powerfully told here by Kotlowitz, a Wall Street Journal reporter who first met the boys in 1985 when they were 10 and seven, respectively. Their family includes a mother, a frequently absent father, an older brother and younger triplets. We witness the horrors of growing up in an ill-maintained housing project tyrannized by drug gangs and where murders and shootings frequently occur.
- DirectorLes MayfieldStarsMartin LawrenceLuke WilsonPeter GreeneA former convict poses as a cop to retrieve a diamond he stole years ago.
- DirectorSam WeismanStarsMartin LawrenceDanny DeVitoJohn LeguizamoA rich man catches a thief burglarizing his home and steals the thief's lucky ring, who then tries to get it back.
- DirectorStan LathanStarsPaul WinfieldJames Bond IIIOlivia ColeThis film adaptation of James Baldwin's celebrated novel tells the journey of a family from the rural South to "big city" Harlem seeking both salvation and understanding and of a young boy struggling to earn the approval of a self-righteous and often unloving stepfather.
- DirectorMario Van PeeblesStarsKadeem HardisonBokeem WoodbineJoe Don BakerA dramatized account of the story of The Black Panther Party of Self-Defense.
- DirectorTheodore WitcherStarsLarenz TateNia LongIsaiah WashingtonDarius Lovehall is a young black poet in Chicago who starts dating Nina Mosley, a beautiful and talented photographer. While trying to figure out if they've got a "love thing" or are just "kicking it," they hang out with their friend, talking about love and sex. Then Nina tests the strength of Darius' feelings and sets a chain of romantic complications into motion.
- DirectorKevin Rodney SullivanStarsAngela BassettTaye DiggsWhoopi GoldbergStella is a highly successful, forty-something San Francisco stock broker who is persuaded by her colorful New York girlfriend Delilah to take a well deserved, first-class vacation to Jamaica.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsOmar EppsKristy SwansonMichael RapaportPeople from all different walks of life, encounter racial tension, rape, responsibility, and the meaning of an education on a university campus.
- DirectorMaurice JamalStarsRockmond DunbarLoretta DevineJenifer LewisA modern-day prodigal son story with a twist. It follows Patrick, a magazine writer, who seems to have the "perfect life," until one day, there is a knock at the door. On the other side stands a secret that brings him face to face with the traditional southern family he hasn't seen in over 10 years.
- DirectorGary HardwickStarsGabrielle UnionLL Cool JEssence AtkinsEva doesn't let her 3 sisters' men push them around. She's always butting in. How to pacify Eva? Find her a man. The men pay a playboy to be that man. The problem is - he falls in love with Eva.
- DirectorDJ PoohStarsDr. DreSnoop DoggAnthony AlbanoLife at the car wash is a place in Los Angeles, California where anything can and does happen to two friends Sean & Dee Loc (Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg) trying to earn money to pay their rent.
- DirectorMalcolm D. LeeStarsShad MossNick CannonMeagan GoodIn the summer of 1978, a teenager and his group of friends face new challenges when their neighborhood roller-skating rink closes, forcing them to visit a different rink.
- DirectorMillicent SheltonStarsMelissa De SousaJohn WitherspoonCedric The EntertainerA group of young people take an old bus from Harlem to Miami to make a rap music video there.
- DirectorKasi LemmonsStarsDon CheadleChiwetel EjioforBruce McFeeThe story of Washington D.C. radio personality Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s.