By Tharishi Hewavithanagamage
Directed by George C. Wolfe, ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ is based on the play of the same name, by August Wilson, who was often referred to as the ‘theater’s poet of Black America.’ The eponymous play was first staged in 1982. The film focuses on Ma Rainey, a real life blues singer and her group of blues musicians, coming together to record a few songs on a hot summer’s day in Chicago in 1927. Produced by Denzel Washington, Todd Black, and Dany Wolf, the film stars Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman, with Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige and Dusan Brown in supporting roles. ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ is currently streaming on Netflix.
The majority of the Air Safety experts and all experienced pilots in Sri Lanka say that the potentially hazardous concrete wall at the Galle Road end of the Colombo International Airport Ratmalana should be removed and replaced with a fence capable of arresting an over running aircraft, if necessary. When the possible hazards were highlighted to the three ‘owners’ of the said wall, it was the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) that declared first that as there was no war situation at present, that they had no objection for its replacement with a fence. This was stated by none other than the present Commander of the Air Force himself as representative of the SLAF at the Policy Development Office (PDO) at the Prime Minister’s Office at Temple Trees. Regrettably, the Civil Aviation Authority was procrastinating at that time.
Black Narcissus, BBC Two, Saturday, 1.15pm Whether you loved, loathed or (more likely) were completely underwhelmed by the BBC s adaptation of Rumer Godden s 1939 novel about a group of nuns trying to set up a school in a remote Himalayan palace, you ll find an interesting contrast in the much-admired 1947 film version. Black Narcissus won an Oscar for its cinematography – the great Jack Cardiff was behind the camera – and it s thought by many to be the gem in the Powell and Pressburger portfolio, an already rich collection of films which includes I Know Where I m Going, A Matter Of Life And Death, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp and the resolutely peculiar A Canterbury Tale.
Taarifa Rwanda
Published 3 months ago
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Filmed plays are often unjustly denigrated for being “uncinematic.” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” the movie adaptation of the 1984 August Wilson play, is a triumphant example of just how good a filmed play can be if both the play and the acting are first rate.
A film director doesn’t have to shoot the works to hold an audience. If the drama is galvanizing enough, that’s all you need. And what we have here is more than enough: Viola Davis in one of her greatest performances, and the late Chadwick Boseman in his final and most powerful appearance.
The Fiasco of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Armond White
Ma Rainey s Black Bottom
Viola Davis looks frightening in the film version of August Wilson’s 1984 play
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Her monstrous eye shadow, shark-jawed false teeth (recalling Richard Kiel chomping at James Bond in
The Spy Who Loved Me), baggy bodysuit, and obviously dubbed singing prove that no one involved with this film feels any emotional connection with its historical subject.
Ma Rainey (born Gertrude Pridgett in Columbus, Ga., in 1886) was known as “the Mother of the blues” for originating blues art and humor. It was her century-old achievement that inspired Wilson’s ambition to write a series of ten plays, each set in a different decade of the 20th century, affirming black American vernacular. Now, in a film directed by George C. Wolfe and produced by Denzel Washington, Rainey’s bawdy honesty, and Wilson’s grand concept, have been hijacked to serve the bitter agenda of t