Mandingo (film)
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| Mandingo | |
|---|---|
 US poster for Mandingo |
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| Directed by | Richard Fleischer |
| Produced by | Dino De Laurentiis |
| Written by | Kyle Onstott (book) Norman Wexler (screenplay) |
| Starring | James Mason Susan George Perry King Lillian Hayman Richard Ward Brenda Sykes Ken Norton |
| Music by | Maurice Jarre |
| Cinematography | Richard H. Kline |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1975 |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | Drum |
Mandingo is a 1975 film, based on the novel Mandingo by Kyle Onstott. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and featured James Mason, Susan George, Perry King, Lillian Hayman, boxer-turned-actor Ken Norton, and bodybuilder and pro wrestler-turned-actor Earl Maynard.
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[edit] Premise
On Falconhurst, a run-down plantation owned by the widowed Warren Maxwell (James Mason) and his son Hammond (Perry King). A "Mandingo" slave, Mede (Ken Norton), is trained to fight other slaves. Hammond neglects his wife Blanche (Susan George), whom he rejects on their wedding night after discovering she was not a virgin. Hammond instead ravishes his slave Ellen (Brenda Sykes), while Blanche seduces Mede.
[edit] Critique
Upon its release in 1975, critical response was mixed although box office was strong.[1] Roger Ebert despised the film and gave it a "zero star" rating.[1] The movie critic Robin Wood was enthusiatic about the film, calling it “the greatest film about race ever made in Hollywood”.[2] Quentin Tarantino has cited Mandingo as one of only two instances "in the last twenty years [that] a major studio made a full-on, gigantic, big-budget exploitation movie", comparing it to Showgirls.[3]
[edit] DVD Release
Paramount Pictures licensed the film to Legend Films for its first official DVD release. The DVD was released on June 3, 2008, in 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen version without any extras.
Some prominent critics hailed the release of the DVD, including the New York Times columnist Dave Kehr.
[edit] References
- ^ Roger Ebert's review
- ^ Wood, Robin (1998). Mandingo: The Vindication of an Abused Masterpiece. Columbia University Press. p. 256. ISBN 0231076053.
- ^ Udovitch, Mim (1998). "Mim Udovitch/1996". in Peary, Gerald. Quentin Tarantino: Interviews. Univ. Press of Mississippi. pp. 172–173. ISBN 1578060516.
[edit] External links
- Mandingo at the Internet Movie Database
