#1096: PEEBLES, Melvin Van: Don't Play Us Cheap (1972)

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PEEBLES, Melvin Van (United States)
Don't Play Us Cheap (1972)
Spine #1096
Blu-ray


Melvin Van Peebles’s film version of his own Tony Award–nominated Broadway musical is a bold blend of theater and nervy, New Wave–inflected cinematic invention. A cast of Black stage and screen luminaries including Esther Rolle, Mabel King, and Avon Long stars in this charmingly offbeat, fablelike fantasy in which a pair of mischief-making devil-bats dispatched by Satan assume human form in order to wreak havoc on a Saturday-night house party in Harlem—only to find their diabolical plan thwarted by their hosts’ infectious generosity of spirit. Staged with ebullience, the original blues- and gospel-infused songs by Van Peebles burst forth in a life-affirming celebration of Black joy, tenderness, resilience, and strength.

102 minutes
Color
Monaural
1:66:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2021
Director/Writer



Martin Van Peebles was 40 when he wrote and directed Don't Play Us Cheap.

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Fifty-six page booklet featuring essays by film scholars Racquel J. Gates, Allyson Nadia Field, Michael B. Gillespie, and Lisa B. Thompson.

Commentary

None.

Introduction

By Van Peebles from 1997.

Episode

Of Black Journal from 1972 featuring an interview with Van Peebles and musical performances by the film’s cast.

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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