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Sounder (1972)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:15
Fresh:13
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.7/10
Synopsis: An extremely powerful and uplifting story about a family of black sharecroppers, the Morgans, set in rural Louisiana during the early 1930s, Martin Ritt's SOUNDER is so simple and effective that it... An extremely powerful and uplifting story about a family of black sharecroppers, the Morgans, set in rural Louisiana during the early 1930s, Martin Ritt's SOUNDER is so simple and effective that it evokes an emotional response from viewers of all ages. Even so, SOUNDER is not a children's film by any means; it treats serious, adult issues, and features some of the most deeply felt performances and mature relationships ever captured on film. SOUNDER's title comes from the name of the Morgan family dog that young David Lee Morgan takes with him while hunting with his father, Nathan. Unfortunately, times are so hard for the Morgans that when Nathan tries to steal a ham for his family, he is caught and sent to a labor camp. David, now the man of the house, sets out on a journey to find the camp where his father was sent. On his way, he comes across an all-black school where he enrolls, learning empowering lessons about black achievement in America. Based on the Newberry Award winning novel by William H. Armstrong, SOUNDER not only improves on its source material, but it is also one of the rare films about the black experience that moves people of all races. [More]
Starring: Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Carmen Mathews, Kevin Hooks
Starring: Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Carmen Mathews, Kevin Hooks, Taj Mahal, Janet MacLachlan, James Best, Yvonne Jarrell
Director: Martin Ritt
Director: Martin Ritt
Screenwriter: Lonne Elder, III
Producer: Robert B. Radnitz
Composer: Taj Mahal
Reviews for Sounder
Honest and touching, Martin Ritt's Oscar-nominated Sounder, a Depression-era saga, does proud the American family and the American family movie genre.
Director Martin Ritt soaks us in the heat, the beauty, the racism and the buzzing cicadas of Louisiana.
Ritt's film must respond to the needs of an entertainment industry, and in its desire to be uplifting, leaves its characters one-dimensional without ensuring that the one dimension is heroic.
A very fine unpretentious, heartwarming and uplifting family drama about a Deep South black sharecropper family trying to survive during the Depression.
If Sounder, an inteligent enough movie, avoids all the major pitfalls of its type, it also lacks the excitement that may have come from plumbing greater depths and discovering a few tougher, less accessible insights.
It is one of the most compassionate and truthful of movies, and there's not a level where it doesn't succeed completely.
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