| Native Land | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Leo Hurwitz Paul Strand |
| Written by | Leo Hurwitz Ben Maddow |
| Produced by | Leo Hurwitz |
| Starring | Paul Robeson (Narrator/Vocalist) Fred Johnson |
| Cinematography | Paul Strand |
| Edited by | Lionel Berman Leo Hurwitz Bob Stebbins |
| Music by | Marc Blitzstein |
| Production company | Frontier Films |
| Distributed by | Frontier Films |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 79 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Native Land is a 1942 docudrama film directed by Leo Hurwitz and Paul Strand.
Synopsis
A combination of a documentary format and staged reenactments (influenced by the cinematic works of Sergei Eisenstein and Aleksandr Dovzhenko), the independently produced film depicted the struggle of trade unions against union-busting corporations, their spies and contractors. It was based on the 1938 report of the La Follette Committee's investigation of the repression of labor organizing.
Famous African-American singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson participated as an off-screen narrator and vocalist.
Cast
- Paul Robeson as Narrator and vocalist (voice)
- Fred Johnson as Fred Hill, a farmer
- Mary George as Hill's wife
- John Rennick as Hill's son
- Amelia Romano as Window scrubber
- Houseley Stevenson as White sharecropper
- Louis Grant as Black sharecropper
- James Hanney as Mack, Union president
- Howard Da Silva as Jim, an informer
- Art Smith as Harry Carlyle
- John Marley as Thug with crowbar
Legacy
Restoration and re-release
A restored version of the film was released in 2011. The film was restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, funded by the Packard Humanities Institute.
The new print was made “from the original 35mm nitrate picture negative, a 35mm safety duplicate negative, and a 35mm safety up-and-down track negative.”
The restoration premiered at the UCLA Festival of Preservation on March 26, 2011 and was screened at other North American cities in 2011 including Vancouver.
References
- Grant, Barry Keith and Jim Hillier. BFI Screen Guides: 100 Documentary Films, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. pp. 147–148.
- The Criterion Collection
- Leo Hurwitz
- Paul Robeson: Portraits of the Artist (Criterion) – Senses of Cinema
- Paul Robeson: Portraits of the Artist - Criterion Collection - DVD Talk
- ^ Jan-Christopher Horak. "UCLA Film & Television Archive: Native Land (1942)". Retrieved 2011-11-07.
- "Recent Restorations: Treasures From The UCLA Festival Of Preservation » Native Land". Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
External links
- Native Land at IMDb
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