Pressure / Baldwin's Nigger details
| Format: | 15 DVD |
|---|---|
| Starring: | James Baldwin, Dick Gregory |
| Director: | Horace Ove |
| Genre: | Documentary - General |
| Studio: | BFI VIDEO |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
Pressure / Baldwin's Nigger |
15 Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 2 hours 46 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 26 Sep 2006 |
| Main languages: | English |
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Most helpful review
A welcome re-issue
By bolshy spice from Edinburgh, Scotland , 04 Mar 2007[Highly rated reviewer]
There are very few British films that depict the experiences of Afro-Carribean characters, let alone from the 1970's, so this makes Pressure a real curiosity.
The overall tone of the film is an odd mixture of Ken Loach, Play for Today, then all surreal and a bit Garth Merenghi during the dream sequence, but still it gives a glimpse of what seems like a whole other era even though it's less than 35 years ago, and the performances are generally excellent. Great reggae soundtrack too, which must have been pretty ground breaking at the time.
The interview with the director on the DVD is interesting too - he went through a helluva lot to get the film made and even more to get it exhibited.- Was this review helpful to you?
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(10)Tension in the room
By zimbaboy (65 reviews) from Cainscross , 01 Apr 2010The Baldwin speech is brilliant and it reveals all that you might like to grasp about the cultural and political transitions that were taking place in the late 1970s. It also reveals the tenderness and sensitivity of Baldwin, a very eloquent speaker displaying interesting uncertainties about how to think and what to do.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Very poignant and true
By a customer from London , 01 Jul 2009The film Pressure will touch and reach those who have lived this kind of existence as I did. Though one or two of the performances fell too heavily into caricature and stereotype, overall the characters delivered realistic, gritty performances that evoked a moody tension that were seductive and charming. This film is important because there are not many more like it in existence (if any). I am a fashion designer, amateur writer and photographer. I sourced this film for research purposes above all, though, I am a world cinema enthusiast. I was more than satisfied to view this film for the aesthetic properties relating to social and cultural studies, however, had I not had this interest, the film would have lost some of its significance and value as the narrative I found a little too simplistically handled. The scenes were shot beautifully, not suffering from a modest budget; in fact this may have added some quasi-documentary quality that characterized the films appearance.
Nigger, well this just blew my mind. It was the first time I saw Baldwin or Gregory speak. I found this film fascinating and inspirational.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Great reggae soundtrack to the real Notting Hill
By Thrillhammer (36 reviews) from London , 06 Apr 2009Before I start this review, I should nail my colours to the mast by declaring my love for old school West Indian culture and the reggae featured in this film. I'm also married to a Trinidadian which is the background for this family living in Ladbroke Grove.
It's a straight forward tale of a Trini family settling in Ladbroke Grove and trying to fit into 1975 Britain which is depicted very accurately. The acting is a bit stilted and reminiscent of those 1970s childrens film foundation films with stage school kids playing cockneys, but the action is completely authentic. All the locations are real, I remember some of the places and they're captured here beautifully.
The soundtrack is superb - classic roots. The clothes are excellent as well as very sobering. Well worth a watch for anyone who has seen the only five reggae films made and wants somehting fresh.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Pressure
By a customer from Sandy , 11 Jan 2009'Pressure' about a c. 17 yr-old boy with Trinidadian parents & a Black Power elder brother, growing up in London in 1975: a good enough story, but didn't seem to have a script, & it looked as tho' the camera was passed around, as camera-work was patchy, & some scenes had lettering back-to-front! Some professional actors just about held it together, but the scenes lagged, & the boy's dad's outburst towards the end was too predictable. Probably made with the laudable aim of giving black British people a voice on screen, but having a voice isn't enough; you need to be articulate. Still, I enjoyed the old cars & fashions!- Was this review helpful to you?
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for students of crap film and historians / lit crits only
By a customer from smoseley birmingham , 31 Jan 2008James Baldwin delivers a lecture at a University which doesn't really go down too well with the audience. It is very sophisticated discussion about race and identity and is well worth watching if you're interested in this on any level.
I only got as 10 minutes into the other film which was so forced and stilted and as bad as any of the terrible lottery funded films that have been produced in the past 10 years. Although something interesting *might* have happened after they finished discussing the ins and outs of the supply of tropical fruit to west London.- Was this review helpful to you?
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