Two features. Set in 1970s London, 'Pressure' follows the story of Tony, the son of West Indian immigrants, as he struggles to find a sense of belonging and social acceptance. In 'Baldwin's Nigger' James Baldwin, accompanied by civil rights activist Dick Gregory, discusses the issues surrounding black identity. Read more
| Starring | James Baldwin, Dick Gregory |
|---|---|
| Director | Horace Ove |
| Genres | Documentary |
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Two features. Set in 1970s London, 'Pressure' follows the story of Tony, the son of West Indian immigrants, as he struggles to find a sense of belonging and social acceptance. In 'Baldwin's Nigger' James Baldwin, accompanied by civil rights activist Dick Gregory, discusses the issues surrounding black identity.
| Starring | James Baldwin, Dick Gregory |
|---|---|
| Director | Horace Ove |
| Studio | BFI VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 46 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Documentary |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 26 Sep 2006 Production year: 1975 |
| Format | DVD |
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.
James 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.