Claudine
Diahann Carroll is radiant in an unforgettable, Oscar-nominated performance as Claudine, a strong-willed single mother, raising six kids in Harlem, whose budding relationship with a gregarious garbage collector (an equally fantastic James Earl Jones) is stressed by the difficulty of getting by in an oppressive system. As directed by the formerly blacklisted leftist filmmaker John Berry, this romantic comedy with a social conscience deftly balances warm humor with a serious look at the myriad issues—from cycles of poverty to the indignities of the welfare system—that shape its characters’ realities. The result is an empathetic chronicle of both Black working-class struggle and Black joy, a bittersweet, bighearted celebration of family and community set to a sunny soul soundtrack composed by Curtis Mayfield and performed by Gladys Knight & the Pips.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary from 2003 featuring actors Diahann Carroll, James Earl Jones, and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs; filmmaker George Tillman Jr.; and Dan Pine, the son of screenwriters Lester Pine and Tina Pine
- New conversation between filmmaker Robert Townsend and programmer Ashley Clark
- Illustrated audio excerpts from a 1974 AFI Harold Lloyd Master Seminar featuring Carroll
- New interview with film critic Imogen Sara Smith on director John Berry
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Danielle A. Jackson
New illustration and design by Alphaville
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary from 2003 featuring actors Diahann Carroll, James Earl Jones, and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs; filmmaker George Tillman Jr.; and Dan Pine, the son of screenwriters Lester Pine and Tina Pine
- New conversation between filmmaker Robert Townsend and programmer Ashley Clark
- Illustrated audio excerpts from a 1974 AFI Harold Lloyd Master Seminar featuring Carroll
- New interview with film critic Imogen Sara Smith on director John Berry
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Danielle A. Jackson
New illustration and design by Alphaville
Cast
- Diahann Carroll
- Claudine
- James Earl Jones
- Roop
- Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
- Charles
- Tamu Blackwell
- Charlene
- David Kruger
- Paul
- Yvette Curtis
- Patrice
- Eric Jones
- Francis
- Elisa Loti
- Miss Kabak
Credits
- Director
- John Berry
- Original screenplay by
- Tina Pine
- Lester Pine
- Produced by
- Hannah Weinstein
- Executive producer
- J. Lloyd Grant
- Music by
- Curtis Mayfield
- Cinematography
- Gayne Rescher
- Musical score performed by
- Gladys Knight & the Pips
Trailer for Claudine
