Sidney Poitier’s directorial debut employs the genre’s traditional narratives to challenge notions of freedom for African Americans in the post–Civil War West as they face relentless pursuit by racist bounty hunters. Buck (played by Poitier), a former Union soldier turned trail guide, and the Preacher (a con artist played by Harry Belafonte) lead a group of freed slaves to safety in the West. A trembling suspension between the two men builds as they cat-and-mouse their way across the dusty trails of Durango, Mexico, creating an unsettling allegory about the tenuous and often conflicted alliances that Black individuals had to forge in the face of systemic oppression. Presented in a new 4K restoration. 1972, US, DCP, 102 min.
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Bio
Sir Sidney Poitier was a groundbreaking film icon and civil rights activist whose life, both onscreen and off, stood as an example of strength, passion, depth, and integrity. Over his long and varied career, Poitier starred in more than 40 films, directed nine, and wrote four. For his performance in Lilies of the Field, Poitier became the first African American to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among many accolades, Poitier was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award, the Screen Actors Guild’s Life Achievement Award, a Kennedy Center Honors Award, an NAACP Image Award, a Grammy Award for best spoken-word album, and an honorary Academy Award “for his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style, and intelligence.”
Accessibility, Content, and Sensory Notes
Both screenings will have open captions.
Content note: This film contains gun violence.
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For questions about accessibility or to request additional accommodations, call 612-375-7564 or email access@walkerart.org.
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