Dutchman (film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"I could murder you now. Such a tiny ugly throat. I could squeeze it flat, and, watch you turn blue, on a humble. For dull kicks. And all these weakâfaced ofays squatting around here."--Clay |
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Dutchman is a 1967 British drama film directed by Anthony Harvey and starring Shirley Knight and Al Freeman, Jr. It was based on the play Dutchman by Amiri Baraka (aka Le Roi Jones) who wrote the screenplay adaptation. John Barry wrote the score. The movie tells the story of a white woman and a black man riding the subway in New York City.
Although not shown widely, the film was critically well-received and was nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, where Shirley Knight received the Volpi Cup for best actress.
Bosley Crowther in his review for The New York Times complained of padding, "at least five to 10 minutes" are "shots of empty New York subway stations". The two main performers "do their jobs with gusto and hold the viewer mildly absorbed. But the whole thing boils down to a polemic that is tedious and without consistency or conviction in this form". Time Out 's review describes the film as a "brilliantly spare, edgy adaptation" containing "superb performances".
Cast
- Shirley Knight as Lula
- Al Freeman, Jr. as Clay
