This DVD item from 20th Century Fox was reviewed on 11-Dec-2008.
Claudine (1974) Reference DVD. Classifications : General African American Cinema Genres DVD Video General Comedy Genres DVD Video General AAS Romantic Comedies Comedy Genres DVD Video General Drama Genres DVD Video Romance Love & Romance Drama Genre . Click the following link to view the cover of Claudine (1974). Related topics: 1974. General. Genres. DVD. Video. General. Comedy. Genres. DVD. Video. General AAS. requestid: 9cd67ec5-3584-4910-8d7f-901a412e4a98
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1) DVD DVD Claudine (1974) by 20th Century Fox. I haven´t seen this film in a long time, and it was as wonderful as I remembered it.¤ 2) DVD DVD Claudine (1974) by 20th Century Fox. I collect blaxploitation films because I enjoy the messages they portray. I realize the filmmakers were trying to make money, but many were also trying to be "gritty" and "raw" and "honest" about depicting what was happening in the black community in the 1970´s. When a film really does that, you can enjoy and learn from it even when it displays negative messages...because we all walk away realizing something should be changed. That said--and admitting that Claudine was obviously seeking to be that kind of movie, lancing at the welfare system for being inefficient and standing in the way of true love--here´s why it isn´t successful at being that kind of movie, even after trying so hard to be:
The love story, as one reviewer has already pointed out, moves way too fast. It´s too easy to slip into feeling like, "so THAT´s why this lady has 6 kids by 4 fathers; bucket of chicken, bottle of wine, that´s all it takes." If we want to feel compassion for her, that she´s doing all she can, we need to see her with some self-control in this area too. We know she has some; she gets herself up and goes secretly to work as a maid each morning. I know what goes on between adults, but if it had gone on a little later, I could respect her struggle a little more and not feel quite as much like she brought a lot of her trouble on herself.
The language is gratuitously obscene. I´m not a prude, but cursing in movies is placed there to indicate strong emotion in a scene. Great, fine. But that many times in a row in some of the scenes? Okay, OKAY, I get it, strong emotion...now, stop cussing each other out and give me some dialogue that moves the story along. If all you have is a string of 4-letter words, we´ve got a bad scriptwriter, actors ad-libbing badly, or both. Not compelling as cinema, and certainly not something the whole family should watch or that should be shown on TV, as a few reviewers have suggested. Having the kids do it was definitely not cool. We will never watch this movie with my daughter in the room.
The crass commercialism every time a music cue comes up was particularly annoying. They were REALLY pushing this soundtrack album. Even when you see them put on records during the Father´s Day party in their home, you hear another track from Gladys Knight & The Pips, straight from the album. I love soul music from the ´60´s and ´70´s as much as I like blaxploitation films, but after this movie I didn´t want the soundtrack; they´d overdone it. It created a surreal impression that this was the only music that ever existed in their world, which was just one more thing contributing to the artificial feel of the movie. And I can´t think of one thing I heard during the movie that was by Curtis Mayfield, though he gets a credit. As much as I like GK & Pips, I was sure tired of them by the end of this DVD.
It was fun to see Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs before he became Freddie Washington on "Welcome Back, Kotter". But the whole vasectomy subplot was a rabbit trail we could have done without. We get that he is an angry young black man; this scene added nothing to the story. It was a setup for Claudine to deliver the lines about "why would you do this to yourself, this is what the white man is trying to do to you..." but just isn´t believable, or necessary, by the late point in the movie that it occurs, and only makes it run longer. We already got that message when she and Rupe visit the welfare office earlier, though not in those words.
I admire that they tried to tell this story, and in spite of its shortcomings (of which I´ve listed four, but there are more), I recognize what they were trying to do. In fact, it did enlighten me some on the issue; part of my own growing up years were spent in a poor white neighborhood with a lot of welfare recipients, and some of the same problems. If someone ever really got down to making it without being so heavy-handed, it might be a great premise for a movie.
I bought it because I´m trying to see as many of the movies of this genre as I possibly can, and it is better than some. Since 20th Century Fox did it, there was at least some professionalism on the technical side...but even here, the soundtrack could have been fixed so you could understand the dialogue when the characters were mumbling (which seemed to happen often). To make my collection complete, I´m keeping it, but it´s not one I´ll return to often, like "Shaft" or "Superfly". 92 minutes seems like 3 hours when I run this film. See it once, get beat over the head with its message, then you can move on to the next one.¤ 3) DVD DVD Claudine (1974) by 20th Century Fox. CLAUDINE IS A VERY GOOD MOVIE FOR THE FAMILY TO WATCH. TO SEE JAMES EARL JONES AND DIAHANN CARROLL IN THEIR YOUNGER DAYS WAS A NICE CHANGE OF PACE. I MUST SAY AFTER SEEING JAMES EARL JONES NAKED BEHIND IT WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM NOW ON.¤ 4) DVD DVD Claudine (1974) by 20th Century Fox. funny flick actually. its a great way to see how society views women with many kids on welfare.¤ 5) DVD DVD Claudine (1974) by 20th Century Fox. Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones really made this movie great! The soundtrack by Gladys Knight and the Pips is so enjoyable. Claudine is one of my favorite black old school classic movies. Plus, this movie is part of my Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs collection. He was HOTT back in the day! He also looks great today!¤ 6) DVD DVD Claudine (1974) by 20th Century Fox. Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 01/08/2008 Run time: 92 minutes Rating: Pg¤ 7) DVD DVD Claudine (1974) by 20th Century Fox. It´s easy to get hooked by Claudine, a lean, funny, Nixon-era movie about a romance nearly undone by a patronizing welfare system. Diahann Carroll stars as Claudine, single mother of six children in Harlem and a maid working for under-the-table wages. Forever worried that her white caseworker will discover her meager, outside income (thus eliminating meager government benefits), Claudine further complicates her domestic situation by falling in love with Roop (James Earl Jones). An affable Romeo and absent but financially supportive father of several kids, Roop by his presence jeopardizes Claudine´s official status as a mom without means. The couple´s decision to go forward results in welfare backlash, personal humiliation, family strain, and corrosive behavior. A sharp script layers the personal story within a socially conscious treatment, while Jones and Carroll´s special chemistry turns the characters into fully rounded people. John Berry (From This Day Forward), an interesting if forgotten director, brings a clipped vitality to this urban affair. --Tom Keogh¤ Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 8-Jan-2009, 024543061830, 59B-G2B-4AB-SYB-H4B-H2B-8 
Claudine (1974), DVD, Image © 20th Century Fox
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