Search - Soul Man on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language, Profanity Movie Release: 1986 DVD Release: 03/19/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 45 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Total Copies: 2 Genres: Comedy, Satire, Comedy of Errors

An ambitious-but -spoiled rich white kid wins a scholarship to Harvard Law School by pretending to be African-American in this broadly-played comedy. After his father cuts him off financially, Mark Watson (C. Thomas Howell) wins a full tuition scholarship to Harvard by claiming to be African-American on the application form. With the help of his best friend Gordon (Arye Gross), Mark acquires some bronzing pills, a new hairdo, and a lowered voice. Disguised as a black student, Mark thinks that he's going to breeze through the program. The reality of being a minority at a mostly white institution quickly catches up to him, however, when he encounters some tacit racism and falls for Sarah Walker (Rae Dawn Chong), a fellow student whose affection makes him feel guilty about his ruse. Then there's the imperious Professor Banks (James Earl Jones), an African-American instructor who expects him to perform at a higher level than the other students. Soul Man was written by Carol Black and directed by Steve Miner, who would collaborate again for the popular television series The Wonder Years (1988-93). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

C. Thomas Howell - Mark Watson
Arye Gross - Gordon Bloomfield
Rae Dawn Chong - Sarah Walker
James Earl Jones - Prof. Banks
Melora Hardin - Whitney Dunbar
Leslie Nielsen - Mr. Dunbar

C. Thomas Howell learns the hard way that being an African-American is no easy task in the 1986 politically incorrect comedy Soul Man. Anchor Bay has done a great job at cleaning up this 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen print. The colors and black levels are all bright and bold with hardly any imperfections showing up in the image. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround and is very appropriate for the film it supports. Featuring crisp dialogue, music, and effects, this mix is channeled through the front and center speaker evenly and thoroughly. No subtitles are included on this disc. Fans will flip over the newly recorded commentary track by director Steve Miner and actor C. Thomas Howell. This track is very entertaining with both participants having a great time discussing how the film came to be and what it was like working on the set. Also included on this disc is a theatrical trailer and a teaser trailer for the film. All in all, this is a fine edition of this humorous '80s staple. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide