Search - Watermelon Man on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1970 DVD Release: 09/14/2004 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 38 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Members Wishing: 2 Genres: Comedy Drama, Satire, Comedy of Manners, Message Movie

African-American activist and actor Melvin Van Peebles directed this comedy-drama starring Godfrey Cambridge as Jeff Gerber, a white, middle class husband to Althea (Estelle Parson) and father of two who is also a mild bigot. One morning, Jeff wakes up to discover that he has become a black man overnight. After trying in vain to remove his new pigment, Jeff ventures out into the world, only to discover the hostility he once engendered himself. After his neighbors petition to get him out of the neighborhood, his boss (Howard Caine) tries to use his new identity to the company's advantage and his doctor suggests he seek medical care elsewhere, Jeff comes to see the many sides of racism. The only rays of hope in his situation are the friendship of several fellow black people, including a bus driver (D'Urville Martin) and a restaurant counter man (Mantan Moreland). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Godfrey Cambridge - Jeff Gerber
Estelle Parsons - Althea Gerber
Howard Caine - Mr. Townsend
D'Urville Martin - Bus Driver
Mantan Moreland - Cashier

Before there was Sweet Sweetback, director Melvin Van Peebles used comedy to address the issue of race relations in America in the 1970 feature The Watermelon Man -- arriving on DVD from Columbia Pictures. Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, the feature is presented beautifully on this disc. In addition to solid colors and even skin tones, there is little evidence of digital artifacting, and the only trace of age is some minor grain inherent to the source materials. The closed-captioned English Dolby Digital Stereo soundtrack rings through loud and clear, with the music and dialogue perfectly balanced. Though it may have been nice to see director Van Peebles more closely involved in the production of this disc, viewers are treated to a brief introduction voiced by the director, in which he details the origins of the feature, talks about his struggle to get a black actor cast in the lead (the studios had only considered white actors), and discusses the controversy that arose when he opted to change the ending of the screenplay. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide