Black Chariot

Liz3.5

fascinating flipside to Norman, Is That You? — I wish more movies from the 70s mixed video and film

Michael Asmus

Tempted to break my no star ratings rule since this only has four ratings, all from the same screening I was at. But I'll resist.Instead, I'll say this was a mighty treat to see a once lost film, plus an intro by director Robert Goodwin's nephew and son and with his widow in the audience. That it was community funded is an incredible story in indie film history.It's rough around the edges, an obvious low budget picture with slow moving scenes and jumps between film and video formats, but this gives an abrasive boost of grit to the story about a shot and bleeding man as he recalls the moments that lead to this end. Even the sex and violence, as well as the superimposed images and long crossfades feel inspired by SWEET SWEETBACK'S (which also was filmed in Los Angeles), it's striking how singular its voice is as one of the first Blaxploitation pics—but also helps thread the genre's origins in style and substance that'd later come to be. It's also helped by Bernie Casey's charisma which shines as the cocksure, older brother figure from the streets, an early role that shows his long, solid acting career was tops from the start. And the two Organization leaders he interacts with are phenomenal, roaming like sharks with shifty eyes, scared and ready to jump at anything that might impede their cause. What rises to the top is the dialogue and interactions between characters, such as Casey's talk the Black cop or the way he riffs with his friends in front of church while smoking a joint. No surprise given Goodwin's history as a TV writer.But the interaction I'll think about the most is the one between the doctor and Casey's mom at the table. While Casey is dying out on the bed, the mom talks about how hard this is for her, and how difficult its been to raise her son, and what his death could mean for her. Meanwhile, the white doctor who's just performed surgery on Casey, who's says he gives money to the NAAPC and supports Black rights, talks about how he's one of the good ones, how he listens to jazz even when his wife doesn't like it, except for that time he caught her dancing to his Les McCann record while naked and in secret. And they never look at each other, just stare off into their own space talking past the other. It's a wonderful, disarming scene, a haunting inditement of white liberalism where people do things to prove they are "one of the good ones" while talking and never listening and meeting the needs and comforts of those they say they support. That one's going to stick around for a while.In short, it phenomenal to watch something this rare, a film special for its approach and production and place in Black, LA, and independent film history, with real distinctive and affecting scenes.

Anthology Film Archives

BLACK CHARIOTJULY 10 - JULY 16REVIVAL RUN – NEWLY RESTORED 35MM PRINT!Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the family of Robert L. Goodwin Sr. Preservation of BLACK CHARIOT made possible by a generous grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation. Additional funding by the Earl W. and Amanda Stafford Center for African American Media Arts (CAAMA). Special thanks to Ina Archer & Bleakley McDowell (NMAAHC); Rhea Combs; and George Schmalz (Kino Lorber).A fascinating rediscovery, BLACK CHARIOT is the sole feature film by Robert L. Goodwin, a writer, director, and actor who, in the 1960s, represented one of the very few Black artists working in the television industry. The son of writer, poet, and actress Ruby Berkley Goodwin – who was the author of the 1930s-40s syndicated column, “Hollywood in Bronze”, and appeared in numerous films, television programs, and stage plays throughout the 1940s-50s – Robert Goodwin’s career began when he wrote and produced the 1963 TV movie THE UPPER CHAMBER, a chamber drama about four men on death row that soon led to work writing scripts for television shows such as “Bonanza”, “Julia”, “The Big Valley”, “All in the Family”, and others. While gaining experience on these works-for-hire, Goodwin began marshaling his resources towards his passion project, a feature film that would be produced and financed entirely independently (the money was largely crowd-sourced from within the Black community in Los Angeles). Ultimately realized in 1971, with exterior shots filmed on 35mm and interiors on video, BLACK CHARIOT revolves around the character of Tuck – played by football-player-turned-prolific-actor Bernie Casey (BOXCAR BERTHA, CLEOPATRA JONES, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, THE GLASS SHIELD, etc) – who joins a Black-Panther-like radical group, and is forced to contend with the fallout that ensues from the betrayal of one of its members. Telling its story by means of an affecting flashback structure, and full of fascinating glimpses into the era’s radical Black politics – not to mention the urban landscapes of early-1970s Los Angeles – BLACK CHARIOT also marks the debut of iconic actress Barbara O.Jones, who would later deliver indelible performances in Haile Gerima’s CHILD OF RESISTANCE (1973) and BUSH MAMA (1979), Julie Dash’s DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST(1991), and many other films.Following its premiere in 1971 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, BLACK CHARIOT seems to have been screened only a handful of times, and was long feared lost until it was recently rediscovered by curator Rhea Combs. Over the past several years the film has been carefully restored by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), and thanks to their efforts, Anthology is able to present a week-long run – its first ever theatrical engagement on the East Coast – with all screenings on 35mm!Fri-Thurs, July 10-16 at 6:45 & 9:00 nightly. The screening on Fri, July 10 at 6:45 will be introduced by Rhea Combs, who is currently Senior Fellow in Contemporary and Global Art at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Further screenings (TBA) will be introduced by Ina Archer and Bleakley McDowell (NMAAHC).