Frederick douglass movie netflix

Frederick Douglass: An American Life

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Excellent, concise biopic

Noted documentarist (and experimental film director) William Greaves made this fine short movie about Frederick Douglass, shown recently on PBS as part of Black History Month programming.

Sponsored by the National Park Service, it benefits mightily from a great performance by Hugh Morgan as Douglass, avoiding histrionics and using his stentorian voice to great advantage. For a low-budget project, his wigs and makeup are superior to most Hollywood blockbuster dramas where the aging effects usually are distracting and phony looking.

Told in flashbacks from an elderly white-haired Douglass thoughtful at his desk, the half-hour movie features brief scenes of Douglass with famous personages like Lincoln, John Brown, Harriet Tubman and William Lloyd Garrison, nicely personified by an ensemble cast.

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Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches

AVAILABLE NOW | 2022 EMMY NOMINEE
TV-MA | Documentaries | 58 MIN | 2022

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The HBO documentary Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches brings to life the words of our country’s most famous anti-slavery activist. Actors Nicole Beharie (Scenes from a Marriage), Colman Domingo (Euphoria), Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country), Denzel Whitaker and Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) draw from five of Douglass’ legendary speeches, to represent a different moment in the tumultuous history of 19th century America as well as a different stage of Douglass’ long and celebrated life. Inspired by David Blight’s Pulitzer Prize winning biography, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom and executive produced by scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (Black Art: In the Absence of Light), the film features narration of Douglass’ autobiographies by André Holland and context provided by Blight and Gates to remind us how Frederick Douglass’ words about racial injustice still resonate deeply today.
 
After his escape from slavery at a

Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

2018 book by David W. Blight

Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom is a 2018 biography of African American abolitionist, writer, and orator Frederick Douglass, written by historian David W. Blight and published by Simon & Schuster. It won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for History.[4][5]

Reception

According to Book Marks, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on twenty-seven critic reviews: twenty "rave" and seven "positive".[6]

Film adaptation

In April 2019, it was reported that a feature film adaptation of the book was being produced by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama in partnership with Netflix.[7][8] In 2023 it was reported that Regina King will direct the film, with a script by Kemp Powers.[9]

In 2022, Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches, a documentary film based on the book, was released by HBO on various streaming platforms.[10]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^Frederick Douglass Audiobook by David W. Blight, Pr

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