Sidney Poitier won the 36th Academy Award for Best Actor for her performance in the 1963 film Lilies of the Field
American black film star Sidney Poitier, as an outstanding actor, not only left us with a lot of unforgettable screen images, but his steady, restrained, and silent performance also influenced many black actors after him, such as Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, and so on. And more importantly, he earned an awesome dignity for his skin color in Hollywood.
Stills from the film No Way Out (1950), Richard Widmark (right) and Sidney Poitier (left)
Sidney Portier is considered the first Black Hollywood superstar, born in the Bahamas to a black farming family in Miami, Florida, who grew up in poverty and received only a short formal education. Contrary to his tall and handsome appearance, which he later impressed, he was thin and sick as a child and almost died of illness. His boyhood was at its most racially discriminatory in the United States, and he joined the U.S. Army in order to change his situation.
During the filming of the filming of the film Something of Value (1957), Sidney Poitier (left) observes something shot in a Locke Hudson (right) camera
Sidney Portier came to New York at the age of 18, initially making a living as a handyman and for a while having to stay at a bus stop, but a life of poverty did not change his resolve. His first admission to a black theater in the United States failed miserably and was knocked off the stage by the director. Because he didn't read much, he didn't know many words, and he couldn't even read his lines.
After being blown off the stage by the director, Sidney Portier was not depressed. He thought about it for a long time, he liked acting, he wanted to be a first-class actor in the world, he wanted people all over the world to know him. He didn't want his talent to be washed away by water for the rest of his life while washing dishes.
Stills from the film The Defiant Ones (1958), Sidney Poitier (left) and Tony Curtis (right)
Sidney Portier spent six months revising his Southern accent and learning acting skills, and while he washed dishes at a long island restaurant in New York, his workload was heavy, and he worked almost until the early hours of the morning, but he would sit by the kitchen door every day and read, which had become his habit. He finally succeeded in the second application and attracted the attention of everyone in a Broadway opera "Lysistrata", and has continued to perform well on stage ever since.
In 1963 Sidney Poitier and "King of Calypso Songs" Henry Belafonte and famed tough guy actor Charlton Heston were in Washington Square
In 1945, he first appeared in the film "The Boy of Na flor", and later occasionally ran a dragon suit in some films. In 1950, Twentieth Century Fox invited Sidney Portier to star in No Way Out, in which his role as a doctor once again attracted the attention of the big screen, and the film was also continuous, and he was soon considered the best black actor of the time, and it took Sidney Portier another seven years to reach the status of a superstar in contemporary cinema due to the advantages of white actors in selecting roles. Because black people have always been only supporting roles in movies, Sidney Portier's efforts allowed him to finally begin to take the lead role after rejecting several detrimental roles.
In 1963 Sidney Poitier and famed jazz singer Nat "King" Cole
Sidney Portier did an outstanding role as a black fugitive in The Defiant Ones (1958) and brought him his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor. The movie "Prison Escape" has many characters and distinct personalities. This excellent work against racial discrimination conveys the story of a white man and a black man from the initial hostility to each other to the final suffering and sharing, revealing the reality of the harsh racial discrimination that has long existed in American society.
The film Wild Lilys of the Field (1963) is an American Blu-ray edition of the cover
Five years later, the 1963 film Lilies of the Field won him the 36th Academy Award for Best Actor, the first black person to win an Oscar for Best Actor. This is also one of the important indicators of the achievements of the black civil rights movement. Adapted from William E. Barrett's novel, Wild Lily depicts Smith, a lowly black youth who enthusiastically helps some fleeing East German nuns and promises to build a chapel for them... This is an ode to the beauty of human nature, the appearance of the simple, kind black youth Smith appears to have a different response, the film touches the most sensitive nerve in the United States - the black issue, and Sidney Portier's delicate performance is more eye-catching.
Stills from the movie Wild Lilies of the Field (1963).
The film was released at the time of the Kennedy assassination, the repeal of the old racial discrimination law, the explosion of black churches and a series of other events in the United States, and the film received attention for touching on the most sensitive black issues in the United States, in fact, there was a radiance of human beauty in everyone; Sidney Portier starred in the film Smith, whose outstanding performance brought him the oscar award; after the release of the film, it was adapted into a musical, and in 1979, it was filmed as a sequel, the TV movie "Christmas Lily".
Sidney Portier Sidney Poitier (right) Henry Belafonte (center) Black musician Sammy Davis (left) appears on the cover of Life magazine
Because Hollywood suffered so much in the McCarthy era, Hollywood in the 1960s was extremely liberal. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) was a precursor to liberalism in Hollywood in the early 1960s. Gregory Peck's role in 1962 was not easy, at a time when conflicts between blacks and whites were intensifying in the United States, black suffrage campaigns were on the rise, apartheid had not been lifted, racial discrimination was far from improving, and white police officers were beating blacks at random.
Stills from the movie Regeneration A Patch of Blue (1965).
Although "To Kill a Mockingbird" is about the Events of the Great Depression, it is actually an allusion to the current situation in China at that time. Gregory Pike's role at the time was similar to the one in which Finch's lawyer took on the task of defending black people and faced the same accusations. In the film, there is a 9-minute court defense speech by Finch's lawyer, and Gregory Pike is shooting the film in one fell swoop, as if he were on the spot.
The "robin" is indeed a bird of the times for the American civil rights movement. In the second year that Gregory Pike won the Oscar with the role of Finch, the first black film emperor in Oscar history was born, and he was Sidney Portier, who won by his performance in "Wild Lily". Gregory Pike and Sidney Portier, black and white, exemplify the radical liberal political intent of Hollywood at the time.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) cover for the American Blu-ray edition of the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Sidney Portier was very active on screen, on stage and even in the black civil rights movement, and his Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) and To Sir, with Love (1967) were both seen as landmark works that broke the ice of race, while Sidney Porthier's acting genius, integrity, moral heart, and innate cuteness made him a black superstar comparable to that of whites of his time.
In the United States, the idea of racial division was not broken until 1967, when Virginia's law prohibiting interracial marriage was repealed. That same year, a film co-starring Catherine Hepburn Spencer Qusay Spencer Tracy and Sidney Portier, which reflected how black and white families accepted interracial marriages, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," also revealed a sensitive issue that has long existed in American society.
A scene from the movie Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967).
This is an American film that directly depicts the impact and impact of racial intermarriage on family members, expressing a very optimistic and positive view of major issues that were very sensitive to American society at that time, and causing a strong impact on American society. The complex emotions of the characters are expressed in a very fresh, smooth and harmonious way.
The main plot of "Guess Who Will Eat Dinner" takes place indoors, the editing is smooth and powerful, the plot is step by step, the technique and meaning will not lose its glory because of the changes of the times, and it is an immortal classic in which the small pattern reflects the big problems.
The film "My Love My Teacher To Sir, with Love" (1967) American Blu-ray edition cover
Then, Sidney Portier played a middle school teacher in one of his most famous works, "I Love My Teacher", and finally won the respect he deserved. Through the teaching method of black teachers who are morally convincing and emotional, students can step into the threshold of adulthood in respect and tolerance. Sidney Porthier's gentle temperament and conversation are impressive, and the performance is very convincing. British director James Clavell's technique is fluid and dramatic, and a group of newcomers with strong personalities are also prominent, so that the classic story of this mentor and inferior is quite attractive.
The film In the Heat of the Night (1967) is an American Blu-ray edition of the cover
Sidney Portier then starred in another black-related film in the same year, "In the Heat of the Night" (1967), an Oscar-winning film based on suspense with a strong anti-racist color, the film tells the story of a small town in the southern United States in a white boss who came to invest in the local investment, black criminal investigation expert Tibbs was misunderstood as a suspect, and after the misunderstanding was resolved, he teamed up with the white police officer Gailes to solve the case.
Stills from the movie In the Heat of the Night (1967).
The encounter of Sidney Portier as a black police officer in "Hot Nights" in a small southern town in the United States reflects the real historical background of the black movement in the 1960s. There is a more controversial scene in this film, and a classic shot in the history of African American cinema. That is, the black detective played by Sidney Portier in the play, when he went to the home of a white farmer in the South of the United States for questioning, he was suddenly slapped rudely! But at the same time, the black detective played by Sidney Portier was immediately in color! Hit it back!
On the set of The Slender Thread (1965), director Sidney Pollack (left) directed Sidney Portier Poitier
As a classic model of the alternating era of the old and new in Hollywood in the 1960s, although it is difficult to be perfect due to the limitations of the times, "Hot Night" is a pleasing way of expression by embedding the theme in a clean and sharp story and a moving performance, and telling it through a stylish, modern lens language. Even from a modern perspective, it still has profound enlightenment significance.
Don't forget that in the 1950s and 1970s, it was the rise of the black civil rights movement in the United States, and there were many films that showed the struggle for civil rights and struggles of black Americans, and this "Hot Night" filmed in the United States in 1967 was one of the pinnacle masterpieces of Sidney Portier's acting period.
Black music kings Michael Jackson (left) and Sidney Poitier
Therefore, some people say that his lifetime achievement award is, in the history of American cinema, creating a loud slap in the face of a black man who dared to hit a white man!
While Sidney Portier broke down the film's color barriers and brought dignity to the noble and intelligent characters, he found himself under fire in the late 1960s for not becoming more radical politically. A snarky New York Times article about him particularly upset Sidney Portier, who decided to step out of the spotlight and choose to live in the Bahamas for a while before returning to Hollywood.
Biographical cover of Sidney Poitier
In the 1970s, Sidney Portier not only starred himself, but also invested in production, and even worked as a director, and achieved a lot. By the 1980s, he had become a bookish author and directed a number of excellent comedies, making him a popular "comedy director" for a time, and although he reduced the opportunity to appear on the screen, he remained one of the most respected actors in the 20th century. After disappearing from the scenes for many years, he made a comeback in 1987 with Little Nikita (1988). His success opened a bright path to Hollywood for other black actors in the future.
Stills from the movie "The U.S.-Soviet Spy Battle Little Nikita" (1988), left by Rivan Phoenix Phoenix
In 2002, in recognition of his outstanding contributions, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded him an Honorary Academy Award. President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Frank M. Pearson commented that Sidney Portier received the honor for "his extraordinary and unique performance on screen and the impression he has left on behalf of the film industry on the world's audiences of nobility, fashion and wisdom".
Due to the passage of time and the progress of the times, and compared with the current film productions full of commercial impetuosity and emptiness, Sidney Portier's films do not have any high-input stunts and big scenes, but whenever they watch his films, such as tasting a vintage, such as watching a classic literary work that has been handed down from generation to generation. When the night is quiet, a person sits alone in front of the TV set to savor, there is nostalgia, there is true feelings, there is pure beauty, there is sadness, and brings people infinite feelings in their hearts. Hopefully more people will be able to see his films. Check out this timeless black star in the history of American cinema!
Halle Berry Berry, the first black queen of the Oscars, and Sidney Poitier, the first black star, finally met