Black and White

1999 "What happens when you mix it up?"
5| 1h38m| R| en| More Info
Released: 04 September 1999 Released
Producted By: Screen Gems
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Rich Bower is an up-and-coming star in the hip-hop world. Everyone wants to be around him, including Raven and her fellow upper-class white high school friends. The growing appeal of black culture among white teens fascinates documentary filmmaker Sam Donager, who sets out to chronicle it with her husband, Terry. But before Bower was a rapper, he was a gangster, and his criminal past comes back to haunt him and all those around him.

Genre

Drama

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Director

James Toback

Production Companies

Screen Gems

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Black and White Audience Reviews

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.
Listonixio Fresh and Exciting
Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Python Hyena Black and White (1999): Dir: James Toback / Cast: Brooke Shields, Robert Downey Jr., Gaby Hoffmann, Ben Stiller, Allan Houston: Interesting film addressing styles influenced by race. Brooke Shields brandishes a camcorder and instructs interviews in the black community. Many white teenagers imitate the style that blacks are accustomed too. A teenage female states that a person can be what they wish and she chooses to be black despite the fact that she isn't. Shields views it as a form of rebellion. Subplot features an undercover cop blackmailing a basketball player into helping him arrest somebody. Abrupt conclusion doesn't help but director James Toback examines the subject with great insight. Toback previously made a very different film in Two Girls and a Guy. Shields comes off as natural and energetic. Robert Downey Jr. assists in the documentary showing off his sadistic nature. Gaby Hoffmann plays a teenager struggling with identity. Ben Stiller plays against his usual comic persona and actually steals scenes as an undercover cop who stoops to blackmail in order to bring down the guilty. Allen Houston plays a basketball player caught in a blackmail scandal that can destroy any career goals. Superb ensemble docudrama with a point of view to exploit. It is an intriguing view of racial influence and how culture can accept or dictate certain trends. Score: 9 / 10
cadmandu A white woman and her gay (sic) husband are making a documentary about white high school kids who hang with and emulate black people. There are several sub plots, one involving a basketball player who is offered a bribe to throw a game, but it's not clear if there is actually an overall plot to which the rest can be sub.James Toback is a well respected indie writer/producer/director, and he got a stellar and eclectic cast to work in this film. There's Robert Downey, Brooke Shields, Elijah Woods (in probably the only serious role he's ever had), Claudia Schiffer (speaking flawless Americanese), Mike Tyson (worth seeing just for the novelty), Joe Pantaleone, Ben Stiller, and some folks who are probably famous rappers but I am not acquainted with that world.What happens when you put this wildly inconsistent cast on a film that has a very loose plot and a kind of cinema (quasi-)verite style (shot with steady-cam) it's a little like watching an ice hockey game in which all the players are chess masters -- it sure is strange. I didn't say bad, or uninteresting, or unworthy -- just strange! Mike Tyson playing himself in this film is about what you'd expect -- shallow, unreliable, and self-absorbed, like any ex-con you'll ever meet. Elijah Woods gets what amounts to a cameo of no substance. Robert Downey Jr. does a clichéd gay man, and I couldn't help but think he looked very worried what his friends would think about it. Claudia Schiffer absolutely cannot act, but fortunately she gets to play a woman who is twisted and obscure anyway. Putting her in this film was a poor choice, but casting Ben Stiller as a NYPD detective and Claudia's ex! has to be the casting blunder of all time.So this is not your ordinary flick, but if you're up for something different you might enjoy it. Fans of James Toback will no doubt enjoy it for its subtler fine points, but I think most people will just be baffled by all the noise.
teddyryan BLACK AND WHITE contains Mike Tyson playing himself, which is interesting since Mike Tyson as Mike Tyson advocates some interesting things in this film. Else than that, I found Bijou Philips irritating, the storyline poorly done, and Ray Allen's performance not exactly oscar worthy.
maros612 I bought this title because I felt familiar with its name and I saw a trailer on some other dvd (baby boy if i remember well). Truly, I expected more of this - like some kind of a celebration of diversity, coexistence, relationships, partnership and romance. But this wasn't really present there, not in a straight, healthy way. It looked to me like it's more celebration of an unjustice and even sickness in some moments. I didn't like how an evil survived everything. What's the message of this? Well enough of complaing, this movie was still good to the point, but I really mean it when I'm saying I expected more from this.