The read
Critics rate it 29 points higher than audiences do. It runs a compact 55m.
Synopsis
Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.
Ratings
IMDb7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes100%
Critics rate it 29 points higher than audiences do.
63 audience votes
Key crew
- Marlon RiggsDirector
- Joseph BeamWriter
- Steve LangleyOriginal Music Composer
- Marlon RiggsOriginal Music Composer
- Reginald JacksonWriter
- Steve LangleyWriter
- Chris HarrisWriter
- Alan MillerWriter
- Donald WoodsWriter
- Alex LangfordOriginal Music Composer
- Essex HemphillWriter
- Marlon RiggsWriter
Cast
- Marlon RiggsSelf
- Essex HemphillSelf - Poetry Performance
- Brian FreemanSelf
- Michael BellSelf
- Willi NinjaSelf
- Kerrigan BlackSelf
- BlackberriSelf
- Djola Bernard BrannerSelf
- Eddie MurphySelf (archive footage)
Stills
Themes
lgbtblack lgbtafrican american man