My dad first introduced me to Sidney Poitier when I was about 16-years-old. We watched Lilies of the Field and I have loved Sir Sidney Poitier's work ever since.
The world has lost such an incredible trailblazer.
I highly recommend watching his films if you haven't already done so, and here are some of my personal recommendations:
A Patch of Blue (1965) - I can't fully articulate how this movie makes me feel, but it is my favorite of his movies. It explores biracial romantic relationships in 1965 and is absolutely brilliant. There is that blasted open-ended ending that the 1960s loved to use, but the viewer is left with a hope that everything will work out in the end. It was the 1960s, so who knows if that's true or not, but that was always my dream for the couple in this film. Watch A Patch of Blue, be amazed by it, fall in love with it. Here's my review for A Patch of Blue that I wrote back in 2013.
Lilies of the Field (1963) - The first of Sidney Poitier's movies I ever saw and is my second favorite of his films. He plays Homer, a black handyman who helps a group of German nuns rebuild their chapel. Yep, that's it, the story in a nutshell, but it's so very, very much more than that, and Sidney won the well-earned Academy Award for Best Actor, the first time the award was given to a black man.
In the Heat of the Night (1967) - I saw this one only once, primarily because I spent the whole movie in profound fear for Virgil Tibbs' life. It is brilliant and I believe everyone should watch it at least once. I need to rewatch it this month. The thing that scares me, even more, is that they had to film the majority of this movie in the north because once when Sidney Poitier visited Mississippi he was almost murdered by Ku Klux Klansmen. I can't even . . .
Little Nikita (1988) - Another movie I was introduced to by my Dad. This one also stars River Phoenix and deals with a soviet sleeper family hidden deep undercover in the US. It's intense, but somewhat lighter fare since it doesn't really have the same racial tension due to it being 1988 instead of the 1960s. A terrific performance by both stars, and one of the reasons why I also love River Phoenix. It's heartbreaking realizing that both of these magnificent actors are gone.
My prayers for comfort go out to Sir Sidney Poitier's family and friends during this time. May we remember to celebrate the life he lived and the good, good work that he did.
This is such sad news. I have loved every performance of his I've seen.
ReplyDeletePoitier is one of those actors whose name on a movie means I want to watch it. Of these you've mentioned, I've only seen In the Heat of the Night, but I have Patch of Blue on my TBW pile, and I just put a hold on Lilies of the Field at the library, so I will be seeing them soon!
ReplyDeleteHave you read any of his books? I read one a few years ago, Life Beyond Measure, which is a series of letters to his great-granddaughter, musings on his heritage and family and life in general.