Nedd B
Classic film...one underatted movie...i love the uncutt honesty of this film...django is a fruit off the tree of mandingo
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/06/23
Full Review
steve d
Melodramatic and deeply unpleasant.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A disturbingly accurate rendition of the most horrible of times for Black people in history. I saw this as a child mainly because I was a huge Ken Norton fan, & always will be. He plays the "Mandingo," a specially trained fighter for gambling in those days. Norton does a tremendous job, almost a Natural in Acting at least in this, his first of only 2 films, the other being a similar Bomb called "Drum," again the title character, Norton. So this is worth watching not only for its brutally accurate historical value, but for the acting & especially the fight scenes which are awesome. Not for the young, under 16 audience, maybe even under 18. Disturbing, brutal, well directed & the great Ken Norton make for a very memorable, underrated classic, even in 2021.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/03/23
Full Review
cinephile f
I watched this film because it has been referenced in other films by two of my favorite directors (Solondz and Taranatino.) This is not a feel good film and I honestly found it very difficult to watch but I am glad I watched it so that I could see this perspective as well as see the source of the inspiration. I recommend watching it early in the evening (or earlier in the day) as I had a tough time sleeping after. Nonetheless, definitely worth watching if you are a cinephile who is interested in film history.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Terrible. Saw it as a child. Disturbing after having seen it again as a man.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
Audience Member
5 stars, for the sake of history: Mandingo's brutal depiction of sexual and maternal exploitation under slavery on the one hand; and the lens through which the tale itself is told, and through which the film is produced, on the other. I read some of the 'official reviews' and I'm over here rolling my eyes at lightweight so-called 'liberals' who've preferred appropriateness and respectability to the truth of disgusting horrors that ARE the history of US slavery. If you want to criticize this film and harp on whatever it's 'done wrong,' then PLEASE go find me another film to watch that equally addresses the same subjects, or else admit that you're too booshie or politically correct to want to get a feel for African American history. I believe we owe it to the slaves whose stories died with them to bear witness to every non-fiction slave narrative, AND every fiction account of slavery, we can tolerate. The things depicted in this film DID happen: anyone with remotely mature knowledge regarding US slavery understands that all the premises and events in Mandigo are viable, to say the least. We can talk about African American women getting raped by their masters all day and all night, but can we look at it long enough to realize the patterns that continue threading through into our current culture? Don't get me started on the sexual exploitation, murder, and torture of strong African American men during slavery. We can talk about them--some of us can; but can we stand to watch characters who appear to be complacent with their oppressors? Because slaves had to become complacent in order to survive. The looks of indignation and oppressed outrage we see in the few modern films we possess depicting slavery are just that: modern interpretations, perceived through a modern lens that wants to cast African Americans as a dignified group that endured indignity for a season. My friend, that is not how sexual assault and psychological abuse function in real life, my friend!
Anyhow, for the haters, please just find a better film that's as squarely focused on the sexual- and familial assault themes as is Mandingo, and I will consider reevaluating my 5 star review. This film is mostly ugly while peppered throughout with emotionally moving moments... The most moving scene in any slavery-era film that I've ever viewed likely occurred about 3/4 of the way through this movie, when, almost as a footnote, this one slave mother collapses face-down on the earth, while her child is taken off in a wagon to be sold. This movie is too damn powerful to be dismissed.
And one last thought: a film about slavery that ISN'T hideous, repulsive, and humiliating for the audience is definitely omitting core abuses that were commonplace in the lives of our African American ancestors. If you don't want to watch a film like that, I can empathize; but don't criticize the film for falling short when it is, in itself--for better and for worse--an important piece of racial history.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/16/23
Full Review
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