Underrated Black Films
by shilohjordan | created - 17 Feb 2022 | updated - 17 Feb 2022 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Constellation (2005)
PG-13 | 96 min | Drama
A painter living in exile returns home where his family endured generations of racial violence. There he begins to fantasize the people around him as a series of portraits in order to bury the pain and find something beautiful to feel.
Director: Jordan Walker-Pearlman | Stars: Gabrielle Union, Billy Dee Williams, Zoe Saldana, Daniel Bess
Votes: 698 | Gross: $23.01M
2. Down in the Delta (1998)
PG-13 | 112 min | Drama
In a desperate attempt to change her life, Loretta -- a troubled single mother from a tough Chicago neighborhood -- is sent to spend a summer at her family's ancestral home in rural Mississippi.
Director: Maya Angelou | Stars: Alfre Woodard, Al Freeman Jr., Mary Alice, Esther Rolle
Votes: 1,899 | Gross: $5.66M
3. The Feast of All Saints (2001 TV Movie)
R | 213 min | Drama, Romance
Set in nineteenth-century New Orleans, the story depicts the gens de couleur libre, or the Free People of Colour, a dazzling yet damned class caught between the world of white privilege and black oppression.
Director: Peter Medak | Stars: Robert Ri'chard, Peter Gallagher, Gloria Reuben, Jennifer Beals
Votes: 831
4. Stompin' at the Savoy (1992 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 95 min | Drama
Four young black women are trying to achieve their dreams of success in the 1930s Harlem.
Director: Debbie Allen | Stars: Lynn Whitfield, Vanessa Williams, Jasmine Guy, Mario Van Peebles
Votes: 327
5. Hav Plenty (1998)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Romance
Lee Plenty is a flailing, wannabe writer, homeless and apartment-sitting for his friend, the wealthy Havilland Savage, while she is off visiting family. So Lee jumps at the chance to see Havilland, whom he has secretly loved for years.
Director: Christopher Scott Cherot | Stars: Christopher Scott Cherot, Chenoa Maxwell, Hill Harper, Tammi Jones Tanaka
Votes: 1,130 | Gross: $2.30M
6. The Inkwell (1994)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A shy, troubled young man who set his own house on fire and has an imaginary friend, is sent to a vineyard where he finds himself in the middle of his political-arguing, party-loving family and his love torn between two girls.
Director: Matty Rich | Stars: Larenz Tate, Joe Morton, Suzzanne Douglas, Glynn Turman
Votes: 1,582 | Gross: $8.88M
7. G (2002)
R | 97 min | Drama, Romance
"G" is a Gatsbyesque love story set against Hip-Hop's invasion of the Hamptons.
Director: Christopher Scott Cherot | Stars: Richard T. Jones, Blair Underwood, Chenoa Maxwell, Andre Royo
Votes: 788 | Gross: $3.02M
8. Funny Valentines (1999)
108 min | Drama
A woman returns to her home town to sort out her troubled marriage and finds new happiness in the rekindling of a broken friendship with her cousin.
Director: Julie Dash | Stars: Alfre Woodard, Loretta Devine, CCH Pounder, Tom Wright
Votes: 642
9. Doing Hard Time (2004 Video)
R | 100 min | Action, Drama
A father's eight year old son is murdered in a gangland shooting. The father (Boris Kodjoe) gets himself thrown into prison to avenge his son's death.
Director: Preston A. Whitmore II | Stars: Boris Kodjoe, Michael Kenneth Williams, Sticky Fingaz, Reagan Gomez-Preston
Votes: 1,805
10. Civil Brand (2002)
R | 95 min | Drama, Thriller, Crime
Frances is in the pen for killing her abusive husband. The abused the prisoners rise up against the "new plantation" that harvest human labor for profit. Nothing will stop Frances and her fellow inmates in this brutal battle for justice.
Director: Neema Barnette | Stars: LisaRaye McCoy, N'Bushe Wright, Yasiin Bey, Monica Calhoun
Votes: 816 | Gross: $0.24M
11. Laurel Avenue (1993)
R | 180 min | Drama
A weekend in the life of the Arnett family. The events of a forty eight hour period have a rainbow of incidents. From a preacher to a drug dealer; from an innocent young school girl to a ... See full summary »
Stars: John Beasley, Mary Alice, Ulysses Zakery, Jay Brooks
Votes: 156
12. Losing Ground (1982)
86 min | Comedy, Drama
Sara, a cold college professor, and her husband, an ecstatic painter, spend a summer away from the city, straining their rocky relationship.
Director: Kathleen Collins | Stars: Seret Scott, Bill Gunn, Duane Jones, Billie Allen
Votes: 880
13. Strictly Business (1991)
PG-13 | 83 min | Comedy, Romance
Sharp social satire in which the uneven friendship between an ambitious Black businessman and his streetwise pal is thrown into further confusion when the professional falls in love with a mind-numbingly gorgeous waitress.
Directors: Kevin Hooks, Rolando Hudson | Stars: Tommy Davidson, Joseph C. Phillips, Anne-Marie Johnson, David Marshall Grant
Votes: 2,253 | Gross: $7.68M
14. The Meteor Man (1993)
PG | 100 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
A high school teacher from a troubled inner city Washington D.C. neighborhood becomes a super-powered hero and takes on the gang that has been terrorizing his streets.
Director: Robert Townsend | Stars: Robert Townsend, Marla Gibbs, Eddie Griffin, Robert Guillaume
Votes: 8,825 | Gross: $8.02M
15. Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
R | 81 min | Comedy
An actor limited to stereotypical roles because of his ethnicity, dreams of making it big as a highly respected performer. As he makes his rounds, the film takes a satiric look at African American actors in Hollywood.
Director: Robert Townsend | Stars: Robert Townsend, Craigus R. Johnson, Helen Martin, Starletta DuPois
Votes: 6,385 | Gross: $5.23M
16. Sarafina! (1992)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama, Musical
South African teenagers fight against apartheid in the Soweto Uprising.
Director: Darrell Roodt | Stars: Whoopi Goldberg, Leleti Khumalo, Miriam Makeba, John Kani
Votes: 2,284 | Gross: $7.31M
17. The Ditchdigger's Daughters (1997 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 92 min | Biography, Drama
In 1940s New Jersey, a poor, working man aspires to give his six daughters opportunities that he never had.
Director: Johnny E. Jensen | Stars: Carl Lumbly, Dulé Hill, Victoria Dillard, Shelley Robertson
Votes: 257
18.
The Magical World of Disney (1954–1997)
Episode:
Polly
(1989)
Unrated | 100 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
An orphan tries to use gladness to unite the people in a small southern town.
Director: Debbie Allen | Stars: Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, Dorian Harewood, Barbara Montgomery
Votes: 611
19. Polly: Comin' Home! (1990 TV Movie)
100 min | Family, Musical
Broadway style songs are used to tell this interesting story of an ingenious orphan who gets involved in matchmaking and striving for inter-racial understanding in 1956 Alabama.
Director: Debbie Allen | Stars: Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, Dorian Harewood, Barbara Montgomery
Votes: 297
20. Kingdom Come (2001)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Drama
When a despicable family member thankfully expires, his relatives gather to comfort one another--and to settle old scores.
Director: Doug McHenry | Stars: LL Cool J, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, Loretta Devine
Votes: 2,441 | Gross: $23.25M
21. Eve's Bayou (1997)
R | 108 min | Drama
What did little Eve see--and how will it haunt her? Husband, father and womanizer Louis Batiste is the head of an affluent family, but it's the women who rule this gothic world of secrets, lies and mystic forces.
Director: Kasi Lemmons | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Jurnee Smollett, Meagan Good, Lynn Whitfield
Votes: 11,620 | Gross: $14.82M
22. Holiday Heart (2000 TV Movie)
R | 96 min | Drama
A drag queen takes in a drug addict and her daughter and helps raise the daughter.
Director: Robert Townsend | Stars: Ving Rhames, Alfre Woodard, Jesika Reynolds, Mykelti Williamson
Votes: 1,421
23. The River Niger (1976)
R | 105 min | Drama
An intimate look at life in the ghetto: Johnny Williams is a house painter who moonlights as a poet, struggling to financially and emotionally support his cancer-ridden wife Mattie. But ... See full summary »
Director: Krishna Shah | Stars: Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones, Louis Gossett Jr., Glynn Turman
Votes: 296
24. Cooley High (1975)
PG | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In 1964 on Chicago's Near-North Side, the lives of four carefree high school seniors and best friends, including an aspiring playwright and an all-city basketball champion, takes a tragic turn.
Director: Michael Schultz | Stars: Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Garrett Morris, Cynthia Davis
Votes: 5,550
25. The People Under the Stairs (1991)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Two adults and a juvenile break into a house occupied by a brother and sister and their stolen children. There, they must fight for their lives.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Brandon Quintin Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A.J. Langer
Votes: 39,682 | Gross: $24.20M
26. Mississippi Masala (1991)
R | 118 min | Drama, Romance
An ethnic Indian family is expelled from Idi Amin's Uganda in 1972 and lives in Mississippi 17 years later. The dad sues Uganda to get his property back. The grown daughter falls in love with a Black man.
Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, Roshan Seth, Sharmila Tagore
Votes: 6,210 | Gross: $7.31M
27. The Women of Brewster Place (1989)
Not Rated | 178 min | Drama
A multi-generational story of the lives of several black women who call an inner-city tenement home.
Stars: Oprah Winfrey, Mary Alice, Olivia Cole, Robin Givens
Votes: 1,400
28. Rosewood (1997)
R | 140 min | Action, Drama, History
A dramatization of a 1923 horrific racist lynch mob attack on an African-American community.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Bruce McGill
Votes: 8,904 | Gross: $13.10M
29. Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998)
R | 116 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Three women each claim to be the widow of 1950s doo-wop singer Frankie Lymon, claiming legal rights to his estate.
Director: Gregory Nava | Stars: Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, Lela Rochon, Larenz Tate
Votes: 4,549 | Gross: $12.41M
30. The Fighting Temptations (2003)
PG-13 | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A New York advertising executive travels to a small Southern town to collect an inheritance but finds he must create a gospel choir and lead it to success before he can collect.
Director: Jonathan Lynn | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Beyoncé, Mike Epps, Nigel Washington
Votes: 7,621 | Gross: $30.24M
31. Sprung (1997)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Romance
Two pairs of best friends - Montel & Clyde and Brandy & Adina meet at the party, where Clyde makes Adina think he is very rich and gets her into bed the same evening. When Adina finds out ... See full summary »
Director: Rusty Cundieff | Stars: Tisha Campbell, Rusty Cundieff, Paula Jai Parker, Joe Torry
Votes: 1,270 | Gross: $7.55M
32. Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Black war hero is hired to find a mysterious woman, and gets mixed up in a murderous political scandal in 1948 Los Angeles.
Director: Carl Franklin | Stars: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle
Votes: 24,254 | Gross: $16.03M
33. Def by Temptation (1990)
R | 95 min | Horror
An evil succubus is preying on libidinous black men in New York City, and all that stands in her way is a minister-in-training, an aspiring actor, and a cop who specializes in cases involving the supernatural.
Director: James Bond III | Stars: James Bond III, Kadeem Hardison, Bill Nunn, Samuel L. Jackson
Votes: 2,410 | Gross: $2.22M
34. Woo (1998)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Romance
Gorgeous and extravert Woo meets insecure and straight-laced law clerk Tim at a blind date.
Director: Daisy von Scherler Mayer | Stars: Jada Pinkett Smith, Tommy Davidson, Duane Martin, Michael Ralph
Votes: 2,256 | Gross: $8.03M
35. Fresh (1994)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Death and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.
Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson, N'Bushe Wright
Votes: 14,593 | Gross: $8.09M
36. A Soldier's Story (1984)
PG | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An African-American officer investigates a murder in a racially charged situation in World War II.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Howard E. Rollins Jr., Adolph Caesar, Art Evans, David Alan Grier
Votes: 11,410 | Gross: $21.82M
37. Two Can Play That Game (2001)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Romance
An arrogant career woman plays a series of heartless mind-games with her boyfriend to "put him in line," only to discover that he has a few tricks up his own sleeve.
Director: Mark Brown | Stars: Vivica A. Fox, Morris Chestnut, Anthony Anderson, Gabrielle Union
Votes: 7,373 | Gross: $22.24M
38. Crooklyn (1994)
PG-13 | 115 min | Comedy, Drama
Spike Lee's vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school teacher, her stubborn jazz musician husband and their five kids living in Brooklyn in 1973.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo, David Patrick Kelly, Zelda Harris
Votes: 11,336 | Gross: $13.64M
39. Booty Call (1997)
R | 79 min | Comedy, Romance
Two friends who have gone too long without sex set out to get some.
Director: Jeff Pollack | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Tommy Davidson, Vivica A. Fox, Tamala Jones
Votes: 9,538 | Gross: $20.06M
40. How to Be a Player (1997)
R | 93 min | Comedy
A playboy gets the tables turned on him when a party is arranged with all of the women he has been two-timing are in attendance.
Director: Lionel C. Martin | Stars: Bill Bellamy, Natalie Desselle Reid, Lark Voorhies, Mari Morrow
Votes: 9,201 | Gross: $13.96M
41. Jason's Lyric (1994)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Two brothers, survivors of family tragedy, take different life paths: one falls for a high-spirited waitress and dreams of success, the other follows a life of petty crime. Their lives reconnect in shattering fashion.
Director: Doug McHenry | Stars: Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Anthony 'Treach' Criss
Votes: 4,689 | Gross: $20.85M
42. CB4 (1993)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Music
A guy makes a documentary of the rap band CB4 by following them. CB4 got popular by stealing Gusto's name, background and image. He wants them dead.
Director: Tamra Davis | Stars: Chris Rock, Allen Payne, Deezer D, Chris Elliott
Votes: 10,428 | Gross: $17.95M
43. Class Act (1992)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy
A valedictorian and a juvenile delinquent have their school records switched and begin to be treated like the other.
Director: Randall Miller | Stars: Christopher Reid, Christopher Martin, Andre Rosey Brown, Meshach Taylor
Votes: 8,148 | Gross: $13.27M
44. Bebe's Kids (1992)
PG-13 | 72 min | Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
To impress his new girlfriend, a man agrees to look after her friend's kids, only to find that they are uncontrollably rambunctious.
Director: Bruce W. Smith | Stars: Faizon Love, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Robin Harris, Wayne Collins
Votes: 5,520 | Gross: $8.44M
45. Mo' Money (1992)
R | 89 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A con man, seeking to gain the affections of a woman he saw entering an office building, aquires a job in the same building working for an executive who has plans to use his skills for more than just the workplace.
Director: Peter MacDonald | Stars: Damon Wayans, Stacey Dash, Marlon Wayans, Joe Santos
Votes: 8,265 | Gross: $40.23M
46. A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A fast paced, womanizing nightclub promoter gets paid back in full when he scorns a beautiful woman with psychotic tendencies who will punish him for breaking her heart.
Director: Martin Lawrence | Stars: Martin Lawrence, Lynn Whitfield, Regina King, Bobby Brown
Votes: 5,405 | Gross: $34.75M
47. Mo' Better Blues (1990)
R | 130 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam makes questionable decisions in his professional and romantic lives.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Giancarlo Esposito
Votes: 13,668 | Gross: $16.15M
48. Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored (1995)
PG | 115 min | Drama, Romance
A narrator tells the story of his childhood years in a tightly knit Afro-American community in the deep south under racial segregation.
Director: Tim Reid | Stars: Al Freeman Jr., Phylicia Rashad, Leon, Paula Kelly
Votes: 562 | Gross: $3.38M
49. The Wedding (1998 TV Movie)
180 min | Drama, Romance
In 1950s Massachusetts, a wealthy black woman engaged to a poor white beatnik learns about her family history. The stories revolve around the racial and class complexities of interracial and class-based marriages.
Director: Charles Burnett | Stars: Halle Berry, Eric Thal, Lynn Whitfield, Carl Lumbly
Votes: 549
50. Disappearing Acts (2000 TV Movie)
R | 115 min | Drama, Romance
A couple in the midst of a tumultuous relationship fight to stay together.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood | Stars: Sanaa Lathan, Wesley Snipes, Michael Imperioli, Laz Alonso
Votes: 1,924
51. Harlem Nights (1989)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
During the 1930s, a New York City illegal gambling house owner and his associates must deal with strong competition, gangsters, and corrupt cops in order to stay in business.
Director: Eddie Murphy | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello
Votes: 24,806 | Gross: $60.86M
52. Sugar Hill (1993)
R | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A drug dealer tries to get out of the life and start anew with his girlfriend, but the transition is tragically difficult.
Director: Leon Ichaso | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Michael Wright, Khandi Alexander, DeVaughn Nixon
Votes: 4,874 | Gross: $18.27M
53. Above the Rim (1994)
R | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Sport
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Director: Jeff Pollack | Stars: Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur, Leon, David Bailey
Votes: 17,100 | Gross: $16.04M
54. Juice (1992)
R | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Four inner-city teenagers get caught up in the pursuit of power and happiness, which they refer to as "the juice".
Director: Ernest R. Dickerson | Stars: Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur, Jermaine Hopkins, Khalil Kain
Votes: 30,381 | Gross: $20.15M
55. Lackawanna Blues (2005 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama, Music
In a story fueled by rhythm and blues, a young boy's life is shaped by love and the stories of a cast of characters in the boarding house where he lives in 1960s Lackawanna, New York.
Director: George C. Wolfe | Stars: S. Epatha Merkerson, Marcus Carl Franklin, Yasiin Bey, Carmen Ejogo
Votes: 2,548
56. Krush Groove (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
The story of a man who has started a new hip-hop/rap label called Krush Groove.
Director: Michael Schultz | Stars: Sheila E., Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, Jam Master Jay
Votes: 3,553 | Gross: $11.05M
57. The Last Dragon (1985)
PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
In New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.
Director: Michael Schultz | Stars: Taimak, Vanity, Christopher Murney, Julius Carry
Votes: 17,493 | Gross: $25.75M
58. Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991)
R | 91 min | Crime, Drama
A young man living in poverty makes a plan to rob a drug dealer and change the life of his family.
Director: Matty Rich | Stars: George T. Odom, Ann D. Sanders, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Barbara Sanon
Votes: 667
59. Claudine (1974)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In the 1970s Harlem, garbage collector Roop feels intimidated by the idea of dating Claudine who is a single mother of six on welfare.
Director: John Berry | Stars: Diahann Carroll, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Tamu Blackwell
Votes: 2,514 | Gross: $3.51M
60. Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999 TV Movie)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Dorothy Dandridge's way to fame and fortune as a dancer, singer and actress.
Director: Martha Coolidge | Stars: Halle Berry, Brent Spiner, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Obba Babatundé
Votes: 3,920
61. Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 113 min | Drama, Romance
A drama set in the 1920s, where free-spirited Janie Crawford's search for happiness leads her through several different marriages, challenging the morals of her small town. Based on the novel by Zora Neale Hurston.
Director: Darnell Martin | Stars: Halle Berry, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Mel Winkler, Michael Ealy
Votes: 3,035
62. Carmen Jones (1954)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
Contemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.
Director: Otto Preminger | Stars: Harry Belafonte, Dorothy Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, Olga James
Votes: 5,924
63. Black Girl (1966)
Not Rated | 65 min | Drama
A black girl from Senegal becomes a servant in France.
Director: Ousmane Sembene | Stars: Mbissine Thérèse Diop, Anne-Marie Jelinek, Robert Fontaine, Momar Nar Sene
Votes: 6,024
64. The Cookout (2004)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy
Todd Anderson's life changes overnight when he signs a $30 million contract with the NBA. Determined not to forget who he is and where he's from, he throws a cookout for his family and friends from the hood, in his new neighborhood.
Director: Lance Rivera | Stars: Quran Pender, Jenifer Lewis, Ja Rule, Tim Meadows
Votes: 3,217 | Gross: $11.54M
65. Jumping the Broom (2011)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama
Two very different families converge on Martha's Vineyard one weekend for a wedding.
Director: Salim Akil | Stars: Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine
Votes: 11,532 | Gross: $37.30M
66. Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 88 min | Drama, Musical
A contemporary, urban retelling of the classic story, Carmen: A Hip Hopera follows the life of a police sergeant whose world is turned upside down when an irresistible woman enters his life.
Director: Robert Townsend | Stars: Mekhi Phifer, Beyoncé, Yasiin Bey, Rah Digga
Votes: 1,556
67. Sparkle (I) (2012)
PG-13 | 116 min | Drama, Music
In the 1960s, three sisters form a girl group and soon become local sensations with major label interest, but fame becomes a challenge as the close-knit family begins to fall apart.
Director: Salim Akil | Stars: Jordin Sparks, Carmen Ejogo, Whitney Houston, Derek Luke
Votes: 6,659 | Gross: $24.40M
68. Johnson Family Vacation (2004)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy
Buckle up for the wildest road trip of the year. A comedy adventure about a misfit family trying to survive outrageous obstacles (including one another) on a cross-country trek to their annual family reunion.
Director: Christopher Erskin | Stars: Cedric The Entertainer, Shannon Elizabeth, Shad Moss, Vanessa Williams
Votes: 8,405 | Gross: $31.18M
69. Like Mike (2002)
PG | 99 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A 13-year-old orphan becomes an NBA superstar after trying on a pair of sneakers with the faded initials "MJ" inside them.
Director: John Schultz | Stars: Shad Moss, Jonathan Lipnicki, Morris Chestnut, Brenda Song
Votes: 22,566 | Gross: $51.43M
70. Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
PG | 112 min | Drama, Family
Akeelah, a young gifted girl, comes from a dysfunctional family and is on the verge of quitting school. She discovers that she has a high aptitude for spellings and enters a spelling bee contest.
Director: Doug Atchison | Stars: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Keke Palmer, Curtis Armstrong
Votes: 21,633 | Gross: $18.81M
71. Sometimes in April (2005 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 140 min | Drama, History, War
When the Hutu nationalists raised arms against their Tutsi countrymen in Rwanda in April 1994, the violent uprising marked the beginning of one of the darkest times in African history which resulted in the deaths of almost 800,000 people.
Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Idris Elba, Carole Karemera, Pamela Nomvete, Oris Erhuero
Votes: 6,046
72. Prison Song (2001)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama
A young man lives and learns while growing up on the street and in and out of correctional facilities.
Director: Darnell Martin | Stars: Danny Hoch, Elvis Costello, Q-Tip, Eric McCollum
Votes: 699
73. Malcolm X (1992)
PG-13 | 202 min | Biography, Drama, History
Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee
Votes: 102,062 | Gross: $48.17M
74. The Wood (1999)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
While dealing with a friend's cold feet on his wedding day, a writer reminisces about his youth with his best friends.
Director: Rick Famuyiwa | Stars: Elayn J. Taylor, Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones, Sean Nelson
Votes: 10,208 | Gross: $25.05M
75. Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975)
PG | 95 min | Drama, Sport
A 12-year-old is traumatised by the murder of his friend, a star basketball player.
Director: Joseph Manduke | Stars: Moses Gunn, Rosalind Cash, Bernie Casey, Madge Sinclair
Votes: 1,060 | Gross: $0.78M
76. Daughters of the Dust (1991)
TV-PG | 113 min | Drama, History, Romance
A languid, impressionistic story of three generations of Gullah women living on the South Carolina Sea Islands in 1902.
Director: Julie Dash | Stars: Cora Lee Day, Alva Rogers, Barbarao, Trula Hoosier
Votes: 3,292 | Gross: $1.64M
77. Money Talks (1997)
R | 97 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Sought by police and criminals, a small-time huckster makes a deal with a TV newsman for protection.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Chris Tucker, Heather Locklear, Elise Neal
Votes: 31,319 | Gross: $41.07M
78. Blue Streak (1999)
PG-13 | 93 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A former convict poses as a cop to retrieve a diamond he stole years ago.
Director: Les Mayfield | Stars: Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, Peter Greene, Dave Chappelle
Votes: 88,803 | Gross: $68.52M
79. Blankman (1994)
PG-13 | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A simpleton inventor becomes a superhero with a bulletproof costume and a low budget.
Director: Mike Binder | Stars: Damon Wayans, David Alan Grier, Robin Givens, Christopher Lawford
Votes: 10,494 | Gross: $7.89M
80. 3 Strikes (2000)
R | 82 min | Comedy
Rob has 2 strikes and 3 strikes now means 25 to life. Leaving prison, he's picked up in a stolen car later stopped by the police. Can he prove his innocence before he's caught?
Director: DJ Pooh | Stars: Brian Hooks, N'Bushe Wright, Faizon Love, E-40
Votes: 3,695 | Gross: $9.82M
81. Pootie Tang (2001)
PG-13 | 81 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
"The Man" is baffled by a chill hero's invincible weapon: gibberish.
Director: Louis C.K. | Stars: Chris Rock, Lance Crouther, J.B. Smoove, Jennifer Coolidge
Votes: 15,126 | Gross: $3.29M
82. Drop Squad (1994)
R | 86 min | Drama
The DROP (Deprogramming and Restoration of Pride) Squad is an outlaw organization that abducts and "deprograms" African-Americans who exploit and/or deny their cultural heritage. But their persuasive methods become increasingly violent.
Director: David C. Johnson | Stars: Eriq La Salle, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Ving Rhames, Kasi Lemmons
Votes: 662 | Gross: $0.73M
83. The Color of Friendship (2000 TV Movie)
TV-G | 87 min | Biography, Drama, Family
A white South African girl finds herself in a difficult situation when she is sent to spend a term with a Black family in America.
Director: Kevin Hooks | Stars: Lindsey Haun, Shadia Simmons, Carl Lumbly, Penny Johnson Jerald
Votes: 4,312
84.
CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
Episode:
What About Your Friends
(1995)
Adventure, Comedy, Drama
"What About Your Friends" is a one-hour film that takes a unique look at the senior year successes and failures of three high school girlfriends as they prepare for college.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood | Stars: Monica Calhoun, Lark Voorhies, Malinda Williams, Tyrin Turner
Votes: 104
85. Klash (1995)
R | 95 min | Crime, Music, Romance
Stoney is a photographer who travels to Jamaica to photograph the KLA$H, the world's best reggae and dance hall bands. Stoney re-unites with an old girlfriend Blossom, and Blossom has a big payday via a criminal plan she puts in motion.
Director: Bill Parker | Stars: Jasmine Guy, Giancarlo Esposito, Stafford Ashani, Carl Bradshaw
Votes: 129
86. Butter (1998)
R | 101 min | Action, Thriller
Deceit, body heat and pulsing street beats converge in this explosive story about the music industry!
Director: Peter Gathings Bunche | Stars: Shemar Moore, Nia Long, Ernie Hudson, Donnie Wahlberg
Votes: 489
87. There Are No Children Here (1993 TV Movie)
120 min | Drama
From Publishers Weekly The devastating story of brothers Lafayette and Pharoah Rivers, children of the Chicago ghetto, is powerfully told here by Kotlowitz, a Wall Street Journal reporter ... See full summary »
Director: Anita W. Addison | Stars: Oprah Winfrey, Keith David, Mark Lane, Norman D. Golden II
Votes: 224
88. Blue Streak (1999)
PG-13 | 93 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A former convict poses as a cop to retrieve a diamond he stole years ago.
Director: Les Mayfield | Stars: Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, Peter Greene, Dave Chappelle
Votes: 88,803 | Gross: $68.52M
89. What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Crime
A rich man catches a thief burglarizing his home and steals the thief's lucky ring, who then tries to get it back.
Director: Sam Weisman | Stars: Martin Lawrence, Danny DeVito, John Leguizamo, Glenne Headly
Votes: 16,921 | Gross: $32.10M
90. Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama
This film adaptation of James Baldwin's celebrated novel tells the journey of a family from the rural South to "big city" Harlem seeking both salvation and understanding and of a young boy ... See full summary »
Director: Stan Lathan | Stars: Paul Winfield, James Bond III, Olivia Cole, Rodrick F. Wimberly
Votes: 245
91. Panther (I) (1995)
R | 124 min | Drama
A dramatized account of the story of The Black Panther Party of Self-Defense.
Director: Mario Van Peebles | Stars: Kadeem Hardison, Bokeem Woodbine, Joe Don Baker, Courtney B. Vance
Votes: 2,695 | Gross: $6.83M
92. Love Jones (1997)
R | 109 min | Drama, Romance
Darius Lovehall is a young black poet in Chicago who starts dating Nina Mosley, a beautiful and talented photographer. While trying to figure out if they've got a "love thing" or are just "... See full summary »
Director: Theodore Witcher | Stars: Larenz Tate, Nia Long, Isaiah Washington, Lisa Nicole Carson
Votes: 5,644 | Gross: $12.51M
93. How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
R | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Stella is a highly successful, forty-something San Francisco stock broker who is persuaded by her colorful New York girlfriend Delilah to take a well deserved, first-class vacation to Jamaica.
Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan | Stars: Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, Whoopi Goldberg, Regina King
Votes: 8,332 | Gross: $37.67M
94. Higher Learning (1995)
R | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
People from all different walks of life, encounter racial tension, rape, responsibility, and the meaning of an education on a university campus.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Omar Epps, Kristy Swanson, Michael Rapaport, Jennifer Connelly
Votes: 21,558 | Gross: $38.29M
95. Dirty Laundry (I) (2006)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A modern-day prodigal son story with a twist. It follows Patrick, a magazine writer, who seems to have the "perfect life," until one day, there is a knock at the door. On the other side stands a secret that brings him face to face with the traditional southern family he hasn't seen in over 10 years.
Director: Maurice Jamal | Stars: Rockmond Dunbar, Loretta Devine, Jenifer Lewis, Terri J. Vaughn
Votes: 530 | Gross: $0.02M
96. Deliver Us from Eva (2003)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Eva doesn't let her 3 sisters' men push them around. She's always butting in. How to pacify Eva? Find her a man. The men pay a playboy to be that man. The problem is - he falls in love with Eva.
Director: Gary Hardwick | Stars: Gabrielle Union, LL Cool J, Essence Atkins, Duane Martin
Votes: 7,728 | Gross: $17.33M
97. The Wash (2001)
R | 93 min | Comedy
Life at the car wash is a place in Los Angeles, California where anything can and does happen to two friends Sean & Dee Loc (Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg) trying to earn money to pay their rent.
Director: DJ Pooh | Stars: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Anthony Albano, Tic
Votes: 7,668 | Gross: $10.10M
98. Roll Bounce (2005)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
In the summer of 1978, a teenager and his group of friends face new challenges when their neighborhood roller-skating rink closes, forcing them to visit a different rink.
Director: Malcolm D. Lee | Stars: Shad Moss, Nick Cannon, Meagan Good, Brandon T. Jackson
Votes: 7,835 | Gross: $17.38M
99. Ride (1998)
R | 90 min | Comedy
A group of young people take an old bus from Harlem to Miami to make a rap music video there.
Director: Millicent Shelton | Stars: Melissa De Sousa, John Witherspoon, Cedric The Entertainer, Malik Yoba
Votes: 830 | Gross: $5.48M
100. Talk to Me (2007)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of Washington D.C. radio personality Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s.
Director: Kasi Lemmons | Stars: Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Bruce McFee, Mike Epps
Votes: 10,274 | Gross: $4.47M
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