FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE Harry Belafonte - Island In The Sun 

Harry Belafonte is certainly one of the most played artists in our bar, especially "Jump In The Line" and "Matilda". He passed away today, having been one of the icons of the Black Power movement since the 50s. We were last privileged to hear the 90 year old speak on the occasion of the civil rights movement "Democracy now!" - just one month after Donald Trump's election victory. Belafonte called for more rebellion, more adventure! He stood alongside Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, called himself an actor who sings, but above all an activist. For Belafonte grew up in a time when racial segregation and the Ku Klux Klan were simply everyday occurrences. At the age of 90, at the very end of his life, he said he had never experienced America as racist. Barely 50 years after the time of Martin Luther King! And so he announced a 4th Reich, a never-ending nightmare. His musical career and his film career mostly showcased a very different Belafonte. Island In The Sun takes us to Georgetown harbour and the magnificent view of the sea. An eternal summer, filmed in CinemaScope. Behind it, the human drama, the racial conflict develops. The film, however, leaves it at allusions, for example in the depiction of the love affair of an English officer with a black woman. A blunt indictment on the subject of racism admittedly looks different from what Zanuck's 20th Century Fox dared to do back in 1957. The film even shies away from a kiss, probably for fear of appearing hurtful. Island In The Sun is good as a document of a time when such things were simply not allowed on the screen. Belafonte, who was the Godfather of Hip Hop and producer of Beat Street during the early 80s, is much more visible. In our bar, we love to play The Rock Steady Crew from it. If you fancy a walk, Beat Street is available from us as dVD8542 - sadly no longer free on youtube at the moment. In memory of Harry Belafonte!