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Get on the Bus

Get on the Bus

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $13.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Black men on thr rise - one love
Review: Most of the reviews i've read about this movie,has been hogwash.Spike Lee,who happens to have one of the finest minds in the industry,did a masterful job.All i can say is "My hat's off" to spike,his brilliance has delivered again.
One Love

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: SIX DAYS ON THE BUS TO THE MILLION MAN MARCH
Review: October 16, 1995 was the day of the Million Man March, a march of 1,000,000 black men to the nation's capital. In watching and reviewing the Million Man March of 1995, one cannot help drawing parallels to other civil rights marches, e.g., Bus Strike of 1955 and the Selma, Alabama March in 1965.

The movie concentrates on a group of men leaving Los Angeles for the Nation's Capital. Charles Dutton is the intrepid, unofficial "leader" of the group and he tells the passengers as soon as they "get on the bus" that HE will be their mother AND their father for the next six days.

The men are a good cross section of people anywhere. They range in ages from 14-year-old Evan, Jr., sullen and angry about being handcuffed to his father under court order to senior citizen Ossie Davis ("Pop"). Pop is looked to for guidance and appears to take on the role of a benevolent father. His is the gentle voice of reason and his is one of unquestioning acceptance. When one man, a Muslim, criticizes a gay couple for their lifestyle, it is Pop who provides a calm defense on the couple's behalf.

I liked the way the men introduce themselves in song. A nod to Africa, the men use a "boom-chaka-laka" beat and introduce themselves in rhyme. It is funny and done in a humorous manner.

My favorite characters were Pop and a young, biracial police officer. He identifies strongly with his black heritage and, like his father, joins the police force. Like Pop, he, too, provides intelligent arguments for his position and offers a different perspective when confronted by his peers. For example, when one man describes a childhood beating by belt he received for lying, the officer describes a stern talking to and a month long grounding he got for stealing from a store. The other men look at him aghast -- he had a mother who didn't beat him? The officer explained yet again that although he had a white mother, he was still black and he still identified strongly with his black heritage. He reminded everyone on the bus yet again that being black is congenital and not contingent upon speech mannerisms and behaviors. One is either black or they are not. He was right.

I laughed at the 1970s James Brown classic, "Papa Don't Take No Mess," which the men insisted upon listening to shortly after the bus left the Los Angeles Depot. "Papa was a man/Who understands/That a man's got to do whatever he can./Hit me!/Papa Don't Take No Mess." The song tied in perfectly with the arguments about beatings that both sides presented on the bus.

Another part that made me laugh was when the Million Man Marchers threw a loudmouthed, pompous, crass car salesman off the bus after he made a few too many inappropriate remarks. Seems the car salesman had riled the folks bound for D.C. and they decided they weren't going to take him anymore, so they ousted him from the bus.

It was a long, bumpy ride to D.C., but once there, Pop's heart started acting up....

This was truly an excellent movie and the film footage of the real Million Man March that was included in this film was a very effective touch.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: SIX DAYS ON THE BUS TO THE MILLION MAN MARCH
Review: October 16, 1995 was the day of the Million Man March, a march of 1,000,000 black men to the nation's capital. In watching and reviewing the Million Man March of 1995, one cannot help drawing parallels to other civil rights marches, e.g., Bus Strike of 1955 and the Selma, Alabama March in 1965.

The movie concentrates on a group of men leaving Los Angeles for the Nation's Capital. Charles Dutton is the intrepid, unofficial "leader" of the group and he tells the passengers as soon as they "get on the bus" that HE will be their mother AND their father for the next six days.

The men are a good cross section of people anywhere. They range in ages from 14-year-old Evan, Jr., sullen and angry about being handcuffed to his father under court order to senior citizen Ossie Davis ("Pop"). Pop is looked to for guidance and appears to take on the role of a benevolent father. His is the gentle voice of reason and his is one of unquestioning acceptance. When one man, a Muslim, criticizes a gay couple for their lifestyle, it is Pop who provides a calm defense on the couple's behalf.

I liked the way the men introduce themselves in song. A nod to Africa, the men use a "boom-chaka-laka" beat and introduce themselves in rhyme. It is funny and done in a humorous manner.

My favorite characters were Pop and a young, biracial police officer. He identifies strongly with his black heritage and, like his father, joins the police force. Like Pop, he, too, provides intelligent arguments for his position and offers a different perspective when confronted by his peers. For example, when one man describes a childhood beating by belt he received for lying, the officer describes a stern talking to and a month long grounding he got for stealing from a store. The other men look at him aghast -- he had a mother who didn't beat him? The officer explained yet again that although he had a white mother, he was still black and he still identified strongly with his black heritage. He reminded everyone on the bus yet again that being black is congenital and not contingent upon speech mannerisms and behaviors. One is either black or they are not. He was right.

I laughed at the 1970s James Brown classic, "Papa Don't Take No Mess," which the men insisted upon listening to shortly after the bus left the Los Angeles Depot. "Papa was a man/Who understands/That a man's got to do whatever he can./Hit me!/Papa Don't Take No Mess." The song tied in perfectly with the arguments about beatings that both sides presented on the bus.

Another part that made me laugh was when the Million Man Marchers threw a loudmouthed, pompous, crass car salesman off the bus after he made a few too many inappropriate remarks. Seems the car salesman had riled the folks bound for D.C. and they decided they weren't going to take him anymore, so they ousted him from the bus.

It was a long, bumpy ride to D.C., but once there, Pop's heart started acting up....

This was truly an excellent movie and the film footage of the real Million Man March that was included in this film was a very effective touch.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Lee Hits us again with the polemics
Review: Once again, Spike Lee hits us again with the polemics. Overall, the story is not bad. The basic idea of a bus ride to the MMM is a good one. SOME of the characters are nicely drawn, such as Charles Roc Dutton's bus driver, Ossie Davis as the patriarch, and the caring father of the wayward son. But the film is weighed down by Spike Lee's usual soapbox dialogue and polemics. Sadly, few of the characters in this film actually talk, they make speeches (as is the case with "The Red Menace" and "Putney Swope)." Like I said, the story itself is good and the above-mentioned characters are nicely drawn. But the dialogue? Go to the soapbox on 125th St. in Harlem as the Black nationalist pontificators pound the podium and you get the idea.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A kaleidoscope of the black male experience...
Review: set against the backdrop of the Million Man March.

I believe that many people see us as one person, with a single set of feelings, motivations, values, abilities, temperments what have you. Spike Lee has done a wonderful job of chronicling the many different facets of what the black male experience is in america. But at the same time he very accurately shows how despite our differences, political affiliations, generations, educational levels, economic realities, and even sexual orientation we have a common goal and collective spirit that binds us together perhaps in a way that no other group (in america) will hopefully ever have to be bound.

As only a small minority of the populace falls within the spectrum of the characters represented in the film so too will only a small minority of the viewing public recognize the importance and quality of this film.

As a participant in the March itself I felt tremendous pride in seeing such a large and diverse representation of black america assembled united in a common cause. Not one that is directed angrily at anyone but one that hopes to inspire the individual to take greater responsibility to himself, his family, community, and mankind as a whole.

Accordingly this film is a fitting tribute to that event and the spirit of its participants and sympathizers.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A kaleidoscope of the black male experience...
Review: set against the backdrop of the Million Man March.

I believe that many people see us as one person, with a single set of feelings, motivations, values, abilities, temperments what have you. Spike Lee has done a wonderful job of chronicling the many different facets of what the black male experience is in america. But at the same time he very accurately shows how despite our differences, political affiliations, generations, educational levels, economic realities, and even sexual orientation we have a common goal and collective spirit that binds us together perhaps in a way that no other group (in america) will hopefully ever have to be bound.

As only a small minority of the populace falls within the spectrum of the characters represented in the film so too will only a small minority of the viewing public recognize the importance and quality of this film.

As a participant in the March itself I felt tremendous pride in seeing such a large and diverse representation of black america assembled united in a common cause. Not one that is directed angrily at anyone but one that hopes to inspire the individual to take greater responsibility to himself, his family, community, and mankind as a whole.

Accordingly this film is a fitting tribute to that event and the spirit of its participants and sympathizers.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Powerful but flawed
Review: The stereotypical treatment of non-Black characters in the film (the Jewish bus driver, the White cops) undermines its credibility.

Spike provides us with a valuable look at the varied perspectives and values of Black men today. The film is always interesting and engaging although there is a lot of speechmaking and little resolution of any of the subjects it deals with (for us or the characters in the film).

This film is well worth watching but it could have been a whole lot better.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This was the most horrible film I have ever sat through.
Review: This film was awful. It only serves to perpetuate racial stereotypes, especially carefully veiled, negative opinions regarding whites. The dialouge between the gay black man and the white Jewish bus driver was unbearable. This film accomplished nothing, and it certainly contributes zero to racial harmony in North America.

Whatever your race, if you come across this movie, do yourself a favor and don't watch it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of my favz - Great actors makes it a wonderful film
Review: This is according to me a very good film, it's actually one of my fav's.
What makes it so good is the feeling u get from watching the movie, U feel that u are a passenger on the bus observing the others.
There are some great performances in this movie unlike Spike Lee's HE GOT GAME that had a player in the NBA in the lead and pretty much everybody except for DENZEL & Hill Harper didn't know how to act.

Great performances from GABRIEL CASSEUS, HILL HARPER, OSSIE DAVIS and the rest of the cast.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My favorite movie of all time
Review: This is one of Spike Lee's most poignant works. Each character-actor was astounding in performance, especially that of Andre Braugher. The plot was creative and intense around the monologues and it was a movie that I will never forget. All actors in this movie were incredible. It is my favorite movie of all time.


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