A RAISIN IN THE SUN: Blu-ray (Columbia, 1961) Criterion Collection

Circumventing all of the pitfalls that can afflict a stage to screen translation, director, Daniel Petrie’s A Raisin in the Sun (1961) is a transfixing piece of American cinema whose roots are firmly planted in the exemplary stagecraft of its authoress, Lorraine Hansberry. Hansberry, an activist/journalist long before it was fashionable for a black woman to be either, may have borrowed inspiration for the play’s title from Langston Hughes’ poem, ‘A Dream Deferred’, but the explosive social commentary she infuses in virtually each line of dialogue, capably delineated by the traits imbued in each of her characters, unearths the rarest ilk of quality ‘fiction’ writers. Despite its observable assets, A Raisin in the Sun had a roundabout journey to greatness; its legendary Broadway run at the Ethel Barrymore Theater only made possible after much rejection (it took producer, Philip Rose nearly a year to find enough backers to produce it) and an arduous circuit of ‘out of town’ venues to ‘prove’ its merits. In hindsight, this lengthier than usual gestation gave Hansberry and the play’s star, Sidney Poitier time to refine its structure; Poitier, encouraging Hansberry to beef up the only major male part – his – to rival the potency of his co-star, Claudia McNeil, the first cast member to garner high praise from the critics. While Hansberry and Poitier sparred over this decision initially, by the time the play opened in New York Poitier had won the round, mesmerizing audiences with his searing white hot bravura and conflicted raw energy.

Even so, A Raisin in the Sun remains, arguably, an enduring ensemble piece, perhaps one of the top five ever written for the stage, affording juicy parts to Ruby Dee, Ivan Dixon, Diana Sands, John Fiedler and Louis Gossett Jr.  Named the Best Play of 1959 by The New York Drama Critics' Circle, Hansberry had used fact and all her journalistic skills to craft this powerhouse; a lawsuit, launched by her affluent businessman/father some 25 years earlier, against racially motivated restrictive covenants that prevented black families from relocating to predominantly white neighborhoods. Although the Hansberrys were to win the right to be heard, and their case, in some ways it remained a hollow victory, as their move to the suburbs was plagued by threats of violence against the family. Indeed, Hansberry’s mother remained vigilant throughout the nights, often as the house was surrounded by yowling angry mobs, and, slept with a pistol at her side from fear of reprisals. Daily, Hansberry herself endured what she would later describe as a ‘hellish’ reprieve from Chicago’s ugliest ghettos, being dogged, pummeled, cursed and spat on in her daily trek to and from school.

Reuniting virtually the entire principle cast (save Glynn Turman as Travis – recast in the movie with Stephen Perry), the cinematic reincarnation of A Raisin in the Sun – only slightly rewritten by Hansberry, also jettisons the play’s Mrs. Johnson, a minor character exploited for comic relief. For the rest, Petrie’s movie slavishly adheres to the play’s structure, with only two brief – and well-timed – departures from its superbly crafted, if squalid and cramped tenement the Younger family shares, often with resentment and lingering animosity. On screen, A Raisin in the Sun is nothing less than riveting, its carefully delineated characters expertly placed in frame, superbly photographed in B&W by Charles Lawton Jr. with a depth of field that captures all of the foreground, middle ground and background chaos afflicting the Youngers as they struggle to come to terms with both their lot in life, and a future always just a little out of reach and thus, exceptionally bittersweet. Sidney Poitier is top-billed as Walter Lee, the wounded patriarch, desperate to taste success, yet seemingly stifled, even emasculated in his progress by a strong-willed mother, Lena (Claudia McNeil) and careworn wife, Ruth (Ruby Dee), pregnant with their second child. A third female influence, Walter’s sister, Beneatha (Diana Sands), who frequently clashes with her elder brother’s narrowly construed ideas of success, has her own dreams of becoming a doctor one day. Alas, Beneatha dreams a lot – her passions capriciously sifting from equestrian sports to guitar-playing, and possibly, embarking on a life-altering journey to Nigeria with potential suitor, Joseph Asagai (Ivan Dixon). If Beneatha’s future appears anchor-less and unstable at best, it pales to the crisis of conscience afflicting her elder brother – ostensibly, ‘the man of the house’, yet denied the impetus to pursue his dreams by the more rational-thinking women in his life.   

The Youngers reside in a cramped apartment in Chicago’s south side ghetto, the sheer confinement of their living quarters (youngest son, Travis sleeps on a small sofa in the living room) getting on everyone’s nerves. Walter and Ruth frequently clash over her level-headed lack of faith in his friendship with Willie Harris (Roy Glenn) and Bobo (Joel Fluellen); the trio’s latest ‘get rich quick’ aspirations to invest in a chain of liquor stores. The family lives in anticipation of a $10,000 life insurance policy payout due from the death of Lena’s husband. While Walter hopes his mother will endorse the check to him so he can officially retire from being a chauffeur and strive to become his own man, the more pious Lena refuses to allow him to invest in his pipe-dream liquor franchise. Instead, she has plans to make a down payment on a house they can be proud to live in, setting aside a modest nest egg for Beneatha’s future schooling, as well as something to secure a brighter future for young Travis.    

To this end, and after much consternation, hurt and rejection, Lena puts $3,500 down on a house in Clybourne Park – a predominantly white suburb. Ruth confides in Lena she is pregnant. Ruth is torn in her loyalties and love for Walter. He sees this new arrival as merely another impediment to his future prosperity. Thus, briefly, Ruth contemplates having a backroom abortion. Meanwhile, Walter takes to drink at the Kitty Kat – a notorious watering hole where earlier he, Bobo and Willie had planned to invest together in their liquor stores. Determined to keep her family together and restore Walter’s faith in himself, Lena selflessly gives her son the remaining $6500, encouraging him to put $3000 away for Beneatha’s education. Meanwhile, Beneatha trades in one suitor, George (Louis Gossett Jr.) for the more refined, Joseph Asagai. Asagai not only introduces her to his Nigerian heritage with gifts from home, but also promises to open Beneatha’s mind to a whole new way of life if she will return with him to his native land.

In the meantime, the Youngers take a trip to Clybourne Park and tour the house that will shortly be theirs. At first, the family is ecstatic. The modest abode, while hardly spacious, nevertheless offers each member their first real taste of luxury, possessing separate bedrooms and a backyard big enough for Lena to cultivate her azaleas. Regrettably, the promise of this ‘fresh start’ is dashed when Mark Lindner (John Fiedler) a representative of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association, awkwardly explains to the family that the ruling class in the neighborhood would prefer it if the Youngers reconsidered their move to this white-bred middle-class suburbia. Angered and refusing to budge, despite Linder’s generous offer to buy back the house for what the family has yet to pay for it – and then some – Walter is determined to move his family in; that is, until Bobo arrives with bad news. It seems Lena and Ruth were right about Willie Harris all along. He has absconded to parts unknown with Bobo and Walter’s savings. Lena discovers Walter did not set aside $3000 for Beneatha’s schooling. Rather, he gambled the entire $6500 on Willie’s good faith to invest. The family is as penniless as before.

Still determined to move from the ghetto, Ruth defiantly declares she will wash every laundry in America to make their dreams of home ownership a reality. Only now, Walter elects to leverage Linder against his own failings. He will accept the Association’s offer to buy back the house in Clybourne Park for more money than it cost them to purchase and take these ill-gotten gains to roll the dice on yet another dream that may or may not pay off for his family. Lena questions Walter’s ethics, motives and morality. She reminds him of the epic struggle black men and women have been engaged in ever since their emancipation from slavery and suggests that his desperation now is an absolute betrayal of those rights and freedoms they so valiantly fought to achieve. Walter is torn between his ambitions and doing what is right. Nevertheless, when Linder arrives a second time, Walter now quietly introduces him to the members of his family who will soon be taking up residency in Clyborne Park as productive citizens and good neighbors, come to call with malice towards none.  Unable to dissuade Walter in his decision, Linder retires to give his Association ‘the bad news’. In the final moments, a tear-stained, but proud Lena, Ruth and Beneatha accompany Walter downstairs, as movers arrive to prepare for their relocation to Clyborne Park.   

A Raisin in the Sun’s dénouement is cautiously optimistic – Hansberry, disregarding it as the proverbial ‘happy ending’ as it will surely lead to new uncertainties for the family. The movie is infinitely blessed by the executive decision to reunite virtually all of the creative forces who made its stagecraft such an overwhelming critical success. And from top to bottom, this adaptation is one of the finest of its generation. Director, Petrie’s staging of the ‘action’ is not only expertly paced, but exquisitely blocked for maximum dramatic effect. A Raisin in the Sun is a dialogue-driven affair. Apart from two vignettes (one depicting Walter’s general disdain as a chauffeur; the other, the family’s exploration of their new home – played almost entirely as a silent pantomime) the whole of the story’s crises and triumphs are played in a magnificently claustrophobic ‘one room’ set, designed by Carl Anderson and Louis Diage. And while the drama is anchored by these limitations in production values and scope, the results are never stifling to the dramatic impetus of the piece itself. Indeed, the ‘tightness’ in these living quarters has only enhanced the brutal honesty lain bare by each character. At just 8 min. over 2 hrs., A Raisin in the Sun is superbly crafted, expertly played and indelibly etched into the collective consciousness. Once seen, it can never truly be forgotten. Despite its absence from home video for some years, it nevertheless remains a relevant and compelling experience, far beyond what passes as mere entertainment.

Criterion’s Blu-ray release is a cause for celebration. Culled from a new 4K transfer supervised by Grover Crisp over at Sony Pictures, the results are as perfect as one would want them to be; superb gray scale, clean solid blacks, pristine whites, exquisite shadow delineation and gorgeous amounts of fine detail and film grain looking indigenous to its source. In short, a reference quality visual presentation that perfectly captures all of Charles Lawton Jr.’s sublime efforts. The PCM 1.0 mono audio has been given the appropriate clean-up and sounds great. Extras include two new interview pieces; the first from Imani Perry, the latter by Mia Mask – each, addressing specifics about Hansberry’s life, the play’s origins and the movie’s merits. Add to this, a 1961 interview with Hansberry, a 2002 episode of Theater Talk with producer Philip Rose and Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, an excerpt from 1978’s Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement and a 2002 interview with Daniel Petrie and, well, you have just about everything a blue-chip collector could expect from a special edition. Last, but not least, is an essay by Sarita Cannon and reprint of James Baldwin’s 1969 tribute to Hansberry, who died tragically of pancreatic cancer in 1965; much too soon to see the enduring legacy her hard-won efforts herein have wrought.  Bottom line: blind purchase and very highly recommended! A must have for anyone who loves great movies.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

5+

VIDEO/AUDIO

5+

EXTRAS

4