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Go Down Moses
"Go Down Moses" is a spiritual phrase that describes events in the Old Testament of the Bible, specifically Exodus 5:1: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me", in which God commands Moses to demand the release of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. This phrase is the title of one of the most well known African American spirituals of all time. The song discusses themes of freedom, a very common occurrence in spirituals. In fact, the song actually had multiple messages, discussing not only the freedom of the Israelites, but also the freedom of runaway enslaved people, and many enslavers outlawed this song because of those very messages. The opening verse as published by the Jubilee Singers in 1872: The lyrics of the song represent liberation of the ancient Jewish people from Egyptian slavery, a story recounted in the Old Testament. For enslaved African Americans, the story was very powe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fisk Jubilee Singers
The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American ''a cappella'' ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditional spiritual (music), spirituals, but included some songs by Stephen Foster. The original group toured along the Underground Railroad path in the United States, as well as performing in England and Europe. Later 19th-century groups also toured in Europe. In 2002 the Library of Congress honored their 1909 recording of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" by adding it in the List of recordings preserved in the United States National Recording Registry, United States National Recording Registry. In 2008 they were awarded a National Medal of Arts. History The singers were organized as a fundraising effort for Fisk University. The Historically black colleges and universities, historically black college in Nashville, Tennessee, was founded by the Ameri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Jolson
Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer." Jolson was known for his "shamelessly sentimental, melodramatic approach" towards performing, as well as for popularizing many of the songs he sang. Jolson has been referred to by modern critics as "the king of blackface performers." Although best remembered today as the star of the first talking picture, ''The Jazz Singer'' (1927), he starred in a series of successful musical films during the 1930s. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, he was the first star to entertain troops overseas during World War II. After a period of inactivity, his stardom returned with ''The Jolson Story'' (1946), in which Larry Parks played Jolson, with the singer dubbing for Parks. The formula was repeat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prisoner Of The Mountains
''Prisoner of the Mountains'' (russian: Кавказский пленник, ''Kavkazskiy plennik''), also known as ''Prisoner of the Caucasus'', is a 1996 Russian war drama film directed by Sergei Bodrov and written by Bodrov, Arif Aliyev and Boris Giller. The film is based on the 1872 Caucasian War-era short story " The Prisoner in the Caucasus" by the classic Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. ''Prisoner of the Mountains'' was awarded a Crystal Globe at the 1996 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and the same year was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (Russia) and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film (Russia). It also received generally positive critic reviews. This film illustrates the conflicting views between traditional Chechen culture and Russian warfare through the use of soundtrack, costuming, and arms. The personal confrontation between two Russian soldiers and their Chechen captors is the main theme of the film, which was s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oleg Menshikov
Oleg Evgenyevich Menshikov, PAR (russian: Оле́г Евге́ньевич Ме́ньшиков, link=no; born 8 November 1960) is a Russian actor, theatre director and occasional singer. He is the current artistic director of the Yermolova Theatre in Moscow. Internationally, Menshikov is the best known for his roles in the films by Nikita Mikhalkov ''Burnt by the Sun'' (1994), ''The Barber of Siberia'' (1998), '' Burnt by the Sun 2: Exodus'' (2010) and '' Burnt by the Sun 2: Citadel'' (2011), as well as for his performance in Régis Wargnier's ''East/West'' (1999). Menshikov is the winner of a Laurence Olivier Award, a Nika Award and three State Prizes of the Russian Federation, and the recipient of the Order of Honour of the Russian Federation. Early life Menshikov was born in Serpukhov, Moscow Oblast, to father Evgeny (born 1934), a military engineer, and mother Yelena (born 1933), a doctor. In addition to regular school, Menshikov also attended music school, where he p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sergei Bodrov, Jr
Sergius is a male given name of Ancient Roman origin after the name of the Latin ''gens'' Sergia or Sergii of regal and republican ages. It is a common Christian name, in honor of Saint Sergius, or in Russia, of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, and has been the name of four popes. It has given rise to numerous variants, present today mainly in the Romance (Serge, Sergio, Sergi) and Slavic languages (Serhii, Sergey, Serguei). It is not common in English, although the Anglo-French name Sergeant is possibly related to it. Etymology The name originates from the Roman ''nomen'' (patrician family name) ''Sergius'', after the name of the Roman ''gens'' of Latin origins Sergia or Sergii from Alba Longa, Old Latium, counted by Theodor Mommsen as one of the oldest Roman families, one of the original 100 ''gentes originarie''. It has been speculated to derive from a more ancient Etruscan name but the etymology of the nomen Sergius is problematic. Chase hesitantly suggests a connection with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Ruck
Alan Douglas Ruck (born July 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Cameron Frye, Ferris Bueller's best friend, in John Hughes's film ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986); Stuart Bondek, a lecherous, power-hungry member of the mayor's staff in the ABC sitcom ''Spin City''; and Connor Roy, the eldest son of a media magnate, in the HBO series '' Succession''. His other notable parts include those in '' Bad Boys'' (1983), ''Three Fugitives'' (1989), ''Young Guns II'' (1990), ''Speed'' (1994), and ''Twister'' (1996). In 2016, he co-starred with Geena Davis in an updated Fox TV adaptation of William Peter Blatty's best-selling novel ''The Exorcist.'' Early life Ruck was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to a schoolteacher mother and a father who worked for a pharmaceutical company. He attended Parma Senior High School in Parma, Ohio, and graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.F.A. in drama in 1979. He recalled: Ruck made his Broadway debut in 1985 in Neil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes and co-produced by Tom Jacobson. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck with supporting roles by Jennifer Grey, Jeffrey Jones, Cindy Pickett, Edie McClurg, and Lyman Ward. It tells the story of a high school slacker who skips school with his best friend and his girlfriend for a day in Chicago and regularly breaks the fourth wall to explain his techniques and inner thoughts. Hughes wrote the screenplay in less than a week. Filming began in September 1985 and finished in November, featuring many Chicago landmarks including the then Sears Tower, Wrigley Field and the Art Institute of Chicago. The film was Hughes's love letter to Chicago: "I really wanted to capture as much of Chicago as I could. Not just in the architecture and landscape, but the spirit." Released by Paramount Pictures on June 11, 1986, the film became the tenth-highest-grossin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackboard Jungle
''Blackboard Jungle'' is a 1955 American social drama film about an English teacher in an interracial inner-city school, based on the 1954 novel ''The Blackboard Jungle'' by Evan Hunter and adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Brooks. It is remembered for its innovative use of rock and roll in its soundtrack, for casting grown adults as high school teens, and for the unique breakout role of a black cast member, film icon Sidney Poitier, as a rebellious yet musically talented student. In 2016, ''Blackboard Jungle'' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Factual background Hunter's novel was based on his early job as a teacher at Bronx Vocational High School, now known as Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School in the South Bronx. Hunter, then known as Salvatore Lombino, took the teaching job in 1950 after graduating from H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive Golden Globe Awards, a competitive British Academy of Film and Television Arts award (BAFTA), and a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. Poitier was one of the last major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Poitier's family lived in the Bahamas, then still a Crown colony, but he was born unexpectedly in Miami, Florida, while they were visiting, which automatically granted him U.S. citizenship. He grew up in the Bahamas, but moved to Miami at age 15, and to New York City when he was 16. He joined the American Negro Theatre, landing his breakthrough film role as a high school student in the film ''Blackboard Jungle'' (1955). In 1958, Poitier starred with Tony Curtis as chained-together escaped convicts in ''The Defiant Ones ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sullivan's Travels
''Sullivan's Travels'' is a 1941 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. A satire on the film industry, it follows a famous Hollywood comedy director (Joel McCrea) who, longing to make a socially relevant drama, sets out to live as a tramp to gain life experience for his forthcoming film. Along the way he unites with a poor aspiring actress (Veronica Lake) who accompanies him. The title is a reference to ''Gulliver's Travels'', the 1726 novel by satirist Jonathan Swift about another journey of self-discovery. ''Sullivan's Travels'' received disparate critical reception: ''The New York Times'' described it as "the most brilliant picture yet this year", praising Sturges's mix of escapist fun with underlying significance, and ranked it as one of the ten best films of 1941. But ''The Hollywood Reporter'' said that it lacked the "down to earth quality and sincerity which made turges'sother three pictures of 1941 – ''The Great McGinty'', ''The Lady Eve'', and '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. In 1941, he won the Academy Awards, Oscar for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay for the film ''The Great McGinty'' (1940), his first of three nominations in the category. Sturges took the screwball comedy format of the 1930s to another level, writing dialogue that, heard today, is often surprisingly naturalistic, mature, and ahead of its time, despite the farcical situations. It is not uncommon for a Sturges character to deliver an exquisitely turned phrase and take an elaborate pratfall within the same scene. Prior to Sturges, other figures in Hollywood (such as Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, and Frank Capra) had directed films from their own scripts; however, Sturges is often regarded as the first Hollywood figure to establish success as a screenwriter and then move into directing his own scripts, at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jess Lee Brooks
Jess Lee Brooks (June 10, 1894 – December 13, 1944), also known as Jesse Brooks, was an American actor. He is perhaps most famous for playing the African-American church preacher in the critically acclaimed motion picture ''Sullivan's Travels'', where he leads his congregation in singing "Go Down Moses". Partial filmography *''Dark Manhattan'' (1937) * ''Spirit of Youth'' (1938) * ''Two-Gun Man from Harlem'' (1938) * '' The Sun Never Sets'' (1939) * ''Four Shall Die'' (1940) as Bill Summers * ''Sullivan's Travels'' (1941) (uncredited) as Black preacher * ''Lucky Ghost'' (1942) as Door Man * ''Jungle Siren'' (1942) as Chief Selangi * '' Broken Strings'' (1942) *'' Mr. & Mrs. North'' (1942) as Oscar * ''Drums of the Congo'' (1942) as Chief Madjeduka * '' Thank Your Lucky Stars'' (uncredited) as The Justice *''Girl Crazy ''Girl Crazy'' is a 1930 musical by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. Ethel Merman made her stage debut in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
