''Proud'' is a 2004 film directed by Mary Pat Kelly and stars veteran actor and activist

Ossie Davis Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He and his wife were named to the NAACP ...

, in his final film performance. The motion picture was filmed in Elmira NY and Buffalo, NY. The screenplay was written by Kelly based on her non-fiction book ''Proudly We Served'' (1999). ''Proud'' was an Official Selection of The Third Annual

Buffalo International Film Festival The Buffalo International Film Festival was founded in 2006, and takes place in October of each year in Buffalo, New York. It is also known as the Buffalo Film Festival. History The film festival became a 501c3 not-for-profit charity in January 2 ...

in 2009. Mary Pat Kelly and Lorenzo Dufau (last surviving crew member) introduced the screening.

Premise

The film focuses on the meritorious service of the USS Mason (DE-529) of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the first US Navy ship with a predominantly

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

crew, and how three of the men were finally honored in January 1994 for their meritorious service.

Cast

* Reggie Austin as Dubois *

Vernel Bagneris Vernel Martin Bagneris (born July 31, 1949) is an American playwright, actor, director, singer, and dancer. Early life Bagneris was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. He is the third child of Gloria Diaz Bagneris and Lawrence Bagneris, Sr. ...

as Larry's Father *

Marcus Chait Marcus E. Chait (born March 18, 1973) is an American film and television actor and producer. Early life Chait was born in Menlo Park, California on March 18, 1973. Career His television appearances include '' ER'', ''CSI: Miami'' and '' Termina ...

as Lieutenant Westin * Michael Ciesla as Yeoman Of The Flagship *

as Lorenzo DuFau * Eric LaRay Harvey as Kevin / James Graham *

Rashad Haughton Rashad Hasan Haughton (born August 6, 1977) is an American writer, film director and screenwriter. Haughton is the older brother of American singer and actress Aaliyah and nephew of Blackground Records founder Barry Hankerson. Early life Rashad ...

as Hank Fields *

Janet Hubert Janet Louise Hubert (born January 13, 1956) is an Americans, American film and television actress. She is best known for playing the role of the original Vivian Banks on the sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' from its first season in 1990 u ...

as Larry's Mother * Albert Jones as Larry / Young Lorenzo DuFau *

Kidada Jones Kidada Ann Jones ( ; born March 22, 1974) is an American actress, model, and fashion designer. Jones works as a designer for The Walt Disney Company, where she has a line known as Kidada for Disney Couture. Jones is the daughter of record produc ...

as Gordon's sister * Jeffrey Nash as Marcus / Gordon Buchanan *

Denise Nicholas Denise Donna Nicholas (born July 12, 1944) is an American actress, author, and social activist. Nicholas is known primarily for her roles as high-school guidance counselor Liz McIntyre on the ABC comedy-drama series ''Room 222'' and Councilwoma ...

as Gordon's Mother * Edward O'Blenis as Watkins *

Aidan Quinn Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an American actor who made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984). He has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), ''Stakeout'' (1987), ''Aval ...

as Commodore Alfred Lind *

Stephen Rea Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as ''V for Vendetta'', ''Michael Collins'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Award ...

as Barney Garvey *

Darnell Williams Darnell Williams (born 3 March 1955) is a British-born soap opera actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Jesse Hubbard on the ABC soap opera '' All My Children'' from 1981 to 1988, and from 2008 to 2011, a role which has earned him two Day ...

as Thomas Young, War Correspondent

Reception

Critical response

When the film was released Ronnie Scheib, film critic at ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine, gave the film a mixed review, writing, "A weird hodgepodge, ''Proud'' is part history lesson, part family saga, a lyrical nod to the Old Sod, a Navy recruitment flag-waver and a war actioner. Earnest, intermittently rousing pic, skedded for a fall opening, should coast on Davis' masterful performance before being archived by cable for suitable occasions...Pic's overall structure is determined both by Davis' narration and by the presence of black war correspondent Thomas Young (Darnell Williams), who was assigned to cover the Mason. His frequent to-the-camera interviews with sailors abstractly punctuate the film, creating a broader sociological framework...Aside from generally excellent combat scenes, pic is uneven. The bigoted animosity of a petty officer, for instance, or the Admiral's dismissal of the captain's praise of his crew's valor as exaggeration unfold with the leaden sententiousness of a grade-school pageant." Critic Marcia Davis with ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' wrote, "The high purpose of ''Proud'' is not matched by the film's execution, however. It's worth seeing, but don't go expecting a traditional Hollywood feature film. It is rather oddly executed and uneven, unlike the well-known and controversial '' Glory,'' which won

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

his first Oscar, or the brilliant ''

A Soldier's Story ''A Soldier's Story'' is a 1984 American mystery drama film directed and produced by Norman Jewison, adapted by Charles Fuller from his Pulitzer Prize-winning '' A Soldier's Play'', an adaptation of Herman Melville's novella '' Billy Budd''. It ...

,'' adapted from

Charles Fuller Charles H. Fuller Jr. (March 5, 1939 – October 3, 2022) was an American playwright, best known for his play ''A Soldier's Play'', for which he received the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2020 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Ea ...

's ''A Soldier's Play.'' ''Proud'' is something of a hybrid, part documentary -- with actual footage from the Mason -- and part dramatization. It is at times deeply poignant when it talks about the longing of black men to be treated as men and what they went through to prove their worthiness. It can also be a bit of an unrestrained flag-waver on black American patriotism."Davis, Marcia
''The Washington Post'', film review, September 23, 2005. Accessed: February 3, 2011.

Accolades

Nominated *

Black Reel Awards The Black Reel Awards, or BRAs, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) to recognize excellence of African Americans, as well as the cinematic achievements of the Afr ...

: Best Independent Film, Mary Pat Kelly; 2006.

Distribution

Film festivals * High Falls Film Festivals: November 11, 2004, Rochester, New York. *

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

: April 23, 2005, New York, New York. *

Lake Placid Film Festival The Lake Placid Film Festival is an annual Film Festival held in Lake Placid, New York. The Festival, previously known as the Lake Placid Film Forum, has played host to famous film personalities such as directors Paul Schrader and Martin Scorsese ...

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...

. * Urbanworld Film Festival: New York, New York. *

: Buffalo, New York

References

External links

* * * {{YouTube, pFn-629Q6w0, ''Proud'' film trailer 2004 films 2004 drama films 2000s war drama films American war drama films Films about race and ethnicity Films set in the 1940s World War II films based on actual events American World War II films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films