Native Son

Directed by Pierre Chenal

Year: 1951

Country: Argentina

Language: English

English Closed Captions

One of the most controversial novels of its day, Richard Wright's Native Son (first published in 1940) exposed the injustices of urban African-American life, witnessed through the eyes of Bigger Thomas, whose violent tendencies and moral confusion were the natural result of a lifetime of deprivation. In prison for murder and sentenced to death, Thomas reflects on the circumstances that led to his fate.

Kino Lorber presents a new restoration of the 1951 film version of the novel, directed by Pierre Chenal and starring Richard Wright as Bigger Thomas. It is presented in association with the Library of Congress, Fernando Martin Peña and Argentina Sono Film. Special thanks to Edgardo Krebs for his years of research into the making of Native Son, and for being a tireless champion of its restoration and re-release.

The film is preceded by a special introduction by film historians Eddie Muller (Film Noir Foundation) and Jacqueline Najima Stewart (co-curator of Kino Lorber's Pioneers of African-American Cinema collection), courtesy of Turner Classic Movies.

About the Restoration:
When it was initially released in the U.S., NATIVE SON was heavily censored by regional state/municipal censor boards where it played. A complete 16mm print of the original Argentinian release and an incomplete 35mm duplicate negative of the uncensored cut were combined for the current restoration, the most complete version of NATIVE SON ever shown in the United States.

Cast

Richard Wright
Jean Wallace
Gloria Madison
Nicholas Joy

Venue	City	State	Screening Options
AFI Silver	Silver Spring	MD	Virtual Cinema
All Saints Cinema - Tallahassee Film Society	Tallahassee	FL	Virtual Cinema
Ambler Theater	Ambler	PA	Virtual Cinema
Arena Theater	Point Arena	CA	Virtual Cinema
Austin Film Society	Austin	TX	Virtual Cinema
Balboa Theatre	San Francisco	CA	Virtual Cinema
BAM Rose Cinemas	Brooklyn	NY	Virtual Cinema
Belcourt Theatre	Nashville	TN	Virtual Cinema
Brattle Theatre	Cambridge	MA	Virtual Cinema
Bryn Mawr Film Institute	Bryn Mawr	PA	Virtual Cinema
Cinema 21	Portland	OR	Virtual Cinema
Cinema Detroit	Detroit	MI	Virtual Cinema
Cinestudio	Hartford	CT	Virtual Cinema
City Lights Cinemas	Florence	OR	Virtual Cinema
Cleveland Cinematheque	Cleveland	OH	Virtual Cinema
Coral Gables Art Cinema	Coral Gables	FL	Virtual Cinema
Countryfest Community Cinema	Dauphin	MB	Virtual Cinema
County Theater	Doylestown	PA	Virtual Cinema
Crandell Theatre	Chatham	NY	Virtual Cinema
Denver Film / Sie FilmCenter	Denver	CO	Virtual Cinema
Detroit Institute of Arts	Detroit	MI	Virtual Cinema
Downing Film Center	Newburgh	NY	Virtual Cinema
Film Society of Summit	Summit	NJ	Virtual Cinema
Film Society of Summit	Summit	NJ	Virtual Cinema
Fine Arts Theatre	Asheville	NC	Virtual Cinema
Fine Arts Theatres	Overland Park	KS	Virtual Cinema
Guild Cinema	Albuquerque	NM	Virtual Cinema
Hiway Theater	Jenkintown	PA	Virtual Cinema
International Film Series	Boulder	CO	Virtual Cinema
Jean Cocteau Cinema	Santa Fe	NM	Virtual Cinema
Laemmle Theatres	Los Angeles	CA	Virtual Cinema
Lincoln Theatre	Mount Vernon	WA	Virtual Cinema
Lumiere Cinema	Los Angeles	CA	Virtual Cinema
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston	Houston	TX	Virtual Cinema
Museum of the Moving Image	Astoria	NY	Virtual Cinema
North Park Theatre	Buffalo	NY	Virtual Cinema
Olympia Film Society	Olympia	WA	Virtual Cinema
Oxford Film Festival	Oxford	MS	Virtual Cinema
Pickford Film Center	Bellingham	WA	Virtual Cinema
Plaza Cinema & Media Arts Center	Patchogue	NY	Virtual Cinema
Plaza Theatre	Atlanta	GA	Virtual Cinema
Princeton Garden Theatre	Princeton	NJ	Virtual Cinema
Red River Theatres	Concord	NH	Virtual Cinema
Row House Cinema	Pittsburgh	PA	Virtual Cinema
Sag Harbor Cinema	Sag Harbor	NY	Virtual Cinema
SIFF Film Center	Seattle	WA	Virtual Cinema
Symphony Space	New York	NY	Virtual Cinema
The Carolina Theatre of Durham	Durham	NC	Virtual Cinema
The Cinematheque	Vancouver	BC	Virtual Cinema
The Grand Berry Theater	Fort Worth	TX	Virtual Cinema
The Loft Cinema	Tucson	AZ	Virtual Cinema
Time & Space Limited	Hudson	NY	Virtual Cinema
United Theatre	Westerly	RI	Virtual Cinema
UW-Madison Cinematheque	Madison	WI	Virtual Cinema
Winnipeg Cinematheque	Winnipeg	MB	Virtual Cinema
Zeitgeist Theatre	Arabi	LA	Virtual Cinema

Native Son

Directed by Pierre Chenal

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Native Son

Directed by Pierre Chenal

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