Panther (film)
Encyclopedia
Panther is a 1995 film directed by Mario Van Peebles
, from a screenplay adapted by his father, Melvin Van Peebles
, based on his book. The film dramatizes the story of The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense
. Actress Angela Bassett
also appears in this movie as Betty Shabazz
, a role she also played in the Spike Lee
film Malcolm X
.
. It peaked at 37 on the Billboard 200
and 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
and was certified gold on July 25, 1995. Featured on the soundtrack was the single "Freedom (Theme from Panther)", a collaboration between over 60 female R&B singers and rappers that peaked at 45 on the Billboard Hot 100
.
Mario Van Peebles
Mario "Chip" Cain Van Peebles is an American director and actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films. He is son of filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles.-Life and career:...
, from a screenplay adapted by his father, Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin "Block" Van Peebles is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer.He is most famous for creating the acclaimed film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which heralded a new era of African American focused films...
, based on his book. The film dramatizes the story of The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
. Actress Angela Bassett
Angela Bassett
Angela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress. She has become well known for her biographical film roles portraying real life women in African American culture, including singer Tina Turner in the motion picture What's Love Got to Do with It, as well as Betty Shabazz in the films Malcolm X and...
also appears in this movie as Betty Shabazz
Betty Shabazz
Betty Shabazz , born Betty Dean Sanders and also known as Betty X, was an American educator and civil rights advocate. She was the wife of Malcolm X....
, a role she also played in the Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
film Malcolm X
Malcolm X (film)
Malcolm X is a 1992 biographical motion picture about the Muslim-American figure Malcolm X . It was co-written, co-produced, and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Denzel Washington as the titular character. It co-stars Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman, Jr., and Delroy Lindo...
.
Cast
- Kadeem HardisonKadeem HardisonKadeem Hardison is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dwayne Wayne on A Different World, a spin-off of the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show.-Childhood:...
as Judge - Wesley JonathanWesley JonathanWesley Jonathan Waples , known professionally as Wesley Jonathan, is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Jamal Grant on the NBC Saturday morning dramedy series City Guys, the dim-witted Gary Thorpe on The WB sitcom What I Like About You, and as Sweetness in the 2005 film,...
as Little Bobby Hutton - Bokeem WoodbineBokeem WoodbineBokeem Woodbine is an American film and television actor.-Personal life:Woodbine was born in Harlem, New York to an actress mother. He attended the prestigious Dalton School in New York before transferring to the also prestigious LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in the city...
as Tyrone - Joe Don BakerJoe Don BakerJoe Don Baker is an American film actor, perhaps best known for his roles as a Mafia hitman in Charley Varrick, deputy sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III in Final Justice, real-life Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall, brute force with a badge detective Mitchell in Mitchell, James...
as Brimmer - M. Emmet WalshM. Emmet WalshMichael Emmet Walsh is an American actor who has appeared in over 100 film and television productions.-Life and career:Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of Agnes Kathrine and Harry Maurice Walsh, Sr., a customs agent...
as Dorsett - Courtney B. VanceCourtney B. VanceCourtney Bernard Vance is an American actor. He was formerly a regular on the NBC/USA television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver. He was also a series regular on the ABC series FlashForward. As of 2011, he appears on the TNT series The Closer as Chief...
as Bobby SealeBobby SealeRobert George "Bobby" Seale , is an activist. He is known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with Huey Newton.-Early life:... - Tyrin TurnerTyrin TurnerTyrin Turner is an American actor who has appeared in movies since 1989. Turner is best known for playing the main character, Caine "Kaydee" Lawson, in the 1993 film Menace II Society. He also has made guest appearances on television shows such as Chicago Hope and Hangin' with Mr...
as Cy - Marcus ChongMarcus ChongMarcus Chong is an American actor most noted for his role as Tank in the science fiction film The Matrix....
as Huey P. NewtonHuey P. NewtonHuey Percy Newton was an American political and urban activist who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.-Early life:... - Anthony Griffith as Eldridge CleaverEldridge CleaverLeroy Eldridge Cleaver better known as Eldridge Cleaver, was a leading member of the Black Panther Party and a writer...
- Chris RockChris RockChristopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
as Yuck Mouth - Mario Van PeeblesMario Van PeeblesMario "Chip" Cain Van Peebles is an American director and actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films. He is son of filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles.-Life and career:...
as Stokely CarmichaelStokely CarmichaelKwame Ture , also known as Stokely Carmichael, was a Trinidadian-American black activist active in the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. He rose to prominence first as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later as the "Honorary Prime Minister" of the Black Panther Party... - Chris TuckerChris TuckerChristopher "Chris" Tucker is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing the role of Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour film series.-Early life:...
as Bodyguard - Bobby BrownBobby BrownRobert Barisford "Bobby" Brown is an American R&B singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, and dancer. After success in pop group New Edition, Brown began his solo career in 1987 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, culminating in a Grammy Award. He was a pioneer of New Jack Swing music, a...
as Rose - Angela BassettAngela BassettAngela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress. She has become well known for her biographical film roles portraying real life women in African American culture, including singer Tina Turner in the motion picture What's Love Got to Do with It, as well as Betty Shabazz in the films Malcolm X and...
as Betty ShabazzBetty ShabazzBetty Shabazz , born Betty Dean Sanders and also known as Betty X, was an American educator and civil rights advocate. She was the wife of Malcolm X.... - Jenifer LewisJenifer LewisJenifer Jeanette Lewis is an American film and television actress and singer.-Early life:Lewis was born in Kinloch, Missouri, to a nurse's aid mother and a factory worker father. She attended college at Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri...
as Rita - Anthony JohnsonAnthony JohnsonAnthony Johnson is the name of:* Anthony Johnson , American film actor* Anthony Johnson , a freedman of African descent in early Virginia* Anthony Johnson , NFL running back...
as Sabu - Dick GregoryDick GregoryRichard Claxton "Dick" Gregory is an American comedian, social activist, social critic, writer, and entrepreneur....
as Reverend Slocum - Kool Moe DeeKool Moe DeeMohandas Dewese , better known as Kool Moe Dee, is an American Hip Hop MC prominent in the late 1970s through the early 1990s. He was born in Manhattan, New York...
as Jamaal - Lahmard TateLahmard TateLahmard J. Tate aka Cuba Jr. is an American actor and is the older brother of famed actor Larenz Tate.Lahmard Tate is famously known for his roles in Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood as Ashtray's father and Sabretooth as Leon.Another famous role was in...
as Gene McKinney - Roger Guenveur SmithRoger Guenveur SmithRoger Guenveur Smith is an American actor, director, and writer.-Early life:Smith was born in Berkeley, California, the son of Helen Guenveur, a dentist, and Sherman Smith, a judge...
as Pruitt - Richard DysartRichard DysartRichard A. Dysart is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Leland McKenzie on the NBC legal drama L.A. Law....
as J. Edgar HooverJ. Edgar HooverJohn Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972... - James RussoJames RussoJames Vincent Russo is an American film and television actor. He has starred in over 90 films in three decades.-Early life:...
as Rodgers - Nefertiti as Alma
- Wesley JonathanWesley JonathanWesley Jonathan Waples , known professionally as Wesley Jonathan, is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Jamal Grant on the NBC Saturday morning dramedy series City Guys, the dim-witted Gary Thorpe on The WB sitcom What I Like About You, and as Sweetness in the 2005 film,...
as Bobby Hutton - Jeris PoindexterJeris Lee PoindexterJeris Lee Poindexter is an African American actor. He is known for his role as Kill Moves on Everybody Hates Chris.-Biography:Poindexter was known in "Everybody Hates Chris" for 4 years, playing the homeless man "Kill Moves".-Selected filmography:...
as Black Cop - Melvin Van PeeblesMelvin Van PeeblesMelvin "Block" Van Peebles is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer.He is most famous for creating the acclaimed film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which heralded a new era of African American focused films...
as Old Jail Bird
Soundtrack
A soundtrack containing R&B and hip hop music was released on May 2, 1995 by Mercury RecordsMercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
. It peaked at 37 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
and was certified gold on July 25, 1995. Featured on the soundtrack was the single "Freedom (Theme from Panther)", a collaboration between over 60 female R&B singers and rappers that peaked at 45 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
Awards
- Locarno International Film FestivalLocarno International Film FestivalThe Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
- Prize of the EcumenicalEcumenismEcumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
Jury - Special Mention: Silver Leopard