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Melvin Van Peebles is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter, Producer, Editor and Sound American born on 21 august 1932 at Chicago (USA)

Melvin Van Peebles

Melvin Van Peebles
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Nationality USA
Birth 21 august 1932 at Chicago (USA)
Death 21 september 2021 (at 89 years)

Melvin "Block" Van Peebles (born August 21, 1932) 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. He is the father of actor and director Mario Van Peebles.

Biography

Van Peebles est né Melvin Peebles à Chicago dans l'Illinois (États-Unis).

Il rejoint l'Air Force treize jours après avoir terminé l'école secondaire, et y reste trois ans et demi.

Il vit à Mexico peu de temps, gagnant sa vie en peignant des portraits, avant de revenir aux États-Unis, où il commence à conduire des tramways à San Francisco. Ses premiers écrits parlent de cette expérience de conducteur de tramway. Ce qui au départ est un petit article et quelques photographies devient le premier livre de Van Peebles, The Big Heart.

Un jour, un passant suggère à Van Peebles de devenir réalisateur. Il tourne son premier court métrage, Pickup Men for Herrick en 1957. Il réalise deux autres films dans la même période.

Après avoir terminé ses premiers courts, il part à Hollywood pour chercher du travail, mais ne parvient pas à trouver quelqu'un désireux de l'engager comme réalisateur. À New York, Melvin rencontre un homme qui a vu ses films, qui les a adorés et veut les projeter en France. Il s'expatrie donc outre-atlantique. En France, Van Peebles apprend la langue et est embauché pour traduire le magazine Mad en français. Il collabore également au magazine Hara-Kiri. Il commence à écrire des pièces de théâtre en français, utilisant le sprechgesang (parlé chanté) venant de l'écriture musicale, quand les mots sont parlés sur la musique. Cela l'amène à réaliser son premier disque, Brer Soul.

Avant d'entrer à Hollywood, Van Peebles réalise un film en France, La Permission, dont le synopsis est le suivant : la rencontre à Paris entre un Noir, militaire, et une jeune française (jouée par l'actrice française Nicole Berger, par ailleurs décédée accidentellement peu après le tournage), puis à son retour de permission, le GI est consigné, et sa promotion suspendue. Le film est primé à San Francisco en 1968.

Son premier film à Hollywood est Watermelon Man, une comédie écrite par Herman Raucher. Le film raconte l'histoire d'un raciste ordinaire, blanc, qui se réveille dans la peau d'un noir et se trouve rejeté par ses amis, ses collègues et sa famille. En 1970, Van Peebles tourne un documentaire sur le Powder Ridge Rock Festival, interdit par la justice.

Van Peebles écrit et dirige ensuite son film le plus connu, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. En 2004, son fils Mario réalise un documentaire pour expliquer la genèse de ce film. Sweet Sweetback rencontre un succès énorme et marque le début de la Blaxploitation, l'émergence d'un mouvement cinématographique fait par et pour les Noirs.

Usually with

John Amos
John Amos
(1 films)
Mabel King
Mabel King
(1 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Melvin Van Peebles (38 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Peeples
Peeples (2013)
, 1h35
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Kerry Washington, Craig Robinson, David Alan Grier, Sharon Epatha Merkerson, Diahann Carroll, Tyler James Williams
Roles Grandpa Peeples
Rating54% 2.7020352.7020352.7020352.7020352.702035
Tyler Perry Presents Peeples centers around the Peeples, an affluent East Coast family celebrating their annual reunion for Moby Dick Day – a Peeples family tradition at Sag Harbor in the Hamptons. Their weekend is interrupted when Wade Walker (Robinson), the fiance of their daughter Grace (Washington) crashes to propose marriage after being goaded by his brother Chris. Upon arrival he loses his wallet while being chased by the family dog. While at the grocery store Wade notices Virgil (David Allen Grier), Grace's father and a judge having a conversation with an unidentified woman, who is later revealed to be the mayor of the town, as well as a conversation between Gloria (Hawk), Grace's Sister and her lover Meg;(Lewis-Davis) unknown to the family. As the time goes on, Wade begins to learn other things about Grace, such as her older ex-boyfriends, and the fact that she has breast implants. Wade also discovers that Grace's mother Daphne (S. Epatha Merkerson), was a professional singer during the 70's, as well as a recovering alcoholic.
Redemption Road, 1h35
Directed by Mario Van Peebles
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Michael Clarke Duncan, Luke Perry, Tom Skerritt, Taryn Manning, Lee Perkins, Kiele Sanchez
Roles Elmo
Rating56% 2.8025852.8025852.8025852.8025852.802585
In Tennessee, Bailey, a debt-straddled blues guitarist, is escorted across the state by a man named Augy so that he can collect his recently deceased grandfather's estate.
Blackout
Blackout (2008)
, 1h25
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Horror
Actors Amber Tamblyn, Jeffrey Wright, Aidan Gillen, Zoe Saldana, Armie Hammer, Melvin Van Peebles
Rating50% 2.5065252.5065252.5065252.5065252.506525
Three strangers (two men and a woman) are riding in an elevator when a power outage leaves them stranded. The situation becomes unbearable when they find out one of them is a deranged killer. With hours before the power comes back on, the other two must find a way out.
Hard Luck
Hard Luck (2006)
, 1h41
Directed by Mario Van Peebles
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Adventure, Crime
Themes Serial killer films, Gangster films
Actors Wesley Snipes, Cybill Shepherd, Mario Van Peebles, James Hiroyuki Liao, Luis Guzmán, Kevin Thoms
Roles Hospital Prophet
Rating52% 2.6066052.6066052.6066052.6066052.606605
As the film begins. A former criminal and drug dealer Lucky (Wesley Snipes) was released from prison and tries to lead a respectable life despite his troubled past. However, Lucky once or twice reflects on the wisdom of his grandfather who supposedly told him "sometimes without bad luck, it would seem you don't have any luck at all." Shortly after his release from prison, Lucky tries to get back on his feet but inexplicably ends up a victim of Hurricane Katrina's wrath, and loses his newly found life.
The Hebrew Hammer, 1h25
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action
Themes Films about music and musicians, Christmas films, Films about religion, Musical films, Films about Jews and Judaism
Actors Adam Goldberg, Judy Greer, Grant Rosenmeyer, Mario Van Peebles, Peter Coyote, Andrew Roane Dick
Roles Sweetback
Rating60% 3.0467853.0467853.0467853.0467853.046785
The film begins with a flashback to a young Mordechai Jefferson Carver. At school, Mordechai is tormented by his fellow students and his teacher for being a Jewish child in a public school predominantly attended by Christians, and for celebrating Hanukkah while everyone else celebrates Christmas. He feels further alienated as he walks through his neighborhood and sees a seemingly endless number of Christmas decorations and window displays celebrating the holiday and announcing that Jews aren't welcome. As he lies down on the sidewalk in front of a store saying "Jews Welcome (for about 5 minutes)" and spins his dreidel to cheer himself up, Santa Claus walks by and crushes the toy under his foot, then gives Mordechai the finger.
BaadAsssss Cinema, 1h
Directed by Isaac Julien
Origin USA
Genres Documentary, Action
Themes Documentary films about business, Documentary films about the film industry
Actors Samuel L. Jackson, Larry Cohen, Pam Grier, Tamara Dobson, Quentin Tarantino, Isaac Hayes
Roles Self
Rating68% 3.4326553.4326553.4326553.4326553.432655
With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than a complete record. It features interviews with some of the genre's biggest stars, like Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, and Richard Roundtree. Director Melvin Van Peebles discusses the historical importance of his landmark film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. For a contemporary perspective, the excitable Quentin Tarantino offers his spirited commentary and author/critic bell hooks provides some scholarly social analysis.
Antilles sur Seine
Directed by Pascal Légitimus
Origin France
Genres Comedy, Comedy thriller, Crime
Actors Chantal Lauby, Pascal Légitimus, Med Hondo, Pierre-Olivier Mornas, Thierry Desroses, Greg Germain
Roles l'Américain à la soirée
Rating39% 1.997671.997671.997671.997671.99767
Horace, maire de Marie-Galante, refuse de céder des terrains de sa commune convoités par une redoutable femme d’affaires qui veut construire un immense complexe immobilier. Conséquence : Lucia, l’épouse d’Horace, est kidnappée lors d’un séjour à Paris. Horace et ses deux fils partent dans la capitale pour la retrouver. Ils vont faire appel au commandant Herman, chargée de l’enquête, et à toute la communauté antillaise pour arrêter les méchants.
Love Kills
Love Kills (1999)
, 1h31
Directed by Mario Van Peebles
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Romance
Actors Mario Van Peebles, Lesley Ann Warren, Donovan Leitch, Loretta Devine, Louise Fletcher, Daniel Baldwin
Roles Able
Rating38% 1.939771.939771.939771.939771.93977
A masseur gets mixed up in the family plots at the mansion of a recently deceased Beverly Hills millionaire.