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      Song of Freedom

      1936 1h 20m Drama List
      50% 6 Reviews Tomatometer 44% 50+ Ratings Audience Score After being discovered by prominent composer Gabriel Donozetti (Esme Percy), black laborer John Zinga (Paul Robeson) rises to international stardom as an opera singer in spite of widespread racism. Feeling uneasy, however, in a racially divided society, Zinga turns down a prestigious New York singing contract and instead journeys to his ancestral African homeland. When Zinga is met as an outsider even there, he must struggle for acceptance among the aboriginals from which he descended. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      John Kinloch California Eagle In an abstract way, you want to shout, "Great work! Great courage! Keep up the good spirit, old thing!" and suchlike. But the picture doesn't jell. Oct 31, 2019 Full Review Ann Ross Maclean's Magazine Mr. Robeson sings superbly, but the picture is slow and unconvincing. Oct 9, 2019 Full Review MFB Critics Monthly Film Bulletin The story is unusual and well thought out Mar 3, 2019 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Aug 11, 2005 Full Review Steve Crum Kansas City Kansan Robeson is THE reason to see it Rated: 4/5 Oct 19, 2004 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews It's worth seeing just to hear Robeson sing. Rated: C+ Apr 9, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Wonderful story. Wonderful movie. Wonderful acting. A must see. Let’s do our utmost to eradicate human slavery & most importantly child sex trafficking. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Poor script, not very well acted. Trying to decide who exploited who Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Frances H A film for those who love old movies, not only as a source of entertainment, but as a view of the society values of the time that they were made. The entertainment factor comes from the great Paul Robeson and the society values are shown in in the way that John Zinga assumes automatically that the religious beliefs of the Casangas are merely superstitions and that in bringing the wonders of industrial society to his people, he is improving their lives. That this film was made in Great Britain is not surprising, since this belief was the excuse the British had used in their colonization of their vast Empire the century before, and was the same the US used in wiping out the Native Americans. All films are a product of their times--The Birth of A Nation, the first feature length film, had the Klu Klux Klan as the heroes. What makes Robeson's role here somewhat ironic is that he was blacklisted by the McCarthy Committee for being a Communist, and here he claims to be a king. A very interesting film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/09/13 Full Review Audience Member "Robeson reminds me of a James Earl Jones of the early 1900's, very similar in tone and stature, and with a very entertaining singing voice which saves Song of Freedom from being a overly corn syrup type of a film." Full review at: http://www.commonsensemoviereviews.com/2010/11/song-of-freedom-1936.html Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Song of Freedom

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis After being discovered by prominent composer Gabriel Donozetti (Esme Percy), black laborer John Zinga (Paul Robeson) rises to international stardom as an opera singer in spite of widespread racism. Feeling uneasy, however, in a racially divided society, Zinga turns down a prestigious New York singing contract and instead journeys to his ancestral African homeland. When Zinga is met as an outsider even there, he must struggle for acceptance among the aboriginals from which he descended.
      Director
      J. Elder Wills
      Screenwriter
      Claude Wallace, Dorothy Holloway, Ingram D'Abbes, Fenn Sherie, Michael Barringer
      Production Co
      Hammer Films
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Dec 9, 2016
      Runtime
      1h 20m
      Sound Mix
      Mono
      Aspect Ratio
      35mm