Mandingo
US poster for Mandingo
Directed by	Richard Fleischer
Produced by	Dino De Laurentiis
Written by	Kyle Onstott (book) Norman Wexler (screenplay)
Starring	James Mason Susan George Perry King Lillian Hayman Richard Ward Brenda Sykes Ken Norton
Music by	Maurice Jarre
Cinematography	Richard H. Kline
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	1975
Country	USA
Language	English
Followed by	Drum

Mandingo is a 1975 film, based on the novel Mandingo by Kyle Onstott. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and featured James Mason, Susan George, Perry King, Lillian Hayman, boxer-turned-actor Ken Norton, and bodybuilder and pro wrestler-turned-actor Earl Maynard.

Contents 1 Premise 2 Critique 3 DVD Release 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Premise

On Falconhurst, a run-down plantation owned by the widowed Warren Maxwell (James Mason) and his son Hammond (Perry King). A "Mandingo" slave, Mede (Ken Norton), is trained to fight other slaves. Hammond neglects his wife Blanche (Susan George), whom he rejects on their wedding night after discovering she was not a virgin. Hammond instead ravishes his slave Ellen (Brenda Sykes), while Blanche seduces Mede.

[edit] Critique

Upon its release in 1975, critical response was mixed although box office was strong.[1] Roger Ebert despised the film and gave it a "zero star" rating.^[1] The movie critic Robin Wood was enthusiatic about the film, calling it “the greatest film about race ever made in Hollywood”.^[2] Quentin Tarantino has cited Mandingo as one of only two instances "in the last twenty years [that] a major studio made a full-on, gigantic, big-budget exploitation movie", comparing it to Showgirls.^[3]

[edit] DVD Release

Paramount Pictures licensed the film to Legend Films for its first official DVD release. The DVD was released on June 3, 2008, in 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen version without any extras.

Some prominent critics hailed the release of the DVD, including the New York Times columnist Dave Kehr.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mandingo at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Films directed by Richard Fleischer 1940s Child of Divorce (1946) · Banjo (1947) · Bodyguard (1948) · The Clay Pigeon (1949) · Follow Me Quietly (1949) · Make Mine Laughs (1949) · Trapped (1949) 1950s Armored Car Robbery (1950) · The Narrow Margin (1952) · The Happy Time (1952) · Arena (1953) · 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) · Violent Saturday (1955) · The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955) · Bandido (1956) · Between Heaven and Hell (1956) · The Vikings (1958) · Compulsion (1959) · These Thousand Hills (1959) 1960s Crack in the Mirror (1960) · The Big Gamble (1961) · Barabbas (1961) · Fantastic Voyage (1966) · Doctor Dolittle (1967) · The Boston Strangler (1968) · Che! (1969) 1970s Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) · 10 Rillington Place (1971) · The Last Run (1971) · See No Evil (1971) · The New Centurions (1972) · Soylent Green (1973) · The Don Is Dead (1973) · The Spikes Gang (1974) · Mr. Majestyk (1974) · Mandingo (1975) · The Incredible Sarah (1976) · Crossed Swords (1977) · Ashanti (1979) 1980s The Jazz Singer (1980) · Tough Enough (1983) · Amityville 3-D (1983) · Conan the Destroyer (1984) · Red Sonja (1985) · Million Dollar Mystery (1987)