Black Wax

0 Reviews

In this refreshing and innovative early ‘80s portrait of the African American musician-activist Gil Scott-Heron, veteran music documentarian Robert Mugge skillfully unveils the piercing intelligence and musical talents of the seminal urban performer. Unfolding like a stream-of-consciousness journey, the film effortlessly connects Scott-Heron’s politically barbed ideas with his music. Whether speaking to the camera or his concert audience, he always comes across as a charismatic, witty figure, with incisive political observations. Listen to the commentary; then stay for the great music of the venerable “bluesologist”—whose tight jazzy funk forms the backbone of this highly listenable and illuminating snapshot of the man and his times.

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Release Date:	Jan 12, 1983
Running Time:	79 minutes
Country:	United States
Language:	English

synopsis

This music-driven portrait of Gil Scott-Heron, the African-American poet-singer-songwriter, introduces viewers to the acclaimed performer in and around his Washington D.C. environs in the 1980s. As he wanders past national monuments and rundown ghettos, he cracks wise about politics and prejudice in America—it’s no wonder he was called one of the forefathers of rap. We also see him onstage, mixing his patented spoken-word-like social commentary with jazzy musical numbers. The film also playfully captures Scott-Heron inside a wax museum—hence the film’s title—which offers him the chance to take stabs at a range of famous conservative political figures, from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan.