The Piano Lesson (1995) [VHS]
starring: Charles S. Dutton, Alfre Woodard, Carl Gordon, Tommy Hollis, Lou Myers
directed by: Lloyd Richards (II)
directed by: Lloyd Richards (II)
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The only one of August Wilson's plays to be filmed (and for television, at that), this 1990 Pulitzer Prize-winner is an amazing piece of work. Adapted by Wilson and directed by Lloyd Richards, who staged it on Broadway, the play deals not just with racism and its effects but with the ongoing legacy and curse of slavery on modern blacks. Set in 1920s Pittsburgh, the story deals with the arrival of Boy Willie (Charles Dutton) from Mississippi, to claim a family heirloom from his sister Berniece (Alfre Woodard): the piano, carved by their ancestors with symbols of slavery. He wants to sell it to buy the land his grandfather worked as a slave; Berniece refuses to give it up because it represents a horrifying episode from the family's past. Add in ghosts, superb performances, and Wilson's poetically charged writing, and you have a startlingly solid piece of theater that works well as a film. --Marshall Fine
The only one of August Wilson's plays to be filmed (and for television, at that), this 1990 Pulitzer Prize-winner is an amazing piece of work. Adapted by Wilson and directed by Lloyd Richards, who staged it on Broadway, the play deals not just with racism and its effects but with the ongoing legacy and curse of slavery on modern blacks. Set in 1920s Pittsburgh, the story deals with the arrival of Boy Willie (Charles Dutton) from Mississippi, to claim a family heirloom from his sister Berniece (Alfre Woodard): the piano, carved by their ancestors with symbols of slavery. He wants to sell it to buy the land his grandfather worked as a slave; Berniece refuses to give it up because it represents a horrifying episode from the family's past. Add in ghosts, superb performances, and Wilson's poetically charged writing, and you have a startlingly solid piece of theater that works well as a film. --Marshall Fine
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- The Piano Lesson
This dvd was very entertaining and inspiring.The actors chosen to portray the characters are all first rate.I would recommend this dvd for viewing by all segments of the viewing audience.
Rating: - The Piano Lesson
Great movie.Brought back memories from back when it was first released.Great cast as well, wonderful group of actors.
Rating: - Learn Your Lesson
August Wilson's 'The Piano Player' with Charles Dutton and Alfre Woodard is such an engrossing play. This screen adaption brings you into there lives and makes you feel for every one in the movie. The writing 'superb'. The acting 'superb'. And the supporting cast is so top notch, you have to watch it more than once just to see all the scene stealers. This is a group that can send a complete message with just the raising of an eye, the shrugging of a shoulder, or the shaking of a head. You know what ... Read More
Rating: - "As long as Sutters had thatpiano, they had us as slaves."
Winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, August Wilson's lively domestic drama focuses on a black family in the 1930s and their piano, which dominates the living room of Doaker Charles and his niece Berniece in Pittsburgh.The piano is adorned with the faces of their slave ancestors, carved by a distant relation who was owned by the Sutter family in Mississippi before Emancipation. Berniece's brother Boy Willie, recently released from a prison farm, has come to Pittsburgh from Mississippi with ... Read More
Rating: - A battle between the historic past and dreams for the future
If you are seriously into dramatic theatre plays, you may agree that re-creations made for movies or televisions are often substandard to the book!In this case, the re-creation was geared toward television/movie quality rather than a reproduction of a stage theatre performance.
And if you are familiar with the works of August Wilson, you will recognize that to adher to the vernacular- spoken language of a region - is critical to the element of his works. In this DVD movie, the ... Read More
- The Piano LessonThis dvd was very entertaining and inspiring.The actors chosen to portray the characters are all first rate.I would recommend this dvd for viewing by all segments of the viewing audience.
- The Piano LessonGreat movie.Brought back memories from back when it was first released.Great cast as well, wonderful group of actors.
- Learn Your LessonAugust Wilson's 'The Piano Player' with Charles Dutton and Alfre Woodard is such an engrossing play. This screen adaption brings you into there lives and makes you feel for every one in the movie. The writing 'superb'. The acting 'superb'. And the supporting cast is so top notch, you have to watch it more than once just to see all the scene stealers. This is a group that can send a complete message with just the raising of an eye, the shrugging of a shoulder, or the shaking of a head. You know what ... Read More
- "As long as Sutters had thatpiano, they had us as slaves."Winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, August Wilson's lively domestic drama focuses on a black family in the 1930s and their piano, which dominates the living room of Doaker Charles and his niece Berniece in Pittsburgh.The piano is adorned with the faces of their slave ancestors, carved by a distant relation who was owned by the Sutter family in Mississippi before Emancipation. Berniece's brother Boy Willie, recently released from a prison farm, has come to Pittsburgh from Mississippi with ... Read More
- A battle between the historic past and dreams for the futureIf you are seriously into dramatic theatre plays, you may agree that re-creations made for movies or televisions are often substandard to the book!In this case, the re-creation was geared toward television/movie quality rather than a reproduction of a stage theatre performance.
And if you are familiar with the works of August Wilson, you will recognize that to adher to the vernacular- spoken language of a region - is critical to the element of his works. In this DVD movie, the ... Read More
