Memorable, crazy movie

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Can see why this movie get's people worked up, because the performances are so over the top, mostly in a good way though. Poitier and Sands are outstanding. Interesting to note that Diana Sands and Ivan Dixon were reunited in a fair last season episode of 'The Fugitive' in 'Dossier On a Diplomat'. My big problem is with the story. I can't get passed the fact of Walter being so reckless with all that money. I mean come on. To just hand over $6,500 in early '60's cash, to a guy to go out of town to "spread some money around" in order to get a licence and go in three ways on a liquor store ? Without going there with him ? Sorry, I don't "buy" that either.

A RAISIN IN THE SUN gives us the happy accident of the complete original Broadway cast delivering the very performances that made the stage play so memorable. This is a masterpiece.Chicago's South side, 1961. We are introduced to the Younger family: Lena (Claudia McNeil), the matriarch, her son Walter Lee (Poitier), his wife Ruth (Dee) and their son Travis (Stephen Perry). Also crammed into the tiny apartment is Walter Lee's sister Beneatha (Sands).The family has been crammed into their small apartment for as long as Walter Lee has been alive. As a result, he is a young man with big dreams. As the play opens, the family is waiting on an insurance check for $10,000.00 left by Walter's father. There is some conflict about the money: Beneatha considers the windfall to be her mother's property, a position that Walter Lee does not exactly share. He has dreams, as we noted before, and one of these dreams is opening a liquor store. The problems with this idea are: 1) Mama is not happy about the idea; and 2) Walter Lee has teamed up and placed his trust in a couple of shady characters.Mama decides to take matters into her all too capable hands: she goes out and comes back to announce that she has put down a down payment on a house for the family.Everyone is thrilled except for Walter, who feels betrayed by his mother and resents her lack of trust in him. Unfortunately, Mama turns out to be right. Walter takes the rest of the money and gives it to one of his associates, who skips town and leaves him stunned, grieving, and penniless. Walter now must face his mother with what he has done, in a climactic and almost violent scene that takes the breath away.Meantime, a fly has found its way into Mama's ointment: a White man named Lindner (John Fiedler) from the Clybourne Park Improvement Association (Clybourne Park being the White neighborhood in which Mama purchased the house). Lindner comes armed with a check for more money than Mama has paid for the house, the motive being to keep the Black family out of their lily White enclave.At the climax of the play it falls to Walter Lee to inform Lindner that they intend to occupy the home. It is one of the most powerful scenes ever put on film. Lindner attempts to "reason with" Mrs Younger but she won't have it; her son is now the head of the family.And as the play winds down, the family packs their things and heads out for their new home. Mama picks up a plant that has come to symbolize the family's struggles, and she, perhaps appropriately, is the last to leave.It's a brilliant film, with brilliant performances and a carefully crafted script. Unforgettable.

A powerhouse ensemble cast is the primary selling point of the 1961 version of A Raisin in the Sun.This is the first film version of the play by Lorraine Hansberry that centers on the Younger clan, a black family living in a cramped Chicago tenement whose lives are about to be altered because of a financial windfall. Lena Younger (Claudia McNeil) is the strong, God-fearing matriarch of the family who is patiently awaiting the arrival of a $10,000 insurance check she is receiving because of the death of her husband. Walter Lee Younger (Sidney Poitier) is Lena's son, a chauffeur who wants to change his life by getting his mother to give him the money so that he can invest it in part ownership of a liquor store. Ruth Younger (Ruby Dee) is Walter Lee's level-headed wife and family referee, who has just learned she is pregnant with her second child; Beneatha Younger (Diana Sands), Walter Lee's sister, is a radical-thinking college student, , who wants to be a doctor someday and torn between her comfortable relationship with George (Louis Gossett) and an African student (Ivan Dixon) who is turning Beneatha's head by exposing her to her African heritage.This film sizzles primarily due to the conflict created between Lena and Walter Lee from Lena's belief that liquor is just a tool of the devil and Walter Lee's belief that his father would have wanted him to use the money to be more than a chauffeur and be the captain of his own destiny.As expected, a 1961 film with an all-black cast was filmed on a shoestring budget, but the powerhouse performances make this film appointment viewing. Next to To Sir with Love, this is my favorite Poitier performance...he is intense and riveting despite the fact that Poitier's screen persona is so much more intelligent than the character he is playing and yet he doesn't make a single false or affected move on screen. McNeil, Dee, and Sands provide solid support to Poitier, who completely dominates this film, but they never allow Poitier to blow them off the screen either. Loved Gossett as Beneatha's tight-ass fiancée too.The film works due to a compelling story and a charismatic performance from Poitier that makes this film still watchable after all these years. This film was remade for television twice with Danny Glover and Sean "Puffy" Combs taking over Poitier's role. It was also turned into a Broadway musical during the 1980's called Raisin.

I remember watching this in high school, but never really grasping it to the fullest extent. Watching it again after I've gained some life experience, and it's absolutely heart-wrenching to watch, knowing that this is something that still takes place in 2013. It really saddens me to know that we haven't evolved too far past 1961, in terms of socio-economics, racism, and even in terms of religion. One of the most touching parts of the movie for me personally, was when Beneatha tells her mother that she doesn't believe in god, and her mother's reaction. I hope that when my kids are in their 40's, they can look back at this movie and say that things have changed.