Very well executed

best movie i've ever seen.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Sapphire is a British crime drama that I found while looking for "Kitchen Sink films." Though I saw this on Amazon Prime, it had been restored for Criterion (where the commentary track might be interesting). The movie is a good crime drama, but racism is the central issue here. Without the racial element, there would be no story plot or subplot. The story begins when Sapphire's body is found in a park and reported to the police. As we follow London police detectives, uncovering the facts behind who the woman is and why she was killed and moved to the park, we see a myriad of action and reaction shots showing us the way people respond to her and her death since she was a black girl "passing for white." In fact, the variety of ways people—from both black and white communities--respond is almost a study in itself. The idea of a black person "passing for white" was not new since we had seen that in the movie, Pinky (1949), and read about it in Kingsblood Royal, by Sinclair Lewis. But, there are also other elements at work in this movie. How and when did she "pass for white"? How did that change the way she lived and who her friends were? When did the young white man who planned to marry her discover that she was black? When did his family discover this and what was their reaction? This film may seem dated (even humorously campy* now), but to appreciate it, you need to think what the world was like in 1959--both in the UK and the US. This must have seemed revolutionary at a time when desegregation was illegal (in many places) and racial stereotypes were still current in our cultures. In that way, this movie is sort of a time capsule of its time. ________________ *Notice when Sapphire's brother shows up at the police station for the first time. Listen to the jazzy film music at that point--It sounds like the punctuation mark to a Batman cartoon.Also notice how the film refers to her "blackness coming out" whenever she danced or listened to music (with that bongo beat)!!?? What about that sexy underwear that attracts black girls? If she dresses "white" but wears lacy red underwear, does that make her outer dress "white" and her underwear " black": Is she "black" under the dress (as suggested by the assistant policeman in the movie)?

****SPOILERS*** Murder in 1950's London England that turned out to have deep racial overtones in who the victim was. Found with her throat slit in a deserted park the lily white looking Miss. Sapphire Robbins, Yvonne Buckingham, is soon to be discovered to be black in her Negro bother Dr. Robbins,Earl Cameron, showing up at the police station to identify her. This throws the whole case into limbo in that it was very probably her being discovered to be black not white that lead to her murder! It's Sapphire's white boyfriend David Harris, Paul Massie, who becomes the #1 suspect in her murder who was planning to marry her which at the same time could disqualify him from his hard earned scholarship to attend Oxford. That for not only being married by marrying someone outside his own race!As police superintendent Robert Hazard, Nigel Patrick, and his sidekick inspector Phil Learoyd,Michael Craig, check out where Sapphire spent the last few hours of her life they soon realize that those of the black community in the night and dance clubs that she spent her time in knew that she was black or one of them! And her about to marry a white man, David Harris, is what may have triggered a black boyfriend of her to murder Sapphire in a jealous and violent fit. As for the devastated David Harris he seemed to know the reason why Sapphire was murdered and even more important who murdered her! But in is keeping his mouth shut he may very well ends up paying with his life, by being arrested convicted and hanged, for it!****SPOILERS**** Down to earth and not so self conscious and apologetic of race issues, like later likewise movies about race, "Sapphire" sticks more to finding Sapphire's killer then trying to make a politically correct case out of it. There are a number of black suspects, who were anything but boy scouts or altar boys, also involved in Sappire's murder who for the most part were shown to have deep seeded racial prejudices as well. Not only against whites like David Harris and the white police but against Sapphire herself. For the "crime" of passing herself off as white and planning to marry a white man making the reason, in racial terms, for her murder cut both ways! The film didn't have the usual cop-out ending that you would have expected in Sapphire's killer being both close to home and at the same time it wasn't race that was the main reason for murdering her. But mostly for status in the community and economic freedom & security instead!

Basil Dearden directed some dandy films--and a set of them are available through Criterion and frankly, all are quite impressive. With films like "Victim", "The League of Gentlemen" and "Sapphire", it's one of the best collections I've seen from this company.The film begins with the discovery of a dead woman in the park. However, this turns out to be anything but a routine case when the police investigate. First, it turns out the lady was pregnant. Second, it turns out that although she appeared quite Caucasian, she was black and posing as a white woman. While this sort of plot might seem pretty routine today, back in 1959 it was absolutely daring--and the sort of picture Hollywood NEVER would have done. I not only appreciate the daring subject matter, but also the amazingly unflinching way it approached racism. In fact, I am not even sure that they could make a movie like this today--given the bluntness of the language--but that is what makes this movie great. Racism IS horrible and the language they use make it seem horrible.The bottom line is that the film is amazingly good. The film is free of clichés and is very well written. I also appreciate the wonderful job Nigel Patrick did in playing the chief inspector--one of the only seemingly sane people in the film! Well worth seeing and amazingly brave. It's not surprising then that the film won the BAFTA (sort of like the British version of the Oscar) for Best Picture.

A competently made police investigation mystery, with some racial ideas at hand, it nevertheless is too slowly paced for it to be totally enthralling, and there are often dry gaps between the good bits. However, even if it never possesses the power to fully encapsulate, this is definitely very watchable stuff. Some of the performances, or perhaps it is just their characters, tend to be a bit over-the-top, and a few of the music inserts are questionable. Still, it is okay viewing, and some of the racial ideas do come across quite well. It is good as it is, but perhaps a more intriguing mystery with more intricate characters could have improved the way the film gets across its messages.