561:(2014 edition) has a higher opinion, giving the production 3 stars (out of 4) describing it as a "icely realized film set in Virginia in 1935". Following a brief description of the plot, Maltin says of the title character, "hough he's a stranger—and a strange presence indeed—the family feels compelled to help him. Kudos to first-time director Styron; the film is adapted from a short story by her father William".
29:
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440:. The movie even has Vernon Dabney wonder if the slaves weren't better off back when they had an assured place in the social order and got their meals on time; the movie does not adopt this view as its own and quietly corrects him. But I was left with a vision of Vernon trying to expound his theories to Sethe, the heroine of
233:
The farm is owned by the descendants of the Dabney family, consisting of Vernon (Keitel), Trixie (McDowell) and their seven children. But to bury a black man on that land is a violation of strict
Virginia law, so the family goes through the arduous task of figuring out how to grant his request. Along
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had problems with the screenplay in his review, writing, "Susanna Styron and
Bridget Terry's script, which extends to the limits a narrative that is basically a small, simple and poignant story, suffers from being both literal and literary. Indeed, were it not for the foul language used by the white
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is a well-meaning film, directed by
Susanna Styron from her father's autobiographical story. But without diminishing Shadrach's own determination and dignity (evoked in a minimalist, whispering performance by first-time actor Sawyer), it indulges in a certain sentimentality that is hard to accept in
568:(2007 edition) goes still higher, dispensing 3½ stars (out of 5), describing it as a "otable debut for filmmaker Susanna Styron, who coadapts father William Styron's short story…" The write-up ends with "ven though the film never lacks sincerity, it does tend to skirt several important issues".
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2½ bones (out of possible four), giving a plot overview and opining that "irector
Susanna Styron's lethargic adaptation of her father William's 1978 short story proves that the story should have stayed shorter than 90 minutes. Although the relatively small budget shows, the cast provides good
536:
reviewer Donald Levit referred to the film's length as well as Martin Sheen's narration, "unning times vary, from eighty-six to a hundred ten minutes, but even the latter, European print does not need this unseen presence looking back, setting scenes, and drawing a lesson learned (or not)."
503:, a generation raised in prosperity turns to a difficult past, suffuses it with a romantic glow and gazes with something like envy on its simple ways while tapping its people for insights into life's eternal verities, like death. On more than one level, the slight, sweet, sentimental
600:, to generally positive critical reviews. Australian writers Paul Fischer and David Edwards were highly complimentary, with Fischer calling it "a beautifully complex masterpiece that has resonances with the likes of
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liked the film and wrote, "This flawless, deeply felt yet buoyant and graceful film marks Styron's feature directorial debut, after a varied career as a documentarian, writer and as an assistant to
444:, who would rather have a child dead in freedom than alive in slavery." Also, unlike all the other reviewers, who gave Shadrach's age as 99, Ebert described him as "a 101-year-old former slave".
230:, Shadrach—at the age of 99—walks the 600 miles from his home in Alabama to the Dabney farm in Virginia. His one request is to be buried in the soil of the farm where he was born into slavery.
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is an exquisite, detailed drama, beautifully made", and
Edwards continuing in much the same vein, "yrical and beautiful, it's one of those minor masterpieces that comes along all too rarely".
580:, was initially released on September 23, 1998 on a limited basis with four showings in Wilmington, North Carolina, then quickly released to VHS home video and DVD by
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is a labor of love by
Susanna Styron, the film's director and co-writer, from an autobiographical tale by her father, William Styron, published in
476:. That she herself has a Southern heritage, adapting (with Bridget Terry) her own celebrated father's story, surely gives the period-perfect
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the way they form a touching bond with the former slave and sharecropper, who has outlived both his former wives and some 35 children.
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is the kind of well-intentioned picture that could easily have been made by Disney and comfortably play as an after-school special."
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Tatara, Paul. "Review: 'Shadrach' dredges up trash from the past" (CNN, October 28, 1998)
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sold their slave, Shadrach (John
Franklin Sawyer), to plantation owners in
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Van Gelder, Lawrence. "Uplifting
Lessons in a Sweet, Tumbledown World" (
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693:, film review, September 25, 1998. Last accessed: February 8, 2011.
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677:, film review, October 16, 1998. Last accessed: February 8, 2011.
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Urban
Cinefile: The World of Film in Australia - on the Internet
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discusses, among other things, his short story "Shadrach"
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Posters, photographs and other images associated with
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55:Screenplay by Susanna Styron & Bridget Terry
416:"One man's journey changed another man's heart"
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429:gave the film a mixed review, writing, "
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644:at "TLA Film and Video Guide 2000–2001
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576:The film, originally distributed by
379:Rick Warner as Presbyterian Minister
340:Jonathan Parks Jordan as Middle Mole
546:Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever
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918:English-language independent films
564:Mick Martin's and Marsha Porter's
397:Olivia Bost as Betty "Sweet Betty"
394:Richard Olsen as Seddon Washington
388:Clarinda Hollmond as Chapel Singer
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391:Melvin Cauthen as Earvin Williams
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154:September 23, 1998
50:Based on the short story by
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898:1998 independent films
548:(2011 edition) throws
361:Michael Ruff as "Smut"
346:Alice Rogers as Cloris
313:in order of appearance
863:Films set in Virginia
707:, September 23, 1998)
566:DVD & Video Guide
521:magazine film critic
499:and today's arrival,
277:Jonathan Parks Jordan
913:1990s American films
848:American drama films
287:John Franklin Sawyer
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458:Ken Russell
427:Roger Ebert
365:Muse Watson
323:Scott Terra
300:Narrated by
289:as Shadrach
270:Scott Terra
214:Before the
92:Hiro Narita
60:Produced by
39:Directed by
838:1998 films
832:Categories
614:References
513:in 1978."
489:review by
367:as Captain
175:89 minutes
158:1998-09-23
121:Production
47:Written by
534:Reel Talk
376:as Vernon
358:as Trixie
334:as Father
216:Civil War
102:Edited by
33:DVD cover
812:Shadrach
806:AllMovie
801:Shadrach
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596:and the
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220:Virginia
199:Shadrach
188:Language
110:Music by
74:Starring
22:Shadrach
793:at the
780:at the
722:Variety
590:Finland
518:Variety
510:Esquire
442:Beloved
437:Beloved
411:Tagline
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224:Alabama
191:English
180:Country
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123:company
646:(2013)
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210:Plot
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