Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored

"Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored" (1996): Set in the deep American South, over the years 1946-1962, and told as biography, this is the story of one boy's memories of being raised in the Cotton & Bible Belt.... Full review

I'll admit my memory of seeing this movie is pretty foggy, but from what I recall, there is no power, no effect, no nothing in this movie. It's just a random (but true) story about a kid growing up with racism.... Full review

The author's stated intention was to show the family that nourished him and protected him from the world of hatred and segregation. The film showed just enough of the segregated life to let the viewer know that Cliff needed to... Full review

This was a very nice, scaled down version of how it really was in the Deep South. The movie did not even begin to depict the real horror Blacks faced each day. There was just a hint of the KKK,... Full review

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ....When We Were Colored is a well-intentioned, visually appealing movie that suffers from a pointless script and some poor acting. I try to recommend movies that paint a true picture of Americana - warts and all - especially... Full review

Tim Reid has not been ‘that guy from WKRP' for some time now. And no, he wasn't Isaac on The Love Boat either. He still finds himself in too many schlocky TV movies, and weak situation comedies. One must pay... Full review

Better to remember some of the extraordinary scenes. But there are happier moments. It is one of those magical scenes you cannot account for, something happens that transcends story and acting, and reaches straight into the heart. ... Full Review

EARNEST BUT unspectacular movies about crucial subjects are difficult to review. Do we praise a film on its intentions while ignoring the disparity between what it sets out to do and what it achieves? Is a film that fails to ... Full Article

U.S. Distributor: Republic Pictures In a time when intelligent family pictures are at a premium, intelligent African American family pictures are virtually nonexistent. Into that void has come Once Upon a Time... ... Full Article

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.This is the story of one of the most important films I've seen this year and of the show-business cliffhanger it prompts: Will it find the audience it deserves? ... Full Article

In "Once Upon a Time . . .When We Were Colored," director Tim Reid's bighearted first feature about African American life in rural Mississippi, nostalgia is as overpowering as the smell of magnolias. ... Full Article

With a story and a set of characters that are not seen on the silver screen with the regularity of, say, exploding motor vehicles, it becomes tempting to overpraise the eloquently titled Once Upon a Time ... ... Full Article

The ingredients blended into the development of a human being determine the character of his or her soul. Coming primarily from family, church and school, those ingredients interact with the persons choices and personality to create a unique individual. In ... Full Article