Advertisement
Supported by
The streaming service highlights some of the most productive films starring and directed by Black artists.
By Jason Bailey
As branded streaming struggles to turn a profit and negotiate cable-like packages to cut costs, the most successful streamers are turning out to be nicheArray, which curates specialized libraries for a specific target audience. We have highlighted several of those streamers in this space, focusing as much as possible on obviously explained genres or sensibilities; This month we take a look at a service focused on a specific culture.
Brown Sugar, which began operations in 2016, promises on its site “successful videos and television screens and the largest collection of film noir classics, in full format and without advertising”. His library features systems about the black experience, made mainly through black creators, and aimed mainly at a black audience (although he detects that this audience is looking for all kinds of entertainment). There’s a forged variety of film noir from the vaunted blaxploitation era of the ’70s, adding titles by Ossie Davis, Rudy Ray Moore and Richard Roundtree, as well as cult favorites like “The Harder They Come” and “Putney Swope,” and favorites from the ’80s. such as “Hollywood Shuffle” and “Beat Street”.
That era initially ruled the department’s library, but it has since expanded its offerings to include more romantic comedies, action thrillers, heartwarming dramas, and old and true crime documentaries. The company has also partnered with Bounce TV, which provides access to the audience. to popular and long-running exhibitions such as the soap opera “Santos
The subscription is a great deal, costing just $3. 99 per month (after a one-week free trial) or $42 for a year. Brown Sugar is available on computers and various streaming devices, in addition to Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire. Picture quality varies greatly: some videos and screens are Blu-ray quality, but it’s conceivable that older, less polished titles have been mastered on VHS. But the threat is worth it for the hidden gems the service offers.
Here are some highlights of the library:
“Hit!” »: “Lady Sings the Blues” was one of the first and one of the most successful films (critically and commercially) of film noir of the 70s; This 1973 effort reunited that film’s director, Sidney J. Furie, with two of his co-stars, Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor, this time for an action spectacle that was more like “The French Connection” than “Lady “. Williams plays a federal agent who takes on a foreign drug cartel after his daughter dies from a heroin overdose; Pryor is part of the team of outlaws and outcasts he assembles to carry out the task when his superiors veto the mission. The result is a fast-moving, fun (mainly thanks to the reliable Pryor) and packed with exciting action beats.
We are recovering the content of the article.
Please allow javascript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience as we determine access. If you’re in player mode, log out and log in to your Times account or subscribe to the full Times.
Thank you for your patience while we determine access.
Already subscribed? Sign in.
Do you want all the Times? Subscribe.
Advertisement