The star-studded cast includes Idris Elba, Regina King, Jonathan Majors, and LaKeith Stanfield; the Black Western titled The Harder They Fall by director Jeymes Samuel brings a new light to the genre.
When it comes to blockbuster, Netflix ’s new western movie ticks all the boxes. A star-studded cast that includes Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, Regina King and LaKeith Stanfield? A great soundtrack that will be good for your Spotify favourites list. Even new tunes courtesy of co-producer Jay‑Z + the likes of Koffee and Ms. Lauryn Hill.
But what makes The Harder They Fall stand out is that it’s about Black cowboys – proper Black cowboys. Directed by Jeymes Samuels, while the film’s plot is fictional, the characters in it really existed, and I'm sure you can imagine why hasn’t his story made it to screen until now.
The Harder They Fall isn’t the only film about Black cowboys, though. Cinema from the past is full of gem westerns that reference Black history in their storytelling. Looking for a few ideas? Here below few ideas and what we believe to be the top six films to watch after The Harder They Fall.
The Bull-dogger
American silent western film from 1922, The Bull-dogger is played by African American Bill Picker towards cowboys and wild west star. Bill Picker is considered the "inventor" of the bulldogging technique, biting a beef to make it fall during a rodeo. Bill Picker is the first black movie star.
Directed by Richard E. Norman
Cas : Bill Pickett, Bennie Turpin, Anita Bush, Steve Reynolds.
Black Rodeo
A rare 1971 documentary captures a unique event, New York's first black rodeo at Randall's Island's Triborough Stadium. BLACK RODEO documents spectators fascinated by seeing African-American skilled in the art of rodeo. In the film's representative scene, you can see Muhammad Ali riding a horse on 125th Street and western star Woody Strode telling the stories of the black cowboys of the wild. west. Music by great black artists Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Lee Dorsey, Sammy Turner, Little Eva and other R&B groups.
Directed by Jeff Kanew
Starring Muhammad Ali
Music Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Lee Dorsey, Sammy Turner, Little Eva
Posse
Posse is a 1993 American western film directed and starring Mario Van Peebles. Cuban War Veterans (1898-99), a group of deserted Buffalo soldiers (black soldiers of the American infantry), commanded by Jesie Lee and gambler Stephen Baldwin, are sent between enemy lines to steal a shipment of gold. They are forced to flee in search of freedom as they discover that the racist Colonel Graham (Billy Zane) had betrayed them. They hide in a village attacked by the KKK, their mission will be to defend these people from the attacks of the racists
Directed by Mario Van Peebles
Cast, Stephen Baldwin, Big Daddy Kane, Charles Lane, Tiny Lister, Tone Lōc, Blair Underwood, Mario Van Peebles, Billy Zane
