To Sleep with Anger [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Charles Burnett

Overview

The life of a middle-class black family in Los Angeles is disrupted by the arrival of an old friend from back South in this layered drama. Initially a charming reminder of their past, the visitor soon comes to seems increasingly sinister as the strained household heads towards an inevitable conflict.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/26/2019
UPC:	0715515226714
Original Release:	1990
Rating:	PG
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:42:00
Sales rank:	13,282

Special Features

New, restored 4K digital transfer, approved by director Charles Burnett, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack; Of Family and Folklore, a new interview program, featuring Burnett, actors Danny Glover and Sheryl Lee Ralph, and associate producer Linda Koulisis; A Walk with Charles Burnett, a new hour-long conversation between Burnett and filmmaker Robert Townsend that revisits Burnett's films and shooting locations; Short video tribute to Burnett produced for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards ceremony in 2017

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Danny Glover	Harry
Richard Brooks	Babe Brother
Paul Butler	Gideon
Mary Alice	Suzie
Carl Lumbly	Junior
Sheryl Lee Ralph	Linda
Vonetta McGee	Pat
Wonderful Smith	Preacher
Ethel Ayler	Hattie
Regina King	Rhonda
Gail Levin	Actor
Lauren Lloyd	Actor
DeVaughn Nixon	Sunny,Actor
Cory Curtis	Skip
Paula Bellamy	Mrs. Baker
DeForest Covan	Fred Jenkins
Sy Richardson	Slash
Davis Roberts	Okra Tate
John Hawker	MC
Julius Harris	Herman
Lorrie Marlow	Cherry Bell
Jimmy Witherspoon	Percy
Mark Phelan	Paramedic #1
Stephen Taylor	Composer

Technical Credits

Charles Burnett

Thomas S. Byrnes	Producer
Caldecot Chubb	Producer
Danny Glover	Executive Producer,Producer
Edward R. Pressman	Executive Producer,Producer
Darin Scott	Producer
Harris E. Tulchin	Executive Producer,Executive Producer
Charles Burnett	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

The first "commercial" effort by resolutely independent African-American filmmaker Charles Burnett, To Sleep With Anger (1990) continued Burnett's efforts to move beyond black movie stereotypes. A low-key domestic drama involving a comfortably middle-class California family, Burnett's story about a disturbing visit from Danny Glover's quietly malign family friend Harry presents a subtle portrait of intergenerational dynamics that sets the film apart from the incipient early-'90s wave of "New Jack Cinema." Opening old wounds, evoking the power of the Old South heritage, and sparking long-simmering sibling rivalries, Harry's supernatural-tinged sojourn proves to be a lesson in the ongoing uncertainty of life and status. Despite the support and presence of star Glover, coming off the peak of his Lethal Weapon fame, To Sleep With Anger failed to attract audiences, sparking questions about the distributor's desultory efforts in marketing an African-American film that wasn't about youth and violence. Still, To Sleep With Anger remains a key film in the '90s African-American filmmaking renaissance, attesting -- like the work of Spike Lee -- to the range and depth of black experience waiting to be committed to celluloid.