Stars: Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands, Ruby Dee, Stephen Perry

Director: Daniel Petrie

Summary: This is the story of an African-American family who are fed up living in their over-crowded flat in Chicago. They realise their dream of moving into a house in a suburban area when they receive an insurance settlement for ten thousand dollars. Now they must face a daily battle against bigotry and racism...

Director Daniel Petrie's highly acclaimed drama is a seminal portrait of African American life in the mid-1950s, based on Lorraine Hansberry's groundbreaking play, that achieved critical and commercial success at a time when the viability of a black audience or a white crossover audience was not considered a possibility. Lena Younger (Claudia McNeil), the stalwart matriarch of an impoverished black family, dreams of owning a nice home in a tidy, integrated suburb. In the meantime, she shares a small apartment on Chicago's South Side with her underemployed adult son, Walter (Sidney Poitier); his emotionally resilient wife, Ruth (Ruby Dee); their child, Travis (Stephen Perry); and her daughter, Beneatha (Diana Sands). Though there's plenty of love in the family, the close quarters breed desperation and discontent. But Lena's prayers are finally answered when she receives a $10,000 insurance policy her husband left behind. The money becomes a symbol for freedom for each member of the Younger family: Lena sees it as a ticket out of the ghetto and into a home of her own, Walter sees it as a chance to regain his dignity and start his own business, while Beneatha dreams of medical school. Their internal struggle threatens to tear the Younger family apart in this moving and claustrophobic vision of life in the bigoted and oppressive environment of a 1950s tenement. Petrie's film features strong and captivating performances from the cast, reprising their 1959 Broadway roles.

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Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Trailers
Year:	1961
Release Date:	November 10, 2003
Runtime:	123 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C D R 13218
Keywords:	Sun, Action, General, Wide, Screen, Adventure, Raisin
Genre:	Action/Adventure