HALF PAST AUTUMN: THE LIFE AND WORKS OF GORDON PARKS (TV)

Summary

This documentary explores the life and career of photographer, musician, writer, and filmmaker Gordon Parks. The film utilizes interviews with Parks's family, friends, and colleagues, who discuss their relationship with Parks; shots of Parks's diverse photographs; narrative commentary by Parks himself; clips of his movies; and audio clips of Parks reading his poems. Narrator Alfre Woodard opens with a short account of Parks's childhood. Next, the film shows photographs of his parents and excerpts from his first movie and novel, "The Learning Tree," based on his boyhood in Kansas. Interviews with Mario Sprouse, Parks's music supervisor, and cellist Kermit Moore introduce the topic of music in Parks's life. The documentary returns to its subject's biography, now focusing on his early adult years and marriage to Sally Albus. Looking to support his family better, Parks picked up his first camera on a whim, viewers learn. He found work shooting fashion layouts and then with the Farm Security Administration during the 1930s. Photographs of his early work are depicted. Parks eventually found a position as a photographer at the influential magazine Life. Former Life editor Philip Kunhardt talks about Parks's early work. Parks then discusses some of his early stories on crime at Life, and photographs from these series are shown. Toni Parks-Parsons, the photographer's daughter, recollects the magazine's sending her father to Paris. Next, Parks remembers Europe with fondness, despite the disintegration of his first marriage there. While in Europe, viewers learn, Parks wrote his first symphony and had the opportunity to photograph Ingrid Bergman. Next, Gloria Vanderbilt and Parks recall that they might have married; their union was prevented by Parks's concerns about interracial marriage. Photos of Bergman and Vanderbilt are depicted. Elizabeth Campbell Rollins then describes her short-lived marriage to Parks. Leslie Parks-Harding recalls missing her father because he was often away. Alain Brouillaud, Parks's grandson, explains that his grandfather's deep commitment to his career proved hard on his sons and daughters. The documentary next focuses on a project in which Parks chronicled the poverty of a Brazilian boy named Flavio. Parks's photos were instrumental in raising funds for the youth's family. Parks visits Flavio, and the documentary includes footage from the visit. Genevieve Young, a former editor at Harper & Row and Parks's third wife, recalls meeting Parks as he began to write his first novel, "The Learning Tree." The documentary next focuses on stories Parks photographed for Life about the black experience in America, including one on segregation in the South and a piece on the Black Muslims. Photographs of Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X are included, and the film follows the evolution of Parks's relationship with Malcolm X from professional to personal. Qubilah-Bahiyah Shabazz, Malcolm X's daughter and Parks's goddaughter, talks about her father's trust of Parks. The documentary continues to explore Parks's relationship to civil rights, depicting footage of Martin Luther King and Parks's photographs of Black Panther Party members. Kathleen Cleaver, an attorney, writer, and member of the Panthers, recalls that the group was interested in Parks because his photographs were accepted in mainstream culture. Author Nelson George asserts that Parks is no longer a cutting-edge figure in the black community. Next, the documentary explores Parks's films, including "Shaft," "Leadbelly," and "Solomon Northup's Odyssey." Russell Simmons, chair of Rush Communications, and Issac Hayes, composer and singer, reflect on the heroic significance of "Shaft" for young black boys of its era. Footage from a documentary on the making of "Shaft" is shown. The documentary turns to a look at Parks's personal life, touching on the end of his marriage to Young and the tragic death of his son, Gordon Parks, Jr. The film concludes with a montage of Parks's photographs and artwork.

Details

• NETWORK: HBO
• DATE: November 30, 2000 Thursday 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:31:58
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: T:64209
• GENRE: Arts documentaries
• SUBJECT HEADING: African-American musicians; Biography; Blacks in the performing arts; Motion picture producers and directors; Novelists; Photographers; Race relations - U S; African-American Collection - News/Talk; African-American Collection - Music
• SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 2000
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Sheila Nevins … Executive Producer
• Cecil Cox … Executive Producer
• Craig Rice … Executive Producer, Director
• Jackie Glover … Supervising Producer
• Denzel Washington … Producer
• St. Clair Bourne … Producer
• Anita Womack … Associate Producer
• Bill Chase … Production (Misc.), Production Executive
• Lou Potter … Writer
• Gordon Parks … Music by
• Alfre Woodard … Narrator
• Sally Albus
• Ingrid Bergman
• Alain Brouillaud
• Kathleen Cleaver
• Nelson George
• Issac Hayes
• Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Philip Kunhardt
• Malcolm X (Malcolm Little; El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz)
• Kermit Moore
• Elijah Muhammad
• Gordon Parks
• Gordon Parks
• Leslie Parks-Harding
• Toni Parks-Parsons
• Elizabeth Campbell Rollins
• Qubilah-Bahiyah Shabazz
• Russell Simmons
• Mario Sprouse
• Gloria Vanderbilt
• Genevieve Young