The Movies, Race, and Ethnicity:
Immigrants from Europe and Scandinavia
Eastern European Americans
Irish Americans
Italian Americans
Scandinavian Americans
Western and Southern Europe

The Movies, Race, and Ethnicity: Images of Jews in Motion Pictures
The Movies, Race, and Ethnicity: Immigrants within Europe

Carr, Steven Alan. "From Street Scene to Dead End: Hollywood and the Urban Ethnic Imigrant [Immigrant], 1931-1937." In: La memoire des villes = The memory of cities Saint-Etienne : Publications de l'Universite de Saint-Etienne, 2003. (ENVI: PN56.C55 M46 2003)
Davies, Jude. Gender, ethnicity and sexuality in contemporary American film (MAIN: PN1995.9.S45 D38 2000; ETHN: PN1995.9.S45 D38 2000)
Unspeakable images : ethnicity and the American cinema Edited by Lester D. Friedman. Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c1991. (MAIN: PN1995.9.M56 U57 1991; MOFF: PN1995.9.M56 U57 1991; ETHN: PN1995.9.M56 U57 1991; PFA : PN1995.9.M56 U57 1991)
Within our gates : ethnicity in American feature films, 1911-1960 Alan Gevinson, editor. Berkeley, Ca. : University of California Press, 1997. (DREF: PN1995.9.M56 W58 1997; ETHN: PN1995.9.M56 W58 1997)

The Immigrant (1917)
Director, Charlie Chaplin. " Charlie is on his way to the USA. He wins in a card game, puts the money in Edna's bag (she and her sick mother have been robbed of everything). When he retrieves a little for himself he is accused of being a thief. Edna clears his name. Later, broke, Charlie finds a coin and goes into a restaurant. There he finds Edna, whose mother has died, and asks her to join him. When he reaches for the coin to pay for their meals it is missing (it has fallen through a hole in his pocket)." (from Internet Movie Database) DVD 8
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Eastern Europeans

Erens, Patricia "Stellaaaaaa......!!!!!!!!!!: the Slavic stereotype in America film." In: The Kaleidoscopic lens : how Hollywood views ethnic groups / edited by Randall M. Miller Englewood, N.J. : Ozer, c1980 (Main Stack PN1995.9.M56.K3; Moffitt PN1995.9.M56.K3)
Kusielewicz, Eugene. "Polish stereotypes in American film and television." In: Ethnic images in American film and television / edited by Randall M. Miller. Philadelphia: Balch Institute, 1978. Public papers in the humanities ; public paper no. 1(Moffitt PN1995.9.M56.E86)
Thaddeus V. "Gromada -- Questions about the Polish image in American film and television." In: Ethnic images in American film and television / edited by Randall M. Miller. Philadelphia: Balch Institute, 1978. Public papers in the humanities ; public paper no. 1 (Moffitt PN1995.9.M56.E86)

After Freedom (2004)
Written and directed by Vahe Babaian. Cast: Mic Tomasi, Sophie Chahinian, Greg Satamian, Shant Bejanian, Ioannis Bogris, Anahid Shahrik. Michael, an Armenian-American, feels obligated to care for his ailing father, who sacrificed everything to raise his children in a better country. But Michael feels torn between his family traditions and the outside world. Which will win out? 107 min. DVD 6499
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Black & White (1991)
Written and directed by Boris Frumin; featuring Elena Shevchenko, Gilbert Giles, Patrick Godfrey, Gina Delio, Hayward Boling, Debra Jo Jackson, Stephen Parris. The story of Lisa, a young Soviet emigre studying medicine in Manhattan and Roy, an African American building superintendent on New York's Lower East Side. Edgy and emotionally complex, this nocturnal love story is suffused with the melancholy and anxiety of not belonging, and full of the sad understanding of what it means to be a stranger. 96 min. 999:2253
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Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
Directed by Larry Charles ; screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen; produced by Sacha Baron Cohen, Jay Roach. Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Luenell, Pamela Anderson. Fictional Kazakhstani TV personality Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the "greatest country in the world." With a documentary crew in tow, Borat becomes more interested in locating and marrying Pamela Anderson than in pursuing his assignment. In this mockumentary film his ignorance, prejudice, and boorish behavior produce humorous results. Special features: Censored footages (8 deleted scenes); Propaganda ("Global propaganda tour", "Musics infomercial", "Coming Kazakhstan in 2028"). 84 min. DVD 7632
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Jaafar, Ali. "Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Sight and Sound 16.11 (Nov 2006): 50(2). UC users only
Lee, Nathan "Persona non grata." Film Comment Vol XLII nr 6 (Nov-Dec 2006); p.22-24
Monaghan, Peter. "'Borat' and Bias Against Romany People." The Chronicle of Higher Education 53.15 (Dec 1, 2006): NA. UC users only
Muravchik, Joshua. "Borat!." Commentary 123.1 (Jan 2007): 44(4). UC users only
Saunders, Robert A. "In defence of Kazakshilik:, Kazakhstan's war on Sacha Baron Cohen.(Author abstract)." Identities 14.3 (May-June 2007): 225(31).
Schwartz, Stephen, Rafael Medoff, L.H. Blum, Lon Jacobs, and Joshua Muravchik. "No laughing matter?(Letters from Readers)(Letter to the editor)." Commentary 123.4 (April 2007): 16(3). UC users only

Deer Hunter(1978)
Directed by Michael Cimino. Tracks a group of steelworker pals (second generation Ukrainians) from a Pennsylvania blast furnace to the cool hunting grounds of the Alleghenies to the lethal cauldron of Vietnam. It is a drama of friendship and courage and of what happens to these qualities under stress. 183 min. DVD 95; vhs 999:708:1&2
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Burke, Frank. "Reading Michael Cimino's 'The Deer Hunter': Interpretation as Melting Pot." (Vietnam Revisited: Mythological Journeys/Narrative Structures) Literature-Film Quarterly v20, n3 (July, 1992):249 (11 pages).

Lana's Rain(2002)
Directed by Michael S. Ojeda. Cast: Oksana Julia Orlenko, Nickolai Stoilov, Louyong Wang, Stephanie Childers, Stacy Slowitz, David Darlow, Alex Diatchenco, Ron Dean, Yasen Peyankov. A young woman escapes the violence in Bosnia to find paradise in Chicago with her long lost brother. But she is forced to live on the mean streets of Chicago, while being pulled deeper and deeper into her brothers criminal world. 104 min. DVD 8270
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Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
Directed by Paul Mazursky. Cast: Robin Williams, Alejandro Rey, Maria Conchita Alonso, Cleavant Derricks. Circus saxophonist Vladimir Ivanoff suddenly defects from his touring troupe in that temple of "Western decadence" -- Bloomingdale's. Fleeing the K.G.B., Vladimir wins asylum and moves into the crowded Harlem flat of Black security guard Lionel Witherspoon. Though Vladimir learns that life in America can be cold and even painful, he grows to love this strange and wondrous new land. 159 min. DVD 964
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Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
Directed by Jim Jarmusch. Cast: John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson, Cecillia Stark, Danny Rosen. "This is about a self-styled New York hipster (John Lurie of the Lounge Lizards) who is paid a suprise and quite unwelcome visit by his pretty sixteen-year-old Hungarian cousin. From initial hostility and indifference a strange affection grows between the two exiles. Due to complete boredom they decide to visit their aunt in the wastelands of Cleveland and then proceed to sunny Florida where they lose all their money and unwittingly gain a fortune. With a final ironic twist, they are at the end, back where they began." [Internet Movie Database] 159 min. DVD 316

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We Are Going to America (My yedem v Ameriku) (1992)
Directed by Yefim Gribov. In this Russian comedy, set at the turn-of-the-century, a Russian Jewish family Leaves Russia to find a new life in the New World. Seen through the eyes of 11-year-old Motl, he creates a sense of wonder and chaotic adventure as his family makes their way towards America. 82 min. 999:3277
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Irish

Brennan, William J. "The Irish in American film and television." In: Ethnic images in American film and television / edited by Randall M. Miller. Philadelphia: Balch Institute, 1978. Public papers in the humanities ; public paper no. 1 (Moffitt PN1995.9.M56.E86)
Clark, Dennis J. "The Irish in the movies : a tradition of permanent blur." In: Ethnic images in American film and television / edited by Randall M. Miller. Philadelphia: Balch Institute, 1978. Public papers in the humanities ; public paper no. 1 (Moffitt PN1995.9.M56.E86)
Curran, Joseph M. Hibernian green on the silver screen : the Irish and American movies / Joseph M. Curran. New York : Greenwood Press, c1989. Contributions to the study of popular culture ; no. 23 (Main Stack PN1995.9.I67.C871 1989; Moffitt PN1995.9.I67.C87 1989)
Golden, Sembroff "Hollywood and Hibernia: the Irish in the movies." In: The Kaleidoscopic lens : how Hollywood views ethnic groups / edited by Randall M. Miller Englewood, N.J. : Ozer, c1980 (Main Stack PN1995.9.M56.K3; Moffitt PN1995.9.M56.K3)
Lourdeaux, Lee. Italian and Irish filmmakers in America : Ford, Capra, Coppola, and Scorsese / Lee Lourdeaux. Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 1990. (Main Stack PN1995.9.C35.L68 1990; Moffitt PN1995.9.C35.L68 1990)
Moloney, Mick "Stereotypes in the media : the Irish-American case." In: Ethnic images in American film and television / edited by Randall M. Miller. Philadelphia: Balch Institute, 1978. Public papers in the humanities ; public paper no. 1 (Moffitt PN1995.9.M56.E86)

Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)
Directed by Michael Curtiz; starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, George Bancroft, the "Dead End" Kids (Bowery Boys). Two childhood friends grow up and go their separate ways--one a criminal and the other a parish priest. Rocky Sullivan returns to his old neighborhood to find his lawless life style idolized by the young hoodlums there. Jerry Connelly, the parish priest sees his hard work turn unavailing because of Rocky's corruptive influence. "Cagney in 'Public Enemy,' [MRC Video/C 999:33] 'Angels With Dirty Faces', and 'The Roaring Twenties' [MRC Video/C 999:853] was the archetypal lawless urban Irish thug, whom prejudiced opinion was only too ready to associate with all of the Irish. Only the Italians has suffered as much in this area..." (Dennis Clark and Willian Lynch. "Hollywood and Hibernia: The Irish in Movies." In The Kaleidoscopic Lens: How Hollywood Views Ethnic Groups. Edited by Randall M. Miller. Englewood, N.J.: Ozer, c1980. pp. 98-113). 97 min. DVD 3512; vhs 999:755
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database

Roddick, Nick. A new deal in entertainment : Warner Brothers in the 1930s London : British Film Institute, 1983. (Main Stack PN1993.5.U65.R6 1983; PFA PN1999.W3.R63 1983)
Shannon, Christopher. "Public Enemies, Local Heroes: The Irish-American Gangster Film in Classic Hollywood Cinema." New Hibernia Review - Volume 9, Number 4, Winter 2005, pp. 48-64 UC users only

25th Hour (2002)
Directed by Spike Lee. Cast:Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox. "This is the story of a poor Irish kid from New York City who once wanted to be a fireman, but ended up instead, a drug dealer. He explains his situation this way. The most important thing in life is 'sway,' that is, the influence you have over your surroundings. He has charm, good looks and, as a dealer, money. It was the easiest and fastest way to get to the top – until he got caught. He is the charmer. His father is the dreamer. The father, an alcoholic saloonkeeper, never could make ends meet. He sees himself as the classic ner-do-well Irish father, blaming himself for his son's choices in life. Yet, even with grim reality loaming overhead, he talks of changing his son's situation, carrying on expansively about his son's rosy future." Based on the book by David Benioff. [The Irish in Film] 134 min. DVD 1859
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The Brothers McMullen (1995)
Directed by Edward Burns. Cast: Jack Mulcahy, Mike McGlone, Edward Burns, Connie Britton, Maxine Bahns, Elizabeth P. McKay, Shari Albert, Jennifer Jostyn. After their good-for-nothing father dies and their mother leaves to be with the man she really loves, brothers Jack, Barry and Patrick are left with only each other as they struggle with their relationships. Married Jack is tempted to have an affair; Patrick isn't sure his fiancee is 'the one'; and Barry can't deal with the fact that he is actually falling in love. DVD 334
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The Departed (2006)
Directed by Martin Scorsese. Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Corrigan. In South Boston, the Massachusetts State Police are waging a war on Irish-American organized crime. Undercover cop Billy Costigan is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate, which is run by gangland chief Frank Costello. Billy quickly gains Costello's confidence. Colin Sullivan is a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate. Colin is rising to a position of power within the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the mob and the police that there's a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly thrust into danger. Afraid of being caught and exposed to the enemy, each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself. Special features: Additional scenes with introductions from director Martin Scorsese; Stranger than fiction: the true story of Whitey Bulger, Southie and The departed (featurette); Crossing criminal cultures (Scorsese on organized crime). 151 min. DVD 7296
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Far and Away (1992)
Directed by Ron Howard. Cast: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Thomas Gibson, Robert Prosky. This epic opens on the west coast of Ireland, 1892; a poor tenant farmer is determined to bring justice to an oppressive landlord. Instead, he finds himself accompanying the landlord's daughter to America in a quest for land where the adventure begins. 140 min. 999:3058
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Gangs of New York (2002)
Directed by Martin Scorsese. Cast: Leonardo Dicaprio, Daniel Day Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Henry Thomas, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Neeson. In 1846, waves of Irish immigrants poured into the New York neighborhood of Five Points. "Billy the Butcher" bands his fellow "Native Americans" into a gang to take on the Irish gang "The Dead Rabbits," organized by Priest Vallon. After an bloody clash Vallon is dead and his son ends up in a brutal reform school. In 1862, that boy returns to seek vengeance against the man that killed his father. 166 min. DVD 1641
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In America (2002)
Directed by Jim Sheridan. Cast: Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine, Sarah Bolger, Emma Bolger, Djimon Hounsou, David Wike, Michael Sean Tighe. Told by 11-year-old Christy, a child wise beyond her years. An Irish couple bring their two young daughters to America in search of a better life. Christy and her sister Ariel find New York's Hell Kitchen a place of magic where anything is possible. To their parents, it represents a place to begin anew. Carried by the girls' youthful hope and faith, the family finds the heart to live and love again. 105 min. DVD 2683
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Miller's Crossing (1990)
Directed by Joel Coen. Featuring Albert Finney, Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Jon Polito, J.E. Freeman. "Tom Reagan is the laconic anti-hero of this amoral tale which is also, paradoxically, a look at morals within the criminal underworld of the 1930s. Two rival gangs vie for control of a city where the police are pawns, and the periodic busts of illicit drinking establishments are no more than a way for one gang to get back at the other. Black humour and shocking violence compete for screen time as we question whether or not Tom, right-hand man of the Irish mob leader, really has a heart." [Internet Movie Database] 115 min. DVD 3331; 999:2117
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Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Directed by Clint Eastwood. Cast: Clint Eastwood, Hillary Swank, Morgan Freeman, Anthony Mackie. "Here we have two Irish-American characters who at first look to have little in common except their love of boxing. Dunn, the manager, spends his time reading the great Irish writers, badgering the local Catholic priest with questions and learning Gaelic. Fitzgerald spends her time working and training, oblivious to her roots. But their connection is made clear when he gives her a Kelly-green robe with 'Mo Cuishle' on the back the day she fights the British champion. He won't tell her what the words mean, but all who know the history will get the not-too-subtle metaphor. Fans have chosen many boxers as their champion, representing a race, nationality, or more broadly, the underdog. Fitzgerald, by being the odds-on-favorite, became the darling of all who identified with her. Now they can say "if she can do it maybe I can."" [The Irish in Film] 132 min. DVD 4170
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The Molly Maguires (1970)
Directed by Martin Ritt. Cast: Richard Harris, Sean Connery, Samantha Eggar, Frank Finlay, Anthony Zerbe, Bethel Leslie, Art Lund. The Molly Maguires was a secret society of militant coal miners who battled their exploitation by mine owners with violence, intimidation, and sometimes murder. Based on actual events, this gripping story is a sympathetic and accurate account of the Irish-American miners' struggle. Richard Harris plays a detective on undercover assignment for the owners, fighting to win the workers' trust, and finally, fighting his own conscience. Sean Connery is the tough and suspicious leader of the Mollies who repeatedly tests the newcomer's loyalty. 123 min. DVD 8445; vhs 999:2353
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Mystic River(2003)
Directed by Clint Eastwood. Cast: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney, Kevin Chapman, Adam Nelson, Tom Guiry. Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane. "The underpinning of this story is a familiar one: in the tough ghetto, one kid grows up to be a cop, the other a gangster. But this film is far more detailed, realistic, and disturbing than the Hell's Kitchen flicks of Hollywood's golden age. When children grow up in a neighborhood where crime is an accepted part of life, they are set up from the get-go, with an edge. When a crime is committed in the neighborhood, a complex set of loyalties must be adhered to. The police, left out of the loop, are of little use; then the locals are free to seek vengeance. The cop here, aided by his insider knowledge of the turf, is shown as very competent. And, like his counterparts from the old gangster films, he has an understanding of those who chose the other side of the law." [The Irish in Film] 138 min. DVD 7143
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Philadelphia, Here I Come (1975)
Directed by John Quested. Cast: Siobhan McKenna, Donal McCann, Des Cave, Eamon Kelly, Fidelma Murphy. Concerns the emotional struggle of a young Irishman preparing to emigrate to America, with one actor portraying his public self and another his private thoughts. Based on the play by Brian Friel. DVD 2113
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The Public Enemy (1931)
Directed by William A. Wellman. Cast: James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan Blondell. Tom Powers (Cagney) begins his life of crime at an early age with his companion Matt Doyle. Powers' eventual rise to a notorious prohibition gangster is only darkened when a rival gang brutally murders his childhood friend. Powers tries to avenge Doyle's death but his efforts lead to a chilling and savage conclusion. "The Public Enemy's violent realism, scenes blatant in their sexual suggestiveness, and (I have no doubt) the magnetism of Cagney's performance helped ring in Hollywood's self-censoring Production Code of 1934, which sanitized criminal and sexual subject matter for years." [DVD Journal] 84 min. DVD 3514; VHS 999:33
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Roaring Twenties (1939)
Directed by Raoul Walsh; starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Gladys George, Jeffrey Lynn, Frank McHugh, Paul Kelly. A World War I veteran returns to New York, innocently becomes involved in bootlegging, builds up an empire and dies in a gang war. 106 min. 999:853
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Italians

Bibliography of materials about the images of Italians in film

The Avenging Conscience: Or Thou Shalt Not Kill (1914)
Directed by D.W. Griffith. Cast: Henry B. Wathall, Blanche Sweet, Spottiswoode Aitken, Ralph Lewis, Mae Marsh. "Based on Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart,"...depicts the Italian as a sneaky blackmailer." [Columbia Companion to American History on Film] 58 min. 999:1889
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Big Night(1996)
Directed by Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott. The story of two brothers whose Italian restaurant is on the brink of bankruptcy. Their only chance for success is to risk everything they own on an extravagant feast for bandleader Louis Prima. But their big night is complicated by a lovers' triangle, a sneaky restaurant rival, and the hilarious perfectionism of chef Primo. 109 min. DVD 8352; vhs 999:1928
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"Big Night." (movie reviews) Migration World Magazine v25, n3 (March-April, 1997):39.
Denby, David. "Big Night." (movie reviews) New York v29, n42 (Oct 28, 1996):124.
Iammarino, Sarah. "A Celebration of Italian American Culture: Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott's Big Night." Via: Voices in Italian Americana. 8(1):183-88. 1997 Spring
Maslin, Janet. "Big Night." (movie reviews) New York Times v145 (Fri, Sept 20, 1996):B3(N), C12(L), col 1, 17 col in.; v145 (Fri, March 29, 1996):B4(N), C8(L), col 1, 24 col in.
Matthews, Peter. "Big Night." (movie reviews) Sight and Sound v7, n6 (June, 1997):47 (2 pages).
Rafferty, Terrence. "Big Night." (movie reviews) New Yorker v72, n28 (Sept 23, 1996):100 (3 pages).
Schickel, Richard. "Big Night." (movie reviews) Time v148, n15 (Sept 23, 1996):72.
Simon, John. "Big Night." (movie reviews) National Review v48, n23 (Dec 9, 1996):65 (2 pages).
Travers, Peter. "Big Night." (movie reviews) Rolling Stone, n744 (Oct 3, 1996):78.

Do the Right Thing (1989)
Cast: Danny Aiello (Sal), Ossie Davis (Da Mayor), Ruby Dee (Mother Sister), Richard Edson (Vito), Giancarlo Esposito (Buggin Out), Spike Lee (Mookie), Bull Nunn (Radio Raheem), John Turturro (Pino), Rosie Perez (Tina), Joie Lee (Jade), Sam Jackson (Mister Se~nor Love Daddy). This powerful visual feast combines humor and drama with memorable characters while tracing the course of a single day in the black ghetto of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. It's the hottest day of the year, a scorching 24-hour period that will change the lives of its residents forever. Special DVD features, disc 2 (supplement): New video introductions by Spike Lee ; St. Clair Bourne's 60-minute documentary "The Making of Do the Right Thing" ; Spike Lee and line producer Jon Kilik revisit the Bed-Stuy locations ; Public Enemy's video for "Fight the Power" directed by Spike Lee ; the 1989 Cannes Film Festival press conference with Spike Lee, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, and Joie Lee ; Spike Lee's behind-the-scenes footage, from rehersal to wrap ; original storyboards for the riot sequence ; new video interview with editor Barry Brown ; theatrical trailer and TV spots. Videodisc release of 1989 motion picture. 120 min. DVD 579 (Criterion); DVD 27; vhs 999:386
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Down By Law (1986)
Directed by Jim Jarmusch. Cast: Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, Ellen Barkin. A comedy feature about two lowlifes, a small time pimp and an unemployed disc jockey, framed for a crime they didn't commit, who escape from jail with an eccentric Italian tourist. Set in New Orleans and the swamps of Louisiana. 107 min. DVD 2760; vhs 999:1915
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Give Us This Day (Christ in Concrete) (1949)
Directed by Edward Dmytryk. Cast: Sam Wanamaker, Lea Padovani, Kathleen Ryan, Bonar Colleano, Charles Goldner. Explores the immigrant experience in America, the complex family bonds of Italian-Americans, and the difficult struggle to build a better life for themselves and their children during the great Depression. On the outs in Hollywood due to the McCarthy blacklist, director Edward Dmytryk produced this film in England. Based on a novel by Pietro di Donato. After release, this film was long thought lost. 116 min. DVD 3285
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The Godfather (1972/1974)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola; starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton. Part I: Don Vito Corleone is the head of a New York Mafia "family". Problems arise when a gangster supported by another Mafia family, Sollozzo, announces his intentions to start selling drugs all over New York. Don Vito hates the idea of drugs, and he is quite happy with the gambling/protection etc. that make him money, so an attempt is made on his life. Sollozzo then kidnaps one of Don Vitos advisors, and tries to make him force Don Vitos son to agree to sell drugs, but the plan goes wrong when Sollozzo finds out that Don Vito is still alive. Part II: The continuing saga of the Corleone crime family tells the story of a young Vito Corleone growing up in Sicily and in 1920s New York; and follows Michael Corleone in the 1960s as he attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba. [summary from the Internet Movie Database]. Based on the novel by Mario Puzo (UCB Main PS3566.Pu9 G64; UCB Moffitt PS3566.U9 G6). 171 min.
DVD 908 (parts 1, 2, 3); VHS 999:8 (part I); VHS 999:137 (part II)

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Godfather III (1990)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Featuring Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, Bridget Fonda. In the final installment of the Godfather Trilogy, an aging Don Michael Corleone seeks to legitimize his crime family's interests and remove himself from the violent underworld but is kept back by the ambitions of the young. While he attempts to link the Corleone's finances with the Vatican, Michael must deal with the machinations of a hungrier gangster seeking to upset the existing Mafioso order and a young protoge's love affair with his daughter. 169 min. DVD 908
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Goodfellas (1990)
Directed by Martin Scorsese; starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Brocco, Paul Sorvino. Revolving around the low-level gangster Henry Hill, this dramatization of a group of men involved with organized crime provides an inside view of the Mafia from 1955 to the 1980's. Based on the biography of Henry Hill titled "Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi. 146 min. DVD 1843; vhs 999:1932
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House of Strangers (1949)
Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Luther Adler. Set in the rich historical atmosphere of New York's turn-of-the century Lower East Side, this is the powerful story of Gino Monetti, a ruthless immigrant who builds a banking empire on fraud and exploitation which is eventually destroyed by hate and greed. 101 min. 999:3100
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The Italian (1915)
Directed by Reginald Barker. An Italian immigrant loses his only son because of the indifference of his ward boss. The Italian is sentenced to prison, and after his release, finds himself in the position to cause the death of the politician's child. At the last minute he is unable to go through with it, however, because the little one reminds him of his own baby. 70 min. 999:1421
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Jungle Fever (1991)
Directed by Spike Lee. Starring Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Spike Lee, Ossie Davis, Anthony Quinn. An Afro-American architect begins an affair with his working class Italian secretary. Their relationship causes them to be scrutinized by their friends, cast out from their families and shunned by their neighbors in this moving view of inner-city life. 131 min 999:763
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Little Caesar (1930)
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy; starring Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Glenda Farrell. A little tough guy pushes his way to the top of the mob. Yet, at the peak of his success he is taken down as violently as he had ascended to power. This is the movie that made Edward G. Robinson a star. (For a discussion of Little Caesar and the Italian-American mobster image in film, see Daniel Sembroff Golden's "The Fate of La Famiglia: Italian Images in American Film." In The Kaleidoscopic Lens: How Hollywood Views Ethnic Groups. Edited by Randall M. Miller. Englewood, N.J.: Ozer, c1980. pp. 73-96) 81 min. 999:823
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Marty (1955)
Cast: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair. Marty is a tender and heartwarming love story. A 34-year-old plain-looking Italian-American butcher fears that he will never find love but at a Saturday night dance he meets a girl with similar fears. Based on the play by Paddy Chayefsky. 94 min. 999:855
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Marty (1955)
Director, Delbert Mann. Cast: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair. Marty is a tender and heartwarming love story. A 34-year-old plain-looking Italian-American butcher fears that he will never find love but at a Saturday night dance he meets a girl with similar fears. Based on the play by Paddy Chayefsky. 94 min. 999:855
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Marty (TV, 1953)
Director, Delbert Mann. Cast: Cast: Rod Steiger, Nancy Marchand, Esther Minciotti, Nehemiah Persoff, Betsey Palmer. Marty, a 34-year-old plain-looking butcher from Brooklyn, fears that he will never find love until at a Saturday night dance he meets a woman with similar fears. Videocassette release of the 1953 original NBC television program Goodyear TV Playhouse. 50 min. 999:855
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Marx Brothers
Including, of course, Chico's inimitably, over-the-top characature of a characature of an Italian. The Marx Brothers particularly anarchic comedy, with its elements of vaudeville and Yiddish theater schtick, can be read as a goofy metaphor for the "messy" entry of early century immigrants into established American culture.

MRC'sComedy videography for other Marx Brothers titles.

Haas, Scott. "The Marx Brothers, Jews, and My Four-Year-Old Daughter." Cineaste, vol. 19 no. 2-3. 1992. pp: 48-49.
Lieberfeld, Daniel; Sanders, Judith. "Here Under False Pretenses: the Marx Brothers Crash the Gates. American Scholar v64, n1 (Wntr, 1995):103 (6 pages).
Winokur, Mark Brian. American Laughter: The Immigrant as Theme in American Comdey Film [Dissertation, 985] (NRLF C 2 930 656)
Winokur, Mark. "'Smile Stranger': Aspects of Immigrant Humor in the Marx Brothers' Humor." Literature/ Film Quarterly, vol. 13 no. 3. 1985. pp: 161-171.

Matewan (1987)
Directed by John Sayles. Mingo County, West Virginia, 1920. Coal miners, struggling to form a union, are up against company operators and gun thugs; Black and Italian miners, brought in by the company to break the strike, are caught between the two forces. Union activist and ex-Wobbly Joe Kenehan, sent to help organize the union, determines to bring the local, Black, and Italian groups together. Drawn from an actual incident; the characters of Sid Hatfield, Cabell Testerman, C. E. Lively, and Few Clothes Johnson were based on real people. [summary from Internet Movie Database] 100 min. 999:508
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Mean Streets(1973)
Directed by Martin Scorsese; starring Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, David Proval, Amy Robinson, Richard Romanus. "The future is set for Tony and Michael - owning a neighbour- hood bar and making deals in the mean streets of New York city's Little Italy. For Charlie, the future is less clearly defined. A small-time hood, he works for his uncle, making collections and reclaiming bad debts. He's probably too nice to succeed. In love with a woman his uncle disapproves of (because of her epilepsy) and a friend of her cousin, Johnny Boy, a near psychotic whose trouble-making threatens them all - he can't reconcile opposing values. A failed attempt to escape (to Brooklyn) moves them all a step closer to a bitter, almost preordained future." (from the Internet Movie Database) 112 min. DVD 99; Video 999:194
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Movie Review Query Engine

Men of Respect (1991)
Directed by William Reilly; starring John Turturro, Katherine Borowitz, Dennis Farina, Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle. A fearless mobster wins the respect and admiration of a powerful godfather by assassinating the leaders of a rival family. But the prodding of his ambitious wife and the prophecy of a ghetto gypsy, convinces the mobster to murder the godfather and claim his crown. A brilliant study of the criminal mind inspired by Shakespeare's MacBeth. 107 min. Video 999:1509
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Maslin, Janet. "Men of Respect." (Living Arts Pages) (movie reviews) New York Times v140 (Fri, Jan 18, 1991):B5(N), C1(L), col 1, 17 col in.
Taylor, Allan. "Men of Respect." (movie reviews) Sight and Sound v2, n1 (May, 1992):55 (2 pages).
Travers, Peter. "Men of Respect." (movie reviews) Rolling Stone, n597 (Feb 7, 1991):85.
Willson, Robert F., Jr. "Recontextualizing Shakespeare on Film: My Own Private Idaho, Men of Respect, Prospero's Books." Shakespeare Bulletin: A Journal of Performance Criticism and Scholarship

Moonstruck(1987)
Directed by Norman Jewison; featuring Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Vincent Gardenia, Danny Aiello. Loretta, a beautiful soon-to-be-wed Italian widow has the misfortune to meet--and fall hopelessly in love with--her fiancee's estranged brother in this sophisticated romantic comedy about the loves, jealousies, and entanglements facing an Italian-American family in Brooklyn. 103 min. 999:1605
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Corliss, Richard. "Moonstruck." (movie reviews) Time v131, n2 (Jan 11, 1988):80 (2 pages).
Denby, David. "Moonstruck." (movie reviews) New York v21, n1 (Jan 4, 1988):44.
Gross, John. "Moonstruck." (movie reviews) New York Times v137, sec2 (Sun, Feb 14, 1988):H33(N), H33(L), col 1, 28 col in.
Kael, Pauline. "Moonstruck." (movie reviews) New Yorker v63, n49 (Jan 25, 1988):99 (2 pages).
Maslin, Janet. "Moonstruck." (movie reviews) New York Times v137 (Wed, Dec 16, 1987):24(N), C22(L), col 1, 11 col in.

My Cousin Vinny (1992)
Directed by Jonathan Lynn. Cast: Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Ralph Macchio, Mitchell Whitfield, Fred Gwynne. Two carefree pals traveling through Alabama are mistakenly arrested and charged with murder. They are defended by the cousin of one of them (Vinny), a former auto mechanic of Brooklyn who just passed his bar exam after his sixth try. Vinny's never been in court and this case quickly turns into a hysterical escapade. 120 min. DVD 1437
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Raging Bull (1980)
Directed by Martin Scorsese. Robert DeNiro stars as Jake LaMotta, the controversial prize fighter of the 1940's who rose from the streets of the Bronx to the heights of his sport, only to find disillusionment and corruption as well as fame. 130 min. DVD 137; vhs 999:870
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Rocky (1976)
Directed by John Avildsen. Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith. Rocky Balboa, a Philadelphia club fighter who seems to be going nowhere, gets his million-to-one shot at love, self-respect and the world heavyweight boxing crown - and comes out a winner. 119 min. 999:2049
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The Rose Tattoo (1955)
Directed by Daniel Mann. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Anna Magnani, Marisa Pavan, Ben Cooper, Virginia Grey, Jo Van Fleet, Sandro Giglio. Serafina Delle Rose retreats from the world when her beloved husband dies, but is reawakened to life's joys when she meets Alfaro, who reminds her of her husband and wears the same symbol of love, the rose tattoo. Based on the play by Tennessee Williams. 116 min. 999:528
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Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Directed by John Badham; starring John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Joseph Cali, Paul Pape, Bruce Ornstein, Donna Pescow. The story of an Brooklyn store clerk who is an Italian American Saturday night disco king; he begins to question the narrowness of his perspective when he meets a girl who is shedding her origins for a more sophisticated lifestyle. 112 min. 999:1145
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Jordan, Chris. "Gender and class mobility in Saturday Night Fever and Flashdance." Journal of Popular Film and Television (24:3) 1996, 116-22.

The Sopranos See TV programs for complete listing and description

True Love (1989)
Directed by Nancy Savoca. Cast: Annabella Sciorra, Ron Eldard, Aida Turturro, Roger Rignack, Star Jasper. This comedy traces the shifting moods and contrary behavior of two Italian-American sweethearts in the last days before their wedding whose disagreements could very well land them in divorce court. 101 min. DVD 5498
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Scandinavians

The Emigrants (Utvandrarna)(1971)
Directed by Jan Troell; starring Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann. Pictures of America inspire a married couple to pull up roots and join fellow Swedes in a quest that tests their determination and faith. 151 min. 999:1478
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The New Land (Nybyggarna) (1972)
Directed by Jan Troell. Cast: Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann. The story of Swedish newcomers to America, whose unadorned, heroic lives in 1850's Minnesota are marked by hardship, courage, faith and determination. Film also captures the tragic desperation that led Sioux tribes to ingnite the bloodiest Native American uprising in American history. 159 min. 999:1479
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Western and Southern Europeans

Irish
Italians

Oehling, Richard A. "The German-Americans, Germany, and the American media" In: Ethnic images in American film and television / edited by Randall M. Miller. Philadelphia : Balch Institute, 1978. (Moffitt PN1995.9.M56.E86)
Leab, Daniel. "Goethe or Attila? : the celluloid German." In: Ethnic images in American film and television / edited by Randall M. Miller. Philadelphia: Balch Institute, 1978. Public papers in the humanities ; public paper no. 1 (Moffitt PN1995.9.M56.E86)
Kayser, Hans Christoph. "The monacle as symbol of German arrogance in the American media."
In: Ethnic images in American film and television / edited by Randall M. Miller. Philadelphia: Balch Institute, 1978. Public papers in the humanities ; public paper no. 1 (Moffitt PN1995.9.M56.E86)

Alice in the Cities (1974)
Directed by Wim Wenders. Phillip, a footloose 31-year old journalist on the road from the United States to Europe, suddenly finds himself with a new traveling companion: a 9-year old girl named Alice. 110 min. 999:138
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Bagdad Cafe (1990)
Directed by Paul Bogart. Cast: Marianne Sagebrecht, CCH Pounder, Jack Palance, Christine Kaufman, Monica Calhoun, Darron Flagg. An off-beat comedy about a greasy spoon and a rusty gas pump in the Mojave desert. Through hard work and magic, a stranded German housewife, with the owner's assistance, transforms the run-down gas station/restaurant into a nightclub. 107 min. DVD 6818; vhs 999:3158
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Green Card (1990)
Directed by Peter Weir, featuring Gerard Depardieu, Andie MacDowell, Bebe Neuwirth, Gregg Edelman, Robert Prosky. Two strangers agree to a marriage of convenience. She gets the apartment of her dreams, and he gets a green card to live in the U.S. Before they know it, the two encounter difficulties. And worst yet, they just might be falling in love. 107 min. 999:2736
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My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Directed by Joel Zwick. Cast: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Lainie Kazan, Michael Constantine, Gia Carides, Louis Mandylor, Bess Meisler, Andrea Martin, Joey Fantone. Toula is a quiet, devoted daughter in a big, crazy Greek family. Working in her father's restaurant, she hides behind her family and keeps the world at a distance. One day at the restaurant she finds herself pouring coffee for a man who is tall, handsome, but definitely not Greek. Their courtship is an Olympian culture clash. Can he handle Toula, her parents, and her extended family with several centuries of Greek heritage as they head for their big, fat Greek wedding? 95 min. DVD 1564
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