Panther

Synopsis: Panther is a semi-historic film about the origins of The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. The movie spans about 3 years (1966-68) of the Black Panther's history in Oakland. Panther also uses historical footage (B/W) to emphasize some points.
Genre: Drama
Director(s): Mario Van Peebles
Production: PolyGram Video
  2 wins & 2 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.4
Rotten Tomatoes:
27%
R
Year:
1995
124 min
1,543 Views


BLACKOUT:

The SCREEN stands BLACK, like a chalkboard... or a grave.

A SOUND builds, like a RADIO surfing channels. Snippets of

SONGS -- Joan Baez' "Blowin' in the Wind," James Brown's "I

Feel Good." The music of a different time.

FOOTAGE:

IMAGES hit the screen: ROSA PARKS, Peace Demonstrators

stuffing FLOWERS in the barrels of National Guard rifles.

Protesters in Birmingham, rallies on the White House Lawn.

Mixed in with the MUSIC comes NEWS BITES -- quick catchwords

of 60's turmoil -- "More troops to Vietnam," "Bus Boycott,"

"Sit ins," "Draft Dodgers," "Malcolm X speaking."

Then a SINGLE PHOTO settles on screen -- a ROW of BLACK

PANTHERS, fists raised, standing defiantly together.

The IMAGE FREEZES.

VOICE:

(over)

The Black Panthers...

As the PHOTO FADES, LIGHTS APPEAR. A SHAPE takes form. The

BAY BRIDGE arcs over silent water, spanning two worlds.

VOICE:

(over)

People still ask me how it all

started? How things went so far? And

like a lot of questions about the

Panthers, there are different answers.

Different beginnings...

Rising behind the voice, the noise of a CROWD can be heard.

VOICE:

(over)

What became the Black Panthers really

started with just two guys -- Bobby

Seale and Huey Newton -- saying two

words:
"Defend Yourselves..." Legend

has it they met at some coffee house

where Bobby was running down a

rhyme...

CUT TO:

EXT. COFFEE SHOP (BLACK/WHITE) - 1966 - DAY

TITLE:
MARCH 17, 1965

BOBBY SEALE -- a skinny, kinetic black man sporting an Afro --

teeters on a chair in front of a small CROWD. He reads from

a crumpled sheaf of papers.

At the side of the crowd, HUEY NEWTON -- well-built, magnetic --

watches, grooving on the rhythm of the words.

BOBBY:

Oh yeah. Yeah it's easy to see right

on your black and white TV. Black

man. Blue cop. Red blood. N*ggers

watch other n*ggers die. That's right

N*ggers watching n*ggers die. That's

the American way...

A COMMOTION starts at the rear of the crowd. TWO UNIFORMED

COPS roughly make their way to Bobby. They pull him off his

chair, cracking his head against the ground.

The cop over Bobby raises his NIGHTSTICK...

A BLACK HAND grabs the club, stopping its arc.

Shocked, the cop turns. It's HUEY. With honed precision, he

DECKS the cop with his free hand.

CUT TO:

INT. POLICE CAR (BLACK/WHITE) - 1966 - DAY

Bruised and bloody, Huey and Bobby sit next to each other as

the car moves through the streets.

VOICE:

(over)

Pigs threw them in jail. There they

starting talking about black folks

oughta start standing up. No master

plan, no pot to piss in, nothing

like that. Just two fed-up brothers...

Next thing you know, you got the

Black Panther Party for Self

Defense...

CUT TO:

BLACKOUT:

Again, the SCREEN goes BLACK.

VOICE:

(over)

For me, it started different. A lot

different. You may as well say The

Panthers started in my front yard...

The black screen DISSOLVES into...

EXT. CLOSE-UP:
SIDEWALK - DAY

CONCRETE, cracked and dirty, fills the frame. A BICYCLE whips

past, gliding down the pavement.

TITLE SEQUENCE:

EXT. 55TH AND MARKET STREETS - OAKLAND - 1967 - DAY

TITLE:
OAKLAND 1967

Teeming with life on a bright day, the Ghetto moves to its

own unique cadence. A YOUNG BOY, no older than ten, pedals

down the street on his BICYCLE.

A gust of wind brushes a SHAPELY WOMAN. She GRABS a HAT and

holds tight, ignoring her DRESS rising in the wind. The BOY

ogles her juicy thighs.

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Melvin Van Peebles

Mario Van Peebles is an American film director and actor best known for directing New Jack City in 1991. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, whom he portrayed in the 2003 biopic Baadasssss! that he also co-wrote and directed. more…

All Melvin Van Peebles scripts | Melvin Van Peebles Scripts

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Submitted by shilobe on March 28, 2017

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