Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critics What's this?

User Score
tbd

No user score yet- Awaiting 2 more ratings

  • Summary: Groundbreaking singer, actor and activist Harry Belafonte rose to fame in the U.S. in spite of segregation, and crossed over into mainstream America on his way to international stardom. His hit 1956 album "Calypso" made him the first artist in industry history to sell over a million LPs, and spawned the smash single "Banana Boat (Day-O)." Though recognized with Grammy, Tony and Emmy awards, Belafonte was blacklisted, harassed by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), spied on by the CIA and FBI, and threatened by the Klan, state troopers and Las Vegas mafia bosses.
    Distilled from more than 700 hours of interviews, eyewitness accounts, movie clips, excerpts from FBI files, and news and rare archival film footage and stills, some of which has never been seen before, Sing Your Song reveals Belafonte as a tenacious hands-on activist who worked intimately with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., mobilized celebrities for social justice, participated in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and took action to counter gang violence, prisons and the incarceration of youth. (HBO Films)
    Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    Jan 12, 2012
    90
    Most famously, Belafonte ignited immense controversy both within and without the black community by repeatedly suggesting that Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice were the "house slaves" of the George W. Bush administration.
  2. Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    Jan 12, 2012
    80
    Belafonte still finds ways to address injustice - and now we have over 50 years of his example to follow and his music to enjoy.
  3. Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    Jan 14, 2012
    70
    It's valuable for both the vintage footage Rostock has collected and for the observations provided by Belafonte, who is as charming, handsome and persuasive in his mid-80s as he ever was.
  4. Reviewed by: Joshua Rothkopf
    Jan 12, 2012
    60
    There's a more courageous profile waiting to be made by someone who understands the man better.

See all 9 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of
  2. Mixed: 0 out of
  3. Negative: 0 out of

Trailers