Cheap Paul Robeson - Here I Stand (DVD) (St. Claire Bourne) Price

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Customer Reviews of Paul Robeson - Here I Stand

An amazing life
This is an incredible documentary about the life and career of the legendary Paul Robeson, and covers the good along with the bad. Less than positive aspects of his life, such as how he cheated on his wife, are dealt with openly and honestly instead of being excused or glossed over. His life really typified all that is both good and bad about America. He was a poor African-American boy whose father urged him to make a better life for himself, and he became an all-star football player at college and did exceptionally well in school. He could have gone on to be a very successful lawyer after graduation, but was forced to find another occupation because of the institutionalised racism of the time, even up in the North. Robeson found success in everything he did after this stinging rejection, whether he were singing, acting onstage, acting onscreen, fundraising, or giving public speeches. He truly went from strength to strength, and because he was so devoted and committed to standing by his beliefs and principles, his career was temporarily halted and his reputation (in America at least) tarnished during the McCarthyist witch hunts of the late Forties and most of the Fifties. People who had not long ago been huge fans and supporters of his suddenly turned on him because of his Leftist beliefs and how he refused to back down from what he stood for. However, not everyone let the terrifying political climate of the time deter them from continuing to support him and attend his concerts and lectures, and he was able to find great continued success in Europe. And even while he was being persecuted in his country, he made it clear that he did not intend to permanently settle in Europe, because he'd been born in America and was committed to working to reform and change it. After the climate of fear and persecution lifted, he was able to continue his career as a singer and speaker in America. <
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>Watching this documentary really made Robeson one of my new heroes. Not only was he a great actor and a fantastic singer, he was also a tireless champion of civil rights and civil liberties, an activist against the Vietnam War, all other wars, and the bomb, a proponent of peace, and a great believer that we are all one, that people of all races and nationalities are brothers and sisters. When many others were scared into hiding their Leftist beliefs, Robeson stayed strong and spoke out against the gross violations of civil liberties and the First Amendment during the McCarthyist witch hunts, stating loud and clear that it was against the law to persecute people for belonging to a certain political party and for trying to deny them their freedom of association and expression. Scarily enough, we're heading back towards that same climate today. He really practised what he preached, and wasn't afraid to speak out politically even when he was in the Soviet Union during the last years of Stalin's reign. At a concert he gave, he said he had recently spoken with a man who was supposed to have officially disappeared (and who soon was killed, one of the victims of the so-called "Doctors' Plot"), and to express his solidarity with the Jewish community, he sang "Zog Nit Keyn Mol," the song sung by the ghetto fighters and partisans during the Shoah. He really went above and beyond the call of duty in reaching out to all groups of oppressed people and feeling that regardless of differing races, religions, and nationalities, all oppressed peoples' struggles for freedom, equality, and civil rights were one and the same and that all people, whomever they might be, were indeed one big family. Anyone can do the easy thing, but it takes a person of morals, character, and conviction to do the right thing, even though it might be the harder thing to do and one might be persecuted on account of it. Staying true to himself meant more to him than denying his beliefs for the sake of an easier life.

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Captures all of the major issues
The content of this film has already been discussed, but fans will be pleased that most of the major issues dealing with Robeson, his career, and the controversy are all handled well in the allotted time. It also does not shy from some of the less flattering aspects of his career (such as his actual knowledge of Stalin's crimes, but his refusal to openly speak on this because he felt his bigger enemies were at home), but this is handled well and you come away with a good idea of what the man was about in his outspokenness on issues of oppressed people. Only monor complaint is the lack of special features on this DVD, but overall, it's worth the money.

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An Excellent Introduction to the Man
This "American Masters" volume directed by St. Clair Bourne is an excellent centennial introduction to the life and times of Paul Robeson, one of the greatest Americans of the twentieth century. The video's content has already been discussed by other reviewers and I have nothing to add on that score, other than to recommend three other fine books that people interested in finding out more might enjoy.

First is Martin Bauml Duberman's biography of Robeson, published in 1989. This is the best single source.

Second is Philip Foner's excellent "Paul Robeson Speaks" which contains a collection of Robeson's writings and speeches, as well as an excellent chronology. Particularly noteworthy is the transcript of Robeson's testimony before the House Unamerican Activities Committtee.

Third is Robeson's own book "Here I Stand," a small but very valuable volume with enduring insights about America and the world.

O.K., there's also a fourth. Paul Robeson Jr. has written an excellent new book about his father that is worth checking out.

You should be able to find these books (Foner's book may be out of print) on Amazon.