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Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored (1996)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.3/10
Reviews Counted: 14
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 4

No consensus yet.

100

Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 0

No consensus yet.

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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 1,375

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Movie Info

Actor Tim Reid (WKRP in Cincinnati) made his directorial debut with this filmed adaptation of Clifton L. Taulbert's autobiography. Set in an African-American community in the segregated South, Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored follows a young Taulbert through three decades, beginning with his birth in a cotton field in 1946. As he grows up, Taulbert is faced with the harsh realities of being black in the mid-20th century: first from the lessons of his great-grandfather (Al Freeman Jr.),

PG, 1 hr. 52 min.

Drama

Directed By: Tim Reid

In Theaters: Oct 29, 1995 Wide

On DVD: Dec 18, 2001

Republic Pictures Home Video

Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored Trailer & Photos

Cast

Polly Bergen
Miss Maybry
Bernie Casey
Mr. Walter
Al Freeman Jr.
Poppa
Isaac Hayes
Preacher Hurn
Damon Hines
Cliff at 16
Anna Maria Horsford
Miss Annie
Paula Kelly
Ma Pearl
Leon
Uncle Melvin
Phylicia Rashad
Ma Ponk
Salli Richardson
Miss Alice
Richard Roundtree
Cleve
Charles Earl Taylor
Cliff at 5
Karen Malina White
Taj Mahal
Iona Morris
Nila Fontaine
Willie Norwood Jr.
Cliff at 12

Critic Reviews for Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored

All Critics (23) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (10) | Rotten (4)

Based on Clifton Taulbert's book, this sensitive memory film about the author's coming of age in the segregated South is an emotionally quiet saga, plaved against a tumultuous era in black communal life.

January 10, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

Variety

Top Critic

Though the film exhibits a vaguely nostalgic tone, it's hardly sugar-coated, displaying an increasingly discernible edge to its portrayal of racist realities.

January 1, 2000 Comment

Mike Clark

USA Today

Top Critic

Everything about this film bespeaks wholesomeness, from its gentle life lessons to its calm dignity ... (t)hat said, it is not quite as good as some of the hype would have it.

November 25, 2007 Full Review | Comment

Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Heart-warming drama in which community becomes a seedbed where young souls are forged.

August 26, 2002 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice

| Comment

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality and Practice

The acting is good all round, but the star of the show has to be Al Freeman Jr. He shows great inner strength, bravery, and intelligence.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Internet Reviews

| Comment

Steve Rhodes

Internet Reviews

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Audience Reviews for Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored

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This movie is filled with great history from the ice man to the midwife. It recalls parts of African American history in as modern format.

August 16, 2007

Lisa Rogers

Jesus - with those types of comments - no wonder this country is in the state of affairs that it is in. After reading the synopsis, if those sorts of things are all you have to say or think - makes it really apparent why movie making & television seem to be getting dumbed down more & more... Speaking of Depressing...

January 27, 2007