RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Sounder
Sounder

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

Sounder (1972)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
88 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 16

Fresh: 14

Rotten:2

Average Rating: 7.6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: An extremely powerful and uplifting story about a family of black sharecroppers, the Morgans, set in rural Louisiana during the early 1930s, Martin Ritt's SOUNDER is so simple and effective that it... An extremely powerful and uplifting story about a family of black sharecroppers, the Morgans, set in rural Louisiana during the early 1930s, Martin Ritt's SOUNDER is so simple and effective that it evokes an emotional response from viewers of all ages. Even so, SOUNDER is not a children's film by any means; it treats serious, adult issues, and features some of the most deeply felt performances and mature relationships ever captured on film. SOUNDER's title comes from the name of the Morgan family dog that young David Lee Morgan takes with him while hunting with his father, Nathan. Unfortunately, times are so hard for the Morgans that when Nathan tries to steal a ham for his family, he is caught and sent to a labor camp. David, now the man of the house, sets out on a journey to find the camp where his father was sent. On his way, he comes across an all-black school where he enrolls, learning empowering lessons about black achievement in America. Based on the Newberry Award winning novel by William H. Armstrong, SOUNDER not only improves on its source material, but it is also one of the rare films about the black experience that moves people of all races. [More]

Starring: Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Carmen Mathews, Kevin Hooks

Starring: Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Carmen Mathews, Kevin Hooks, Taj Mahal, Janet MacLachlan, James Best, Yvonne Jarrell

Director: Martin Ritt

Director: Martin Ritt
Screenwriter: Lonne Elder, III
Producer: Robert B. Radnitz
Composer: Taj Mahal

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jan 14, 2003

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Sounder

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 17 (sorted by date)
Text View
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Honest and touching, Martin Ritt's Oscar-nominated Sounder, a Depression-era saga, does proud the American family and the American family movie genre.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
03/05/09
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
10/17/07
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Heartbreaking and intelligent.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
04/03/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Director Martin Ritt soaks us in the heat, the beauty, the racism and the buzzing cicadas of Louisiana.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
04/03/07
Michael Booth
Denver Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ritt's film must respond to the needs of an entertainment industry, and in its desire to be uplifting, leaves its characters one-dimensional without ensuring that the one dimension is heroic.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Time Out

A very fine unpretentious, heartwarming and uplifting family drama about a Deep South black sharecropper family trying to survive during the Depression.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
05/30/06
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
06/27/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
06/15/05
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

If Sounder, an inteligent enough movie, avoids all the major pitfalls of its type, it also lacks the excitement that may have come from plumbing greater depths and discovering a few tougher, less accessible insights.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/09/05
Roger Greenspun
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
11/23/04
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

It is one of the most compassionate and truthful of movies, and there's not a level where it doesn't succeed completely.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
12/05/02
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
07/29/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A masterwork from director Martin Ritt. Movies are rarely this empathetic.

comment Comment
07/27/02
Chuck Rudolph
Matinee Magazine

Another fine example of Martin Ritt's earthy southern dramas

Full Review Source: All Movie Guide | comment Comment
06/19/02
Dan Jardine
All Movie Guide

Painfully honest, unpretentious, and blessedly simple.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 17 (sorted by date)
Text View
See More Topics...

Related Forums for Sounder

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
79%
79%
Gran Torino
30%
30%
12 Rounds
23%
23%
Confessions of a Shopa…
—
The Code
39%
39%
Inkheart

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
22%
22%
Push
12%
12%
The Unborn

More New Releases…

RT On Current TV

What’s Hot On RT

5 Favorite Films

5 Favorite Films

Director Kathryn Bigelow on Hurt Locker, more

Revisiting Hogwarts

Revisiting Hogwarts

Day 2: The Chamber of Secrets

Humpday Clip

Humpday Clip

An exclusive peek at the indie comedy!

RT on Current TV!

RT on Current TV!

Check out the RT Show this Thursday!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer Source: Latino Review
52
  • Warners Wins Favorable Ruling in Superman Case Source: Variety
16
  • Remo Williams Rides Again Source: Risky Biz
10
  • Mortal Kombat 3 Filming in September? Source: Slashfilm
82
  • MacGruber Gets a Director Source: Variety
39
  • PG-13 Turns 25 Source: VideoETA
8
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
92
  • Brandon Routh Talks Superman's Future Source: Moviehole
98
  • Sony's Amy Pascal Explains Moneyball Balk Source: Los Angeles Times
6
  • Three Theaters Getting Harry Potter in IMAX Opening Day Source: Collider.com
18
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
66
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers and Ice Age Tie for Top Spot
59
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
46
  • Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow
39
  • Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
29
  • RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
26
  • Total Recall: Mock Docs That Rock
26
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
24
  • Five Favourite Films with Jaime Winstone
18
  • Watch RT on Current TV
6
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
0
  • RT Interview: Tony Scott on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
10
  • Cannes 2009: RT Interview - Sally Hawkins on We Want Sex
2
  • RT Interview: Tilda Swinton on Julia
5
  • Hollywood Legend Debbie Reynolds Reflects On her Life in Showbiz
10
  • Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation
24
  • Georgia Groome - Fresh Talent on RT
5
  • RT Interview: Reading The Reader with Stephen Daldry
11
  • RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
7
  • Carey Mulligan - Fresh Talent on RT
7
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Sounder at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Sounder at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno External Link

MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.

Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles
Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles External Link

TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.

A Baywatch Comedy?
A Baywatch Comedy? External Link

BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.