Friday, August 2, 2024

Race/Related: Looking for the best in Black cinema? Try Brown Sugar.

The streaming service highlights some of the finest movies starring, and often directed by, Black artists.
Race/Related

August 2, 2024

A collection of four images in a square. In the top left image, a man in a yellow basketball jersey lifts his arms up in celebration. In the top right image, a man wearing sunglasses and a large yellow hat smiles. In the bottom left, two men with Afros stand outside next to each other. In the bottom right, a woman in a multicolored sweater sings.
Clockwise from top left: Arthur Agee in "Hoop Dreams"; Jimmy Cliff in "The Harder They Come"; Lisa Lee in "Beat Street"; and Richard Pryor and Billy Dee Williams in "Hit!" Clockwise from top left: Kartemquin Films; Shout! Factory; Orion Pictures; Paramount Pictures

The streaming service highlights some of the finest movies starring, and often directed by, Black artists.

As the name-brand streaming services struggle to show profits and broker cable-esque bundling packages to cut costs, the most successful streamers are proving to be niche services, which curate specialized libraries for a specific target audience. We've spotlighted several such streamers in this space, most of them focusing on clearly defined genres or sensibilities; this month, we look at a service with an eye on one particular culture.

Brown Sugar, which started in 2016, promises on its site "hit movies and TV shows along with the largest collection of classic Black cinema, uncut and commercial-free." Its library features programming about the Black experience, predominately by Black creators, and aimed primarily at Black audiences (while recognizing that those audiences are seeking all sorts of entertainment). There is a robust selection of Black cinema from the 1970s, the vaunted blaxploitation era, including titles from Ossie Davis, Rudy Ray Moore and Richard Roundtree, as well as cult titles like "The Harder They Come" and "Putney Swope," and '80s favorites like "Hollywood Shuffle" and "Beat Street."

That era initially dominated the service's library, but it has since broadened its offerings to include more contemporary romantic comedies, action thrillers, heartwarming dramas, and historical and true crime documentaries. It's also cultivated a partnership with Bounce TV that gives viewers access to such long-running and popular shows as the soap opera "Saints & Sinners," the rags-to-riches sitcom "Family Time" and the barbershop-set comedy "In the Cut."

Subscription is a bargain, running only $3.99 per month (after a one-week free trial) or $42 for a year. Brown Sugar is available on desktop and a variety of streaming devices, including Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Image quality varies wildly — some films and shows are Blu-ray quality, but occasional older and less-cared-for titles may well have been mastered from VHS. But it's worth the risk for the hidden gems the service offers.

A collection of four images in a square. In the top left image, a man in a yellow basketball jersey lifts his arms up in celebration. In the top right image, a man wearing sunglasses and a large yellow hat smiles. In the bottom left, two men with Afros stand outside next to each other. In the bottom right, a woman in a multicolored sweater sings.

Clockwise from top left: Kartemquin Films; Shout! Factory; Orion Pictures; Paramount Pictures

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