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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Directed by
George C. Wolfe
R
2020
1h 34m
Drama
,
Music
,
and more
6.9
97%
72%
Add to Watchlist
Tensions rise when trailblazing blues singer Ma Rainey and her band gather at a recording studio in Chicago in 1927.
More
Where to Watch Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Netflix
Subscription
Netflix Basic with Ads
Subscription
Cast of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Viola Davis
Ma Rainey
Chadwick Boseman
Levee
Colman Domingo
Cutler
Glynn Turman
Toledo
Michael Potts
Slow Drag
Jeremy Shamos
Irvin
Jonny Coyne
Sturdyvant
Taylour Paige
Dussie Mae
Dusan Brown
Sylvester
Joshua Harto
Policeman
Quinn VanAntwerp
Band Singer
Chloe Davis
Ma Rainey's Dancer
Mayte Natalio
Ma Rainey's Dancer
Johanna Elmina Moise
Ma Rainey's Dancer
Onyxx Noel
Ma Rainey's Dancer
LaWanda Hopkins
Ma Rainey's Dancer
Sierra Stewart
Ma Rainey's Dancer
Malaiyka Reid
Ma Rainey's Dancer
Catherine Foster
Ma Rainey's Dancer
Antonio Fierro
Laborer (uncredited)
Daniel Johnson
Chicago Worker (uncredited)
George C. Wolfe
Director
Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Writer
August Wilson
Writer
Todd Black
Producer
Denzel Washington
Producer
Dany Wolf
Producer
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Ratings & Reviews
Autostraddle
Shelli Nicole
The focus of the film is more on Levee, Chadwick Boseman's character. It felt like Viola was the pull but I was left wanting to learn even more about Ma Rainey than before. However, that's not to say that I didn't enjoy the film because I absolutely did.
Pajiba
Roxana Hadadi
The sense that we're beholden to the whims of unseen forces-that we're not the protagonists of our own stories-cuts deep in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
The Atlantic
Hannah Giorgis
The story concerns itself chiefly with the role of music in documenting and, in some cases, defusing the unspeakable pains that birthed the blues.
Esquire Magazine
Nick Schager
Acting doesn't come much bolder and more blistering than in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
Andscape
Soraya Nadia McDonald
Each of the actors rises to the occasion in this production, riding a wave of heat crafted by screenwriter and Wilson whisperer Ruben Santiago-Hudson.
Mashable
Angie Han
The downside to the film's almost musical rhythm is that it never quite transcends its stagey feel... On the other hand, it's hard to argue against the power of seeing Boseman or Davis' faces fill the screen.
Chicago Reader
Arionne Nettles
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is pure art, just as beautiful as it is heartbreaking.
New York Magazine/Vulture
Angelica Jade Bastién
Ma Rainey has the weight of Hollywood power players behind it, but it seems incapable or uninterested in taking advantage of the delights of what film can do.
FilmWeek (LAist)
Tim Cogshell
It has the sensibility of an Ernie Barnes painting throughout, capturing the many different hues of Black people... And then of course, there is the music, which is extraordinary. Good work all the way around.
FilmWeek (LAist)
Christy Lemire
You never forget that you're watching a play on film, but that's okay because the dialogue snaps and leaps -- it's so intense and so exquisite, and yet the emotion beneath it is real.
Salon.com
Melanie McFarland
Like Ma demanded in her time, Davis claims every scene in which she's centered without dimming the performances of her co-stars. As if that were possible.
leonardmaltin.com
Leonard Maltin
Two searing performances-by Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman-make this filmmore than just a faithful adaptation of a great theater piece and preserves one of August Wilson's enduring works for all time, enacted by a dream cast.
TIME Magazine
Stephanie Zacharek
The film occasionally suffers from the slight stiffness that often afflicts movies adapted from theater. But to watch these actors is pure pleasure...
NPR
Bob Mondello
August Wilson's tale of what it means to be a Black artist in a racist society is hardly new, but the telling of that tale has never been more artful or more urgently performed than it is in this incarnation of "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."
Refinery29
Anne Cohen
Words, and who gets to say them, are a crucial element of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
Vox
Alissa Wilkinson
Boseman plays Levee with an electricity that feels urgent.
Christian Science Monitor
Peter Rainer
If the drama is galvanizing enough, that's all you need. And what we have here is more than enough: Viola Davis in one of her greatest performances, and the late Chadwick Boseman in his final and most powerful appearance.
Tribune News Service
Katie Walsh
Not just about art and artists but the entire Black experience in America in the early 20th century, a deeply traumatized history informed by racism, religion and violence, which is reflected in their creative output that is the blues.
NPR
Aisha Harris
This is a reclamation of Black music and culture as told through an array of distinct characters, crackling dialogue and sharp filmmaking.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Chris Hewitt
Chadwick Boseman's final movie is his best.
Watch Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Videos
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Trailer
Stage To Screen
Stage To Screen
Behind the Scenes
Becoming Ma Rainey
Becoming Ma Rainey
Behind the Scenes
Costanza Romero Introduction
Costanza Romero Introduction
Behind the Scenes
Glynn Turman On His Character
Glynn Turman On His Character
Behind the Scenes
Michael Potts On His Character
Michael Potts On His Character
Behind the Scenes
Ann Roth On Joining The Project
Ann Roth On Joining The Project
Behind the Scenes
Viola Davis: Embodying Ma Rainey
Viola Davis: Embodying Ma Rainey
Behind the Scenes
Chadwick Boseman: A Man Among Men
Chadwick Boseman: A Man Among Men
Behind the Scenes
Mark Ricker On Joining The Project
Mark Ricker On Joining The Project
Behind the Scenes
Dusan Brown On His Audition Process
Dusan Brown On His Audition Process
Behind the Scenes
Taylour Paige On Her Audition Process
Taylour Paige On Her Audition Process
Behind the Scenes
George C. Wolfe On The Plot Of The Film
George C. Wolfe On The Plot Of The Film
Behind the Scenes
Branford Marsalis On His Role In The Film
Branford Marsalis On His Role In The Film
Behind the Scenes
Todd Black On Bringing This Film To Netflix
Todd Black On Bringing This Film To Netflix
Behind the Scenes
Viola Davis On Her Connection To August Wilson's Work
Viola Davis On Her Connection To August Wilson's Work
Behind the Scenes
Colman Domingo On His Connection To August Wilson's Work
Colman Domingo On His Connection To August Wilson's Work
Behind the Scenes
Denzel Washington On His Experience Seeing Ma Rainey On Broadway
Denzel Washington On His Experience Seeing Ma Rainey On Broadway
Behind the Scenes
The Blues
The Blues
Scene
Got Talent
Got Talent
Scene
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