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Shadrach

Play trailer Poster for Shadrach PG-13 Released Apr 16, 1998 1h 26m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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50% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 62% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A middle-class child observes a poor family's (Harvey Keitel, Andie MacDowell) life and a former slave's (John Franklin Sawyer) request in 1935 Virginia.
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Shadrach

Critics Reviews

View All (16) Critics Reviews
Globe and Mail Rated: 2.5/4 Apr 12, 2002 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Shadrach is another one of those well-meaning films, like Amistad, in which slaves are the supporting characters in their own stories. Rated: 2/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Susan Stark Detroit News Rated: 2/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Donald J. Levit ReelTalk Movie Reviews A vignette, really, a couple of days in a boy%u06E5s life recollected in tranquillity. Sep 28, 2009 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 1/5 Jun 23, 2005 Full Review Jeffrey Westhoff Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) Rated: 3/5 Oct 17, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (9) audience reviews
Audience Member (***): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review kirby p This is a very good movie. One complaint: Harvey Keitel's character cusses a LOT, and he uses the n-word a lot. Since I saw this on network TV, both were edited -- but the n-word was certainly edited (pronounced "nigreh") for the original film, not just for TV, and frankly I suspect much of his cussing was as well. I really hate this stuff; it's stupid and unrealistic. The movie would have been ever so much more powerful if that character had been permitted to speak as a poor moonshiner of the Great Depression actually would have spoken. If you have the hots for Andie McDowell -- and who doesn't? -- this film will come as a bit of a shock. Not a typical role for her. And she performs it brilliantly. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member "shadrach's messed in his pants". Perverted old ex-slave seeks burial ground while hanging around with a bunch of rednecks. Good strange fun. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Paul, an only child, loves visiting the Dabney family. The Dabneys have seven children, and they're a much poorer family. During Paul's tenth summer, set in the 1930s, a family member he never even met passes away, and he goes to stay with the Dabneys while his parents go off to the funeral. That's when he meets Shadrach, a 99-year-old black man that was born a slave and was sold off to Alabama, being separated from his family in Virginia. He's been gone all these years. Sensing death in his old bones, he travels back to his native Virginia, wanting to be put to rest where he belongs. Shadrach happens to be a Dabney, just like the white family he came to. Will this family be nice enough to do for him what he wants to be done? What will happen along the way? "Shadrach" is a heartwarming and extremely realistic film. Being raised in Alabama, I can relate to the underlying plot of the film a lot. One thing that's really shocking is that Paul looks almost just like my little brother, making me kind of watch the movie as if it was through my younger sibling's eyes. Both of those facts along with the great acting by everybody, especially Harvey Keitel, made "Shadrach" really hit home for me in a way. Not to mention that it reminds me of my own childhood, when I was looked at as being middle to upper class, but almost all of my friends were less fortunate, and I never thought a thing about it. It's a shame that "Shadrach" seems to be relatively unknown. It's just a simple drama movie with elements of a coming of age film, but it's a real good one that will hit home for certain people, maybe in more than one way. All I did was rent it after hearing that it's "a good southern movie." I'm glad I did, because now I look to purchase it one day in the future. As long as the cussing nearly every other word doesn't bother you (it shouldn't; that's just the film trying to be realistic of the times), you'll love "Shadrach". NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2003. One of the most underrated movies I know of, for sure. I always love a good drama and this one delivered in every way. All the actors do a great job and if you don't mind a good tear-jerker, this is a must see. Guess it receives a few extra brownie points cause the main kid actor looks JUST LIKE my little brother looked at that age. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member so shitty, boring, & pointless, I couldn't even sit through it. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member we all need to make time for the shadrachs that are left on this planet and share thier journey with them no matter how long or short... Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Shadrach

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A middle-class child observes a poor family's (Harvey Keitel, Andie MacDowell) life and a former slave's (John Franklin Sawyer) request in 1935 Virginia.
Director
Susanna Styron
Producer
Boaz Davidson, Bridget Terry, John Thompson
Screenwriter
William Styron, Susanna Styron, Bridget Terry
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Millennium Films
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 16, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 27, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$20.2K
Runtime
1h 26m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby
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