How sad is this?

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Body and Soul (1925) *** (out of 4) Paul Robeson plays a really sinister con man who will dip to any level to get what he wants. He pretends to be a Reverend and soon he sets his eyes on the good girl Isabelle (Mercedes Gilbert). At first her and her mother just see him as a kind-hearted preacher but soon the daughter realizes his evil ways include trying to steal her life savings.Director Oscar Micheaux had already made several movies but there's no question that this here was going to be his epic. Robeson was already well-known on the stage so the two of them teaming up seemed like a grand idea but apparently the two men fought for most of the shooting time and apparently they hated each other so much that Robeson wouldn't even discuss this film. It's also said that the original version was much darker but the director was forced to cut it down by several reels, which is really too bad.As it stands, BODY AND SOUL is a very impressive movie and it's really shocking at how well it turned out and especially when you consider that the budget was very low and of course there was the behind-the-scenes issues. There's no question that the greatest thing about the picture is the performance by Robeson who really does do a terrific job at coming off as this holy man. He certainly makes you believe this fake side of his character and it's easy to see why someone would fall for him. The actor also perfectly nails the more sinister side of the character.The film looks very good, again, for its budget and the editing is also good. The entire movie looks very professional, which wasn't always the case for these early race movies. I'd also argue that the story itself was quite good and it really wasn't too often that you'd see any movie taking a look at religious figures in a negative way. BODY AND SOUL is certainly another winning film from the director and a great start for Robeson.

Considering that this film was an all-black production with a very low budget, the results are surprisingly good. After all, many films made by the black community to be viewed by the black community were pretty dreadful affairs--mostly due to the incredibly poor production values. Here, however, Oscar Micheaux manages to make a film that is better than most mainstream films of the day. Part of is that he got a lot out of his cast and the money used to make the film and part of it is because the plot was so daring--and very ahead of its time.Paul Robeson (in his first film) plays a horrible man. He is a con-man and poses as a preacher to bilk decent people out of their money. And, on top of that, he's a hard-drinking man who is not above using and destroying women in the process. For much of the film, his evil ways go undetected and he's seen as a pillar of the community. However, late in the film he goes way too far and his actions result in the death of a woman who inexplicably loved him. He is confronted with his evil near the end and this was very exciting. Unfortunately, this very modern and cynical look at church charlatans ran afoul of censors and Micheaux unfortunately was forced to tack on a bad ending that detracted, a bit, from the impact of the overall film.Despite not getting a chance to hear Robeson's gorgeous voice since this is a silent, it did give him a great chance to show he could act--and act very well. In fact, of the many all-black productions I have watched, this has some of the best overall acting. Sure, there are a few silly characters here and there--but not many. Most are quite believable. There are a few minor quibbles about the film--apart from the ending. First, Robeson's character is not introduced well. Instead of seeing him live like the devil, the intertitle cards at the beginning tell about him--too much really. Second, the woman dying was clichéd. You don't just die of a broken heart and it could have been done in a much more believable manner--such as a suicide or having him beat her to death. Still, compared to all the films of the day, it was a wonderfully made film--and well worth seeing.

This silent Oscar Micheaux production is notable as the first film of Paul Robeson, later to gain fame in the Broadway and movie version of Showboat. He plays a convict posing as the Reverend Isaiah T. Jenkins and his brother Sylvester. Both are pursuing a woman named Isabelle played by Mercedes Gilbert, a native of Jacksonville, Fla. which is where I once lived in from 1987-2003. Her mother, Martha Jane, is played by Micheaux's sister-in-law, Julia Theresa Russell. Martha Jane is a fan of the reverend and is excited about his upcoming wedding with her daughter. Isabelle prefers Sylvester but he doesn't meet her mother's approval because he doesn't make enough money (I guess the fact Isaiah is a man of the "cloth" is an exception to the mother). When the mother briefly leaves the reverend and Isabelle alone, the reverend looks to threaten the daughter but Martha Jane seems to arrive before anything bad happens. A later flashback extends the scene and explains why the daughter is so afraid of him...This was a pretty effective depiction of a tragedy as performed by the three lead players especially in Robeson's various moods as the convict-reverend. Micheaux also subtly implies a later possible rape scene in a cabin and mines some humor out of the audience of a rousing sermon near the end. Because the New York censor board couldn't accept the tragic ending, however, the director, with barely any more funds to shoot multiple changes simply had the whole thing be the dream of the mother with a happy ending for Isabelle and Sylvester. It does, however, show us both the good and bad sides of Robeson in playing dual roles to a black audience that could not have afforded to see him on Broadway at the time. So to anyone interested in early black cinema, Body and Soul comes highly recommended.

Of course, we will never have a chance to see a director's cut of Body and Soul. Were that possible, then we would certainly see a completely different movie.Many of the obvious flaws in the film were due to Oscar Micheaux's difficulties in getting the production past the censors. Despite the fact that the convict is acting as a minister, the act of showing one in a minister's robes drinking was too much for the time.Today it would be a matter of getting several million dollars from the studio and re-shooting sections of the movie. Oscar Micheaux did not have this luxury. This meant that he had to use the little money available to him to change a completely unacceptable movie into one that would help pay the bills.The only way to do this was to add an ending that corrected everything, and cut the sections of drinking, which happened to be crucial to the story. This resulted not only in a lack of explanation for the story and very clumsy movements from one scene to the next.The drinking scenes have been replaced, which lengthens the film to eight of its original nine reels. This certainly helps, but the alternative ending remains. I am thinking that the director's cut would not have included this and Oscar Micheaux would have a much better movie.Of course, Paul Robeson drives this movie (his only silent appearance), and moviegoers now know of his brilliant voice. Sans this, his penetrating eyes showed the emotion that must have matched his stage performances, which makes this a movie that can be recommended.