Solomon Northup's Odyssey

Plot

Half Slave, Half Free is the reissue title for African-American director Gordon Parks' TV movie Solomon Northup's Odyssey. Based on the autobiography Twelve Years a Slave, the film relates the story of Solomon Northup, a black freedman who, in 1841, was kidnapped in Washington D.C. and sold into slavery. Avery Brooks stars as Northup, having spent a dozen years' servitude in Louisiana before managing his escape. Northup's own written words bespeak a rebellious spirit not far removed from the firebrand freedom fighters of the '60s. Curiously, director Parks downplays this in favor of sentimentality. Under its original title, Half Slave, Half Free was originally telecast December 10, 1984, on PBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cast

Mason Adams; Avery Brooks; Petronia Paley; Joe Seneca; Michael Tolan; Lee Bryant; John Saxon; Rhetta Greene

Credit

Gordon Parks - Director, John Carter - Editor, Gordon Parks - Songwriter, Hiro Narita - Cinematographer, Yanna Kroyt-Brandt - Producer, Sam Williams - Screenwriter, Lou Potter - Screenwriter

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