Thanks to an electrifying script by Lorraine Hansberry and a very talented cast that so forcefully brings it to life, this is one stage play that triumphs on the wide screen where so many others have fallen flat. Other than a few scenes in a dismal bar called the "Kitty Kat", the entire film is shot in a small Chicago apartment that doesn't even have a private bathroom. The movie thrives on the writing and the acting alone. It's a remarkable cinematic accomplishment that does not fade at all with time. All of the performances are superb, especially those of Claudia McNeil as the strong family matriarch who questions the results of her years as a devoted, dedicated parent during hard times and Diana Sands as her rebellious, intellectual daughter who dares to defy the status quo and to experiment with unconventionality. Although this play is most definitely about race, specifically about being black in urban America at the time, flying in the face of conformity during those times took a special brand of courage and strength, regardless of one's race. I know this from personal experience. Beneatha Younger was tough, but she still had to mind her even tougher mother, as long as she remained in her house. The tense conflict of strong will proceeds from there.Sidney Poitier is a fine actor, but I found the restless, frustrated character of Walter Lee Younger exasperating and even annoying. Instead of foolishly losing most of his father's life insurance death benefit, he could have used even a small part of the proceeds wisely, such as learning a new trade. This was very painful and heartbreaking to witness.The playwright Lorraine Hansberry tragically passed away at the very young age of 34 only four short years after her exceptional play was successfully produced as this film. I would love to see more of what Ms. Hansberry might have created on that old Remington. What a loss.

When you rent A Raisin in the Sun, get ready for some seriously intense acting and a beautiful script. Usually, when a film is made of a play, one or two members of the Broadway cast are used, and the rest is filled with Hollywood names. In Daniel Petrie's adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's play, almost everyone in the 1959 original Broadway cast reprised their roles on film. And, while Sidney Poitier and Claudia McNeil, as well as the direction and play itself, were nominated for Tonys, the film was universally ignored at the Oscars.In a small apartment that doesn't even have a bathroom, there lives the widowed Claudia McNeil, her son Sidney Poitier, her daughter Diana Sands, and Sidney's wife Ruby Dee. They're all dissatisfied with their lives, but each family member deals with their disappointment and frustration in different ways. Sidney throws his heart into untrustworthy schemes, Diana is studying to become a doctor to better herself, Ruby keeps her head down as she tries to get through each day, and Claudia tries to continue mothering her grown children.Unlike most plays, A Raisin in the Sun isn't overly wordy, and not a single moment is boring. It's terribly sad, but still a bit optimistic at times, and very thought-provoking. Perhaps my favorite element, besides the superbly heart-wrenching performances of Sidney and Claudia, is the character development in the script. Every single person in the story is three-dimensional, and no one is a villain or a saint. Audiences can understand their thought-processes and motivations, and it's nearly impossible to choose a favorite character. Depending on how well you handle sad stories, this might be a staple you add to your collection, or it might be a film you watch only once but remember forever.

It's hard enough to make it in this world as a white man without money, let alone being a black man on the outside looking in. For the superb Sidney Poitier, he's imploding inside his insecurities of being a failure in the eyes of his family and be able to truthfully call himself a man. He's married to the hard working Ruby Dee who loves him with all her soul, but a distance she doesn't understand has grown between them. Poitiers's sister (the enigmatic Diana Sands) is also striving to better herself, attending medical school and trying to "express herself" with a variety of hobbies she dumps once bored with them. A slap across the face from family matriarch Claudia McNeil after taking the Lord's name in vain only briefly wakes her up. This is a black family in changing times losing their way, and it's up to the no-nonsense McNeil to bring them all back together. Repeating her Broadway role and commanding every moment on screen, Claudia McNeil is award worthy as the heart and soul of her family. She loves her two children unconditionally but no longer understands them. That's why she has made Dee her confidante and training to take over as head of the family. A scene where she sentimentally talks about her dead husband reveals the truth inside the soul, admitting the man's imperfections, but loving him long after he's dead just the same.The plot line surrounds the fight over an insurance check McNeil is waiting for, with Poitier spending somebody else's money even before they get it. Poitier wants to buy a liquor store, while McNeil wants to buy a house so the family (which includes Poitier and Dee's young son, Stephen Perry) can move out of the slums. But this creates many issues, not of which the least is the white neighbor's desperate attempts to prevent them f on moving in. A timeless tale of how dreams exist in everybody's life, no matter the age, this has had two hit Broadway revivals since the beginning of the millennium, spawned an unofficial sequel ("Claybourne Park") and even been musicalized. It is a powerful character drama where a man is revealed to have not really grown up, the women who strive to help him even when it seems that he's beyond help. McNeil may not like what her children become, but her nurturing heart pulls the family together. A climactic breakdown in Poitiers's character may be the wake-up call he needs to become a real man, just like a wake-up call that sobers up a drunk. This is one of the all time classics and one that deserved more award attention in 1961 than it got.

The American dream,and the loss of it, this film is relevant on many levels, dealing with financial strife,racism,dis-equity among working classes.It is more relevant even today, as people in America are seeing their houses devalued,loss of once stable jobs,and the struggle to endure.Claudia McNair is simply superb as the grandmother, and glue which holds the family together. Sidney Poitier is Walter Lee, who is stocking all of his hopes in the 10,000.00 his mother is getting, from the deceased fathers life insurance policy.Beneatha is the younger sister, attending premed in college with her own dreams and aspirations, which her mother and sister-in-law Ruth (superb performance by Ruby Dee), have difficulty understanding. A related scene when they burst out laughing as Beneatha takes up yet another hobby to express herself,the women's issues that were at the forefront during the 1950's and 1960's are evinced, as well as the racism issues,and unequal treatment.An odious role with John Fiedler as a racist member of the Klyburn Park Homeowners Association,trying to pay off the family to not purchase a house in his neighborhood.Overall excellent performance by Poitier as a young man trying to make his mark in a hostile society,this film is classic,must see.10/10.