Cry, The Beloved Country
Directed by Zoltán Korda
2023 HD Master by StudioCanal – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Nitrate Negative! Cry, the Beloved Country is an extraordinarily moving adaptation of the legendary best-selling novel by Alan Paton. A Black minister, Stephen Kumalo (Canada Lee, Body and Soul) lives a quiet life as a parish priest in the back country of South Africa. When his son, Absolom, leaves the small valley where he grew up for the bright lights of the city, he goes missing. After several months of silence, the minister goes to search for him and comes face to face with the squalor and poverty of the Johannesburg slums. Reverend Msimangu (Sidney Poitier in a breakout early performance) is a young clergyman who joins him in his search, but neither are prepared for what they will discover. Directed with grace and sensitivity by Zoltan Korda (Sahara).
- Audio Commentary by Film Historian Daniel Kremer
- CANADA LEE: An Interview with Mona Z. Smith