La mort n'a pas de couleur

Unbelievable just how good this story about the evils of Racism was and is. Stuff like this should never have been allowed to happen. All the actors in this did a very good job. Yes I Highly Recommend this one. James E. Welch Henderson Arkansas 5/4/2022.

I was so pleased that I had taped this movie from the television based upon the briefest review in the newspaper as I have the chance to watch this forgotten gem whenever I wish to. Made in 1986 the film is about a US Army Major in 1972 accompanying the body of a young officer to his home town of Rockville for local burial. So what you may think, but the twist is that Major Laird is played by John Lithgow and his charge is the son of Luther and Ada Johnson (Morgan Freeman and CCH Pounder). In Rockville the cemetery is reserved for the white folks and even black military heroes have to rest out of town, according to the local Sheriff. The plot deals with that period in time when there still was prejudice even though there were laws for equal rights. This may seem quite dated now that Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th President of the United States of America, but the story is told with feeling and some very strong acting ability. Without exception, all of the leading characters are portrayed by actors who all went on to prove their true worth. It may be that the subject matter of the movie was not flavour of the month in 1986 but nevertheless it is workmanlike and sincere in its story of good old white society trying to maintain its superiority over emerging black aspirations. Whilst it is not in the same league as 'In the Heat of the Night' or 'Amistad' this well made tale of a fight against prejudice is still worth watching more than once.

John Lithgow accompanies a Black Lieutenant soldier's body sent home for final resting in rural Georgia. Despite it being 1972, racial prejudice ensues as the soldier is refused burial in the town's all White cemetery. Although prominently featured on the DVD cover, the soldier's Father, Morgan Freeman, has little to do in the film. Things slow down considerably as Lithgow tries to get the truth about how the Lieutenant died, from many fruitless interviews with his Vietnam Unit. Eventually the truth begins to emerge. M. Emmet Walsh's part as a retired Sargent giving advice to Lithgow, seems like little more than time filler. Not a bad film , it just feels like it was stretched to fill a TV slot. - MERK

As usual, Hallmark Hall of Fame has done an outstanding job of presenting the factual events of the times. Our world is not always a pleasant place, but as these events show, truth and right generally prevail. I like the fact that this experience was an education for all involved, especially John Lithgow's character.

A powerful movie shows a unique situation where there was a collective error of people, and goes beyond, also shows a degrading action of racism, something meaningless, a movie that is big and teaches, shows a story that we kept our mouths open, a moving situation that brings us new unexpected situations. A movie I did not know and surprised me, I thought it was great!

The filmmaker is the American, John Korty (1936), I did not know him, but now I became a fan, I want to see more of his works, made many films for TV, stopped directing films in 2009, made a documentary: Miracle in a Box : A Piano Reborn, and rather to TV movies: A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story (TV Movie 1999). I highlight these films more: The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974) Farewell to Manzanar (1976) Who Are the DeBolts? and Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids? (1977). The protagonist is the great American actor John Lithgow (1945), starred among others in: Total Risk (1993), Love is Strange (2014) and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (1984). Morgan Freeman, (Invictus 2009) plays an important role too, appears little, but brightens up this movie that I liked too much.