"In many ways, David Greaves' inviting and historical documentary, " Once Upon a Time in Harlem," is the stuff of legend. A vital reclamation of a precious history, the film was born from a night in 1972, when his father, William Greaves, invited the living titans of the Harlem Renaissance to Duke Ellington's old flat for a four-hour party filled with fond memories, fierce debates, and copious alcohol."
"The film begins with the arrival of the guests. Luminaries in the winter of their lives, like poet Arna Bontemps, painter Aaron Douglas, Countee Cullen's widow Ida Mae Cullen, composer Eubie Blake, stream into the flat like a ticker tape parade. Before long, one of the film's three cameras, one of which was operated by the younger Greaves, catches sight of photographer James Van Der Zee, who sits down at a piano."
Footage from a 1972 gathering in Duke Ellington's old flat brings together aging luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance for four hours of memories, debates, and alcohol. William Greaves filmed the event but could not finish the project; his son David Greaves, with daughter Liani's support, retooled the archival material into a completed documentary. The restored footage pairs present-day images with historic photographs, stages one-on-one interviews, and uses split-screen to connect past and present. The film foregrounds figures such as Arna Bontemps, Aaron Douglas, Ida Mae Cullen, Eubie Blake, and photographer James Van Der Zee, reclaiming a vital cultural lineage.
Read at Roger Ebert
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