Mandingo

A film set in the American South during slavery. Falconhurst is a plantation, but its real business is not agriculture: slaves are bred and sold here. The old owner, Warren Maxwell, and his son Hammond run it that way. Hammond marries and at the same time takes up with a woman on the plantation. He also buys a man named Mede, trains him to fight, and puts him in the ring for money. The film's choice is not to beautify the period. It does the opposite of the nostalgic Southern story common at the time: it shows directly what the relation of ownership was, how bodies were priced, and that violence was routine. It was heavily criticised on release, counted as exploitation and argued about for how it used violence. It was reassessed years later and cited for taking the subject up at all in that period. Perry King, James Mason, Susan George and the boxer Ken Norton are in the cast. The source is Kyle Onstott's novel; Richard Fleischer directed. A harsh example for anyone who likes historical drama and contested productions. Before you watch, know this: the film shows sexual violence and torture directly and no scene of it is easy.