Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Learning Tree Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 18, 2022

Some of the supplements included on this disc understandably get into the history of blacks in America in general and in show business in particular, and the salient point is made that Gordon Parks probably never could have made The Learning Tree much before its actual production year of circa 1969, even if Parks' original novel had appeared several years earlier. As is discussed in these bonus features, while black performers had started making headway in front of the camera, as evidenced by Sidney Poitier's 1967 trifecta of In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and To Sir, with Love, behind the scenes artisans often found themselves unable to proceed. Even some decidedly "black centric" films from this general era like another classic starring Poitier, A Raisin in the Sun, often opted for white directors, perhaps out of a perceived necessity. Gordon Parks had already "proven" himself (as if that would be deemed necessary, which it may well have been given the general tenor of the times) as a photographer for such notable publications as Life, but even so, it may have seemed positively risky at the time to put him in the director's chair for a somewhat sprawling story involving a black family and several associated characters, in the somewhat unusual location of 1920s Kansas (where Parks grew up).

While parts of this story are going to be almost depressingly familiar to anyone acquainted with the way blacks found themselves treated in this general time period, the Kansas setting is actually one of the film's more interesting aspects, however subliminal it may be. It's not all that subliminal in the movie's opening scenes, which seem to be out of some decidedly alternate version of The Wizard of Oz (see screenshot 6). That twister leaves young man Newt Winger (Kyle Johnson) slightly injured, but the whole vignette quickly documents the close knit Winger clan, which seems to have property and livestock, in what might surprise some unfamiliar with a kind of renegade bunch of African Americans who emigrated to Kansas and rather niftily became known as Exodusters.

Black Americans in the 1920s as a general topic may almost inevitably bring to mind tragedies like the co-called Tulsa Race Riots of 1921 (which are overtly mentioned in some of the supplements included on this disc), but what's kind of amazing is while, yes, there are definitely different socioeconomic conditions shown in the film, there's a perhaps unexpected "comfortable" feeling with regard to lifestyles, as evidenced by not just the Wingers' overall living situation, but recreation that the entire black community enjoys, as seen in screenshot 11. This is all to say that while some aspects of The Learning Tree may strike some as positively "old school", contextually the film is really remarkable example of a largely intact and resilient black family which has managed to at least do "okay" for itself. And that perhaps plays (if only subliminally) into some "moral" choices that Newt has to make as the story progresses.

If I (hopefully obviously) jokingly referred to a well remembered Judy Garland movie above, I might also suggest that there are elements in The Learning Tree that play surprisingly similar to some of the setups in the old Warner Brothers gangster movies, where two kids raised at least close to each other end up choosing different paths. Newt is the obvious "good kid" in this formulation, with Marcus (Alex Clarke), a character who perhaps has the too on the nose surname Savage, due to one admittedly stupid and unabashedly (initially) minor mistake ends up incarcerated, leading to later repercussions for both Marcus and Newt.

A budding romance between Newt and Arcella Jefferson (Mira Waters) is also featured, though in one of the film's more tragic if melodramatic developments, happily ever after is not in the cards. What's amazing about Parks' approach to this film is setting Newt up on a seemingly no win proposition late in the film when he's witness to a crime that has connections to Marcus' imprisonment, and who then has to choose between doing what is objectively "right" but perhaps culturally (for want of a better term) questionable.

The Learning Tree Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Learning Tree is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Criterion's insert booklet has the following information on the master:

The Learning Tree is presented in its original CinemaScope aspect ratio of 2.35:1. A 35 mm interpositive was scanned in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging in Burbank, California. A 35 mm library print was used as color reference. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the two inch magnetic track.

While there are some variances on display in terms of color temperature in particular, this is an often stunning looking presentation courtesy of Burnett Guffey's evocative cinematography. Things look just slightly faded to my eyes at times, with a somewhat drab brownish appearance, but that said, things can still pop vividly throughout the film, and some of the most brightly lit outdoor material, as in the late carnival sequence featuring the boxing match, really look fantastic. Damage is commendably minimal, though there is some "baked in" roughness during things like optical dissolves (see screenshot 19). Aside from understandable variances during things like dissolves, the grain field is organic looking and I noticed no problems whatsoever with compression anomalies. Fine detail is typically very good to excellent, though Parks isn't shy from employing then trendy techniques like sudden zooms, which can momentarily affect things. My score is 4.25.

The Learning Tree Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Learning Tree features a problem free LPCM Mono track. The multi-hyphenate Parks also contributed a rather nice score, including an interesting theme song sung by O.C. Smith, who then would have just been coming off his massive success with Little Green Apples. Some of the underscore is really good in my estimation, perhaps aided by orchestrator Tom McIntosh. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Learning Tree Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• My Father: Gordon Parks (HD; 27:15) is a wonderful documentary by Meyer Odze which follows Gordon Parks, Jr., traveling to Fort Scott, Kanses during the shoot for The Learning Tree. This plays both as a heartfelt love letter from a son to a father but also as a fun look at the production of the film.


• Revisiting The Learning Tree (HD; 29:20) is a thought provoking documentary featuring Ina Diane Archer, Ernest R. Dickerson, Nelson George and Rhea L. Combs, all discussing the importance of the film in its own production milieu as well as for the historical truths it offers.


• Gordon Parks: Artist and Activist (HD; 17:58) is another excellent piece featuring Hank Willis Thomas and his mother Deborah Willis talking to Michael B. Gillespie about Parks but also about the whole Exoduster migration.


• Documentaries offers two Parks pieces from 1968 produced for Public Television:

  Diary of a Harlem Family (HD; 20:17) is based on one of Parks' legendary photo essays for Life magazine.

  
  

  The World of Piri Thomas (HD; 59:30) focuses on Puerto Rican - Cuban poet Piri Thomas in Spanish Harlem.

  Additionally, an Introduction by Rhea L. Combs and Nelson George (HD; 8:35) speaking about the documentaries is available.


• The Moviemakers (HD; 7:19) is a short from 1968 featuring Parks during the shoot for The Learning Tree.


• Trailer (HD; 4:01)

Criterion also provides their typically nicely appointed insert booklet, which includes two pieces by Parks himself along with the traditional cast and credits and transfer information pages.

The Learning Tree Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I've just always kind of loved the way Parks both subverts and employs expectations in this story, and I'd rank this up there with films like the aforementioned A Raisin in the Sun and Sounder for providing really beautifully nuanced and full bodied depictions of resilient, commendably emotionally intact, black families. The fact that this was rather incredibly (as the back cover of this release states) the first Hollywood studio film helmed by a black director makes this an important historical document, but more importantly perhaps it's a visceral emotional experience and a testament to Parks' strengths as a writer and director. Technical merits are solid, and the supplements very well done. Highly recommended.