Sun Ra--space-age prophet, pharaonic jester, shaman-philosopher and avant-jazz keyboardist/bandleader--lands his spaceship in Oakland, having been presumed lost in space for a few years. With Black Power on the rise, Ra disembarks and proclaims himself "the alter-destiny." He holds a myth-vs.-reality rap session with black inner-city youth at a rec center, threatening "to chain you up and take you with me, like they did you in Africa," if they resist his plea to go to outer space. He duels at cards with The Overseer, a satanic overlord, with the fate of the black race at stake. Ra wins the right to a world concert, which features great performance footage of the Arkestra. Agents sent by the Overseer attempt to assassinate Ra, but he vanishes, rescues his people, and departs in his spaceship from the exploding planet Earth.
Director: John Coney
Stars: Barbara Deloney, Sun Ra, Raymond Johnson.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072195/
Watched online, blurry.
~16 songs in the Soundtracks, all Composed and Arranged by Sun Ra, Performed by Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra.
Yes, this film is as bizarre as the plot synopsis makes it sound.
Sun Ra (b. '14) was a real person, as described in this lengthy Wikipedia article. He was a jazz musician whose work became avante garde in the 50's, and continued in that direction until his death in '93, and beyond with the Arkestra apparently still active: they have gig dates out through December.
In this film, a lot of the music sounds like noise, and the primary focus is the poetry about life in outer space.
While watching the film, I wondered when Jonestown happened: 11'78. In reading about Sun Ra, I didn't get any sense that he was trying to start a cult with religious beliefs like Jonestown, but apparently he really did claim to come from outer space, denying his birth name and Alabama origin.
The R rating is for some nude breasts. Maybe also for some prostitutes getting slapped around to injury, not to mention a guy getting shot.
I don't like or recommend this, but it was weird in a way that held my interest, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again (so long as I didn't have to pay for it), now that I've learned something about the star/writer/composer.
indie, dir. Coney; 6-
