Exclusive: Celebs Tell Us Their Favorite Black Films
From The Wiz to Precious, stars give us their top picks.
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Celebs Tell Us Their Favorite Black Films - From Oscar winners to your favorite reality stars, celebs talk their favorite African-American films for Black History Month.
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Tia Mowry - "The Color Purple. I loved this movie— it was beautiful. I love the bond and the sisterhood it depicted. You had characters that were passive (Celie) and then later on they came together, as Oprah Winfrey’s character (Sophia) did, and finally stood up for themselves. I’ll never forget that, I’ll never forget those moments. I was young when I first saw that movie and it’s still in my mind."(Photo: Albert L. Ortega/PictureGroup)
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Tristan Wilds - "[The] Five Heartbeats. It’s such a great film. It shows how people can go from nothing to something. It showed how some people let fame go to their heads. It’s an amazing film and so fun. You know all the songs, and sing along with them — it’s great."(Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
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Terrence Howard - "My favorite black film of all time is Red Tails and that’s just the truth! It’s the first real all-black action movie. Nate Parker and David Oyelowo are beautifully brilliant in this film. Almost makes me jealous! [Laughs] I wish when I was a young buck coming up, that I had the support that they got. They’ve got massive support, massive appeal, and an opportunity to 'dance.' Man, that’s wonderful!"(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Christina Milian - "Waiting To Exhale. It’s a powerful movie for women. The Black women had to go through stuff that was hard and it was really like real life. Also, it was about women being there to support each other and how friendship helped them get through the tough times. That’s what I love about that movie."(Photo: Jeff Bottari/Getty Images)
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Sandra "Pepa" Denton - "Training Day. Denzel Washington went gangsta in it, just hardcore street and won the Oscar. He was amazing. It’s just something about Denzel. I’m a Denzel fan and I watch every movie he’s in ..." (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
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Sherri Shepherd - “The Five Heartbeats and The Wiz, every year we watch them at Thanksgiving." (Photo: Andy Kropa/Getty Images)
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Vivica A. Fox - “Waiting to Exhale. It was like Sex and the City for sisters.” (Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images)
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Peter Mensah - “Next Friday.” (Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images
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Kimberly Elise - “Cooley High. It’s one of my favorite films.” (Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
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Cynthia Addai-Robinson - “There was a really great period in the ‘90s when there were a lot of smaller independent films, like Love Jones. I was talking the other night with somebody about Boomerang. I really love those films and hopefully in the next few years we’ll see a variety of movies.”(Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
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Daniel Sunjata - “I chose to go to Florida A&M University because of School Daze. It made a huge impression on me. It inspired me to go and study at an all-Black college. That probably had the biggest influence on me of any Black film I’ve ever seen.”(Photo: Donna Ward/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: Donna Ward/Getty Images
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Kerry Washington - “The Color Purple and Coming to America are two great ones. Waiting to Exhale came out when I was in high school, that was a big one.” (Photo: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images)
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Gugu Mbatha-Raw - “The Color Purple was an incredible movie. I read the book when I was 14, so it’s a real treat to be working with Danny Glover in Touch.”(Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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Trina Braxton - “Coming to America of course, Boomerang was our first glimpse of stardom. My sister, Toni, did the soundtrack and it was such a great movie, so real.”(Photo: Angela Weiss/Getty Images)
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Hannah Simone - “My favorite movie of all time and I can quote every single line from it is Coming to America. I can make the most obscure reference. I would love to do a remake of it.”(Photo: Mark Davis/Getty Images)
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Keegan Michael Key - “Coming to America. I don’t care who you are, that movie is funny. Friday is another one where you see a really culturally ethnic film that’s universally funny. An another amazing movie: A Soldier’s Story is one of my favorite movies.” (Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
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Cedric the Entertainer - “Boomerang with Eddie Murphy and Halle Berry. Coming to America with Eddie Murphy. I love Barbershop and A Soldier’s Story.” (Photo: Albert L. Ortega/PictureGroup)
Photo By Albert L. Ortega/PictureGroup
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Rockmond Dunbar - “Soul Food was a great, very funny movie — very interesting and groundbreaking, which led to the television series.”(Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
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Nia Long - "I love She’s Gotta Have It by Spike Lee. That film opened the door for so many people of color and gave them an opportunity to enter the business. I’m a huge Spike Lee fan! I’ve never worked with him, but I respect that he’s a filmmaker who creates films his way. It doesn’t matter if you love him or hate him, you will walk away thinking after viewing one of his films." (Photo: Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup)
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Mo'Nique - "Precious and not because I'm in it, but because of the message and the lives it's changed." (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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RuPaul - "The one that really changed my life the most would be Cleopatra Jones. I lived near a drive-in theater in San Diego and I saw it from my front yard without sound. It influenced me so much; it made me feel good about myself. So much so that I created a character like that for my movie Star Booty." (Photo: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect)
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Faith Evans - "Coming to America, it’s funny every time I watch it, I continue to laugh at the same stuff. I continue to find even more things that are funny. Me and my daughters used to watch that and Clueless every single day."(Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
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Gabrielle Union - "Off the top of my head, I love The Best Man. The scene where Morris [Chestnut] comes around the corner, it’s an iconic moment in Black cinema." (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
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Taraji P. Henson - "It would have to be Mahogany because I’m a huge, huge, huge Diana Ross fan. (Photo: John Ricard / BET)
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Gabourey Sidibe - "The Color Purple — it's one of those movies you turn on and you live every single scene."(Photo: Jason LaVeris/PictureGroup).
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Brian White - "I focus on good acting as it relates to a film as opposed to having a favorite film. Every film by Will Smith, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Lena Horne, Ruby Dee, Don Cheadle will have great acting and carry good messages in the film. The films starring those actors are the films I tell young people to watch for good acting and to view for quality movies."(Photo: Brian Dowling/PictureGroup)
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Omarosa - "Anything with Sidney Poitier. Oh my gosh — Look Who’s Coming to Dinner! When I watch him on screen, he captivates me. He is poetry in motion."(Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
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Michelle Williams - "I have two favorite films. Coming to America because it’s a hilarious film. Every time I watch the movie, I watch it as if it’s my first time. I absolutely love Lady Sings the Blues. It’s a sexy film. It shows a good, authentic, legendary story. I love Billie Holiday."(Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
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Miss D.C. - "I’m about to say and it sounds so strange, but I like Blacula. I’m not even gonna lie. It’s cheesy and I love it. I can say that. I like my movies cheesy. The cheesier, the better."(Photo: jennifercorey.com)
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Joe - "I’m Gonna Get You Sucka, I still like that as a comedy. Cooley High is definitely one of my all-time favorites. Boyz N the Hood was another good movie, too — I think it’s the culture. It kind of reminds you of the lifestyle that you lead growing up."(Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)
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Mya - "Malcolm X, it’s very informative. It’s about the history of our nation and some of the obstacles when you are a public figure who stands for something that you believe in." (Photo: Johnny Louis/WENN.com)
Photo By Photo: Johnny Louis/WENN.com
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Ne-Yo - "Probably The Last Dragon. I’ve always been a Kung Fu movie buff. To see people who looked like me in a Kung Fu movie was something special to me." (Photo: Patricia Schlein/ WENN.com)
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Trey Songz - "I remember when Soul Food first came out, it was basically the beginning of Black family movies. Probably around the same time The Wood and The Best Man [came out]. It centered around the family and the problems you have. My family’s a lot like that. We’re surrounded with strong Black women. I think it was a great representation of Black families."(Photo: Judy Eddy/WENN.com)
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Clinton Portis - "[The] Five Heartbeats — that’s my favorite movie of all time. Five Heartbeats is just a movie that showed you the struggles, the come-up, the rise and fall and then it sowed the reunion. I think that’s a complete life."(Photo: AP Photo/Rob Carr, File)
Photo By AP Photo/Rob Carr
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