RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Sounder
Sounder

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Sounder (1972)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
87 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:15

Fresh:13

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.7/10

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: An extremely powerful and uplifting story about a family of black sharecroppers, the Morgans, set in rural Louisiana during the early 1930s, Martin Ritt's SOUNDER is so simple and effective that it... An extremely powerful and uplifting story about a family of black sharecroppers, the Morgans, set in rural Louisiana during the early 1930s, Martin Ritt's SOUNDER is so simple and effective that it evokes an emotional response from viewers of all ages. Even so, SOUNDER is not a children's film by any means; it treats serious, adult issues, and features some of the most deeply felt performances and mature relationships ever captured on film. SOUNDER's title comes from the name of the Morgan family dog that young David Lee Morgan takes with him while hunting with his father, Nathan. Unfortunately, times are so hard for the Morgans that when Nathan tries to steal a ham for his family, he is caught and sent to a labor camp. David, now the man of the house, sets out on a journey to find the camp where his father was sent. On his way, he comes across an all-black school where he enrolls, learning empowering lessons about black achievement in America. Based on the Newberry Award winning novel by William H. Armstrong, SOUNDER not only improves on its source material, but it is also one of the rare films about the black experience that moves people of all races. [More]

Starring: Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Carmen Mathews, Kevin Hooks

Starring: Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Carmen Mathews, Kevin Hooks, Taj Mahal, Janet MacLachlan, James Best, Yvonne Jarrell

Director: Martin Ritt

Director: Martin Ritt
Screenwriter: Lonne Elder, III
Producer: Robert B. Radnitz
Composer: Taj Mahal

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Sounder

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 16 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Ritt's film must respond to the needs of an entertainment industry, and in its desire to be uplifting, leaves its characters one-dimensional without ensuring that the one dimension is heroic.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Honest and touching, Martin Ritt's Oscar-nominated Sounder, a Depression-era saga, does proud the American family and the American family movie genre.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
03/05/09
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
10/17/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Heartbreaking and intelligent.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
04/03/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Director Martin Ritt soaks us in the heat, the beauty, the racism and the buzzing cicadas of Louisiana.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
04/03/07
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post

A very fine unpretentious, heartwarming and uplifting family drama about a Deep South black sharecropper family trying to survive during the Depression.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
05/30/06
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
06/15/05
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

If Sounder, an inteligent enough movie, avoids all the major pitfalls of its type, it also lacks the excitement that may have come from plumbing greater depths and discovering a few tougher, less accessible insights.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/09/05
Roger Greenspun
Roger Greenspun
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
11/23/04
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

It is one of the most compassionate and truthful of movies, and there's not a level where it doesn't succeed completely.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
12/05/02
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
07/29/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A masterwork from director Martin Ritt. Movies are rarely this empathetic.

comment Comment
07/27/02
Chuck Rudolph
Chuck Rudolph
Matinee Magazine

Another fine example of Martin Ritt's earthy southern dramas

Full Review Source: All Movie Guide | comment Comment
06/19/02
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
All Movie Guide

Painfully honest, unpretentious, and blessedly simple.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
 
 
1 - 16 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View
See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…
19% 19% Transformers: Revenge …
55% 55% Orphan
43% 43% The Proposal
26% 26% Land of the Lost

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
37% 37% G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
14% 14% I Love You, Beth Cooper
97% 97% Food, Inc.
28% 28% Aliens in the Attic

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia

Your first look at the swashbuckler.

Vampires

Vampires

We rank cinema's bloodsuckers.

Avatar

Avatar

The full trailer for Cameron's epic.

2012

2012

12 facts about Emmerich's disaster flick.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear
87
  • J.J. Abrams Producing Micronauts Movie? Source: Wall Street Journal
11
  • Peter Murphy Filming Twilight Saga: Eclipse Cameo Source: MTV
18
  • David Goyer Promises "Existential" Ghost Rider Sequel Source: MTV
164
  • Emmerich Plans 2012: The TV Series Source: Entertainment Weekly
21
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
42
  • Guttenberg Promises Three Men and a Baby Sequel Source: WENN
66
  • Berenstain Bears Going CGI for Big-Screen Debut Source: USA Today
3
  • Ian McKellen Is Excited About The Hobbit Source: Sci Fi Wire
26
  • Owen Wilson IS Marmaduke Source: Hollywood Reporter
42
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • 12 Facts About 2012
132
  • Total Recall: George Clooney's Best Movies
91
  • Critics Consensus: A Christmas Carol Dazzles But Disappoints
42
  • Ho-ho-horror! 10 Scary Christmas Movies
36
  • Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear
29
  • Friday Harvest: Prince of Persia, The Road, and more!
22
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
14
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Christmas Carol Tops, Precious Rocks
8
  • New Moon Fan in the UK? Meet the Cast!
4
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
14
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
15
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
40
  • Michael Moore: The RT Interview
139
  • Andrea Arnold talks Fish Tank - RT Interview
4
  • Neill Blomkamp talks District 9 - RT Interview
51
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Sounder at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Sounder at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.