Carmen Jones

(USA/1955—directed by Otto Preminger)  

Composer George Bizet's opera Carmen—the tragedy of an honorable soldier who is led to perdition by a passionate but reckless woman—has become standard repertoire in concert halls since its premiere in 1875. Its unique syncopated score was taken from Spanish and Cuban dance rhythms, the same source of inspiration for early Black jazz pioneers such as W. C. Handy.

It was adapted as the Broadway musical Carmen Jones in 1943, with the scenes reset to a WWII parachute factory. Preminger’s film version of this production has a powerful all-Black cast that includes Harry Belafonte as the soldier and Dorothy Dandridge in the title role, and pioneering cinematography using the new widescreen Cinemascope format.

Dandridge’s incandescent performance as a proud spirit who refuses to conform to social expectations earned her the first Academy Award® nomination for Best Actress given to a Black woman. (105 min.) 

This program is part of a companion series of film and music events presented in celebration of Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971, on view at the Detroit Institute of Arts Feb. 4–June 23, 2024. Regeneration is organized by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.