Walter and Mamma are played very differently in each adaption. Do you notice any interesting directorial choices?

The
earlier film version of (1961) was made at a time when Hollywood had only
recently begun to allow realistic portrayals of African American , moving away from the
stereotyping that had unfortunately been so common. Though in general it's an excellent
adaptation, much of the acting from today's perspective is liable to strike viewers as slightly
old-fashioned, or at least carefully done in such a way as to avoid the
possibility of "offending" white audiences.

Sidney Poitier, as ,
was a pathbreaking figure in the cinema who at the time was establishing himself as the first
African American actor to be widely applauded by white America. Poitier is realistic as Walter
Younger, but his basically amiable persona perhaps, at times, lacks the edge that is essential
to the character and his understandable anger and bitterness. In the remake from 2008, Sean
Combsthough in general one wouldn't think to put him on the same plane, as an actor, as
Poitierdelivers a solid performance. Combs's portrayal does convey Walter's frustration and
resentment without sugar-coating or the deliberate smoothness typical of Poitier in many of his
roles. This is not to evaluate Poitier at all negatively but simply to recognize that in 1961,
white America was still not "ready" for a more completely open and straightforward
portrayal of an African American character.

Claudia McNeil gives an excellent
performance in the earlier film asYounger. Paradoxically, the difference between her portrayal
and Phylicia Rashad's, forty-seven years later, is in some sense the opposite of what we have
just observed about the old and new portrayals of Walter Younger. If anything, McNeil's
performance is more austere, more emblematic of theof the Younger family's situation than the
performance Rashad gives us, despite the excellence of the latter's acting. If I could select
one moment that stands out, it would be the confrontation between Lena and her daughterabout
religion. In the earlier film, when Lena slaps Beneatha (Diana Sands) and forces her to repeat,
"In my mother's house there is still God," one senses the absolute authority Lena
wields, despite Beneatha's full-on attempt at independence. In the 2008 version, the
confrontation with Beneatha (Sanaa Lathan), though powerful, does not come across with quite the
same devastating and uncompromising force as in the earlier film. Perhaps this is simply because
in 1961, it was a much more normal thing for a parent to dictate, even to an adult daughter,
that her word within the household is law and cannot be opposed. In any event, both film
versions, despite their different approaches, are extremely well-executed adaptations of
Hansberry's iconic play.