The late Kathleen Collins, poet, playwright, writer, filmmaker, director, civil rights activist, and educator, made only two films in her unfortunately short life, but she managed to pave the way for African American cinema as being the second Black woman to direct a feature film. Her remarkable 1982 independent classic Losing Ground was it, and it was a marvelous one to be remembered for.
Buy Losing Ground Blu-rayA groundbreaking portrait of a crumbling marriage between Black intellectuals, the film centers on buttoned-up college professor Sara Rogers (Seret Scott), who is doing research on ecstatic experience, while her painter husband Victor (late, indie director Bill Gunn) goes on a journey to reclaim his own essence of joy.
When they rent a summer house upstate, their already rocky relationship is tested even further when Victor becomes involved with a younger Puerto Rican model (Maritza Rivera), while Sara herself lets her hair down, gets a role in one of her students’ thesis project films, and finds a new lease on life after meeting Duke (the late, great Duane Jones, in a post-Night of the Living Dead triumph), the student’s uncle who immediately becomes attracted to her.
While also being a depiction of the tragic mulatto, Losing Ground unfolds as a refreshing film where African Americans are able to have a voice in how they regard art, sex, race, and fulfillment. They don’t play secondary nor character roles; they are front and center here. With this film, Collins really captured a certain area of life that most filmmakers before and after haven’t been able to accomplish since.
Ever since I saw the film for the first time on TCM, it has never left my consciousness. I always get more and more out of it every time I see it. For me, it continues to be an essential film that shows the power of not just independent cinema, but also Black film.
Being re-released by Milestone Films, the new 4K restoration is a marvel, showcasing Ronald K. Gray’s beguiling cinematography, which the makes the film come alive even more. The special features (from the original 2016 release) are still incredible. The first disc includes audio commentary for Losing Ground by professors LaMonda Horton-Stallings and Terri Francis; a new 2K restoration of The Cruz Brothers and Miss Malloy, Collins’ first film; In Search of Marcus Garvey, a 1981 short documentary by Collins; archival audio commentary for ‘Cruz Brothers and Miss Malloy‘ by Collins; and theatrical trailer.
The second disc includes Transmagnifican Dambamuality, a 1976 short film by Gray; interviews with Gray, Scott, and Collins’ daughter Nina Lorez; Collins’ interview from 1984; and 1984 Masterclass with Collins at Howard University.
