OUTSTAGN/SPOT BITZ

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. And in the world of motion pictures, many words have been written by the screenwriter for actors and actresses to perform on camera, creating thousands of stories told from the beginning credits to THE END.

Since the 19th century, there have been many stories transfixed into motion pictures from silent films and "talkies" inside nickelodeons all the way to the IMAX special effect theaters of today. One genre of stories has been of the African American Experience. From the race-juke joints/jazz-dance halls to the Deep (Segregated/Integrated)South, from gritty blaxploitation backdrops to Black Power struggles, from interracial bonding and relationships to crossover star vehicles and from hood flicks to buppy rom coms, the African American Experience has been fully represented in film.

Below is OUTSTAGNs choices of the 50 Most Influential African American Films of All Time. What defined these films as an African American film was either it was directed by an African American director, had at least one African American actor/actress in a prominent role in a film, and/or the content was based on an African American subject matter. The films selected made the list because of their impact in black and pop culture by creating important cultural shifts, imagery and movements in African American Film.

BEFORE GETTING TO THE TOP 50, WE WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN FILM DIRECTOR OSCAR MISCHEAUX WHOSE FILM CAREER SPANNED FROM 1919 WITH SILENT FILM "THE HOMESTEADER" TO HIS LAST FILM, "THE BETRAYAL" IN 1948.

HERE ARE THE FILMS FROM 60 to 51:

60.PARIS IS BURNING (1991)

59.LOVE JONES (1997)

58.BLACULA (1972)

57.THE BEST MAN (1999)

56.WATERMELON WOMAN (1997)

55.MANDINGO (1975)

54.COONSKIN (1975)

53. CAR WASH (1976)

52.BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET (1984)

51.COTTON COMES TO HARLEM (1970)