Ragtime

Based on the sweeping novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime depicts the social, racial, and economic turmoil of early 20th-century America through the prism of several intertwining New York characters. It centers on the story of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. (in an astonishing performance by Howard E. Rollins, Jr.), a black piano player who fights injustice at the hands of redneck firemen. The cast includes Elizabeth McGovern, Mandy Patinkin, Debbie Allen, Norman Mailer, and James Cagney in his final movie appearance. Roger Ebert describes Ragtime as a “loving, beautifully mounted, graceful film.” 1981, 35mm, 155 minutes.