Cradle Will Rock

Hollywood activist Robbins wrote and directed this 1999 film, whose origin was a musical by Marc Blitzstein during the Great Depression through a grant from the WPA's Federal Theatre Project. At that time, it caused a considerable stir with its themes of corporate greed, excesses of the filthy rich, and deprivation of the workers who created America's wealth. Its original mounting was shut down with claims of radical extremism and Communist sympathizing. The House Un-American Activities Committee later blacklisted some of its cast and creators. Robbins has assembled stellar film and theater actors including then partner Susan Sarandon, Vanessa Redgrave, Hank Azaria, Cherry Jones, Ruben Blades, Joan and John Cusack, Bill Murray, John Turturro, and many others to portray the lavish lifestyles of the heirs apparent to the Gilded Age hobnobbing with and patronizing starving artists and geniuses such as Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and Orson Welles (who directed the original musical). Social commentary, in general, is not grab-you-by-the-collar Netflix fodder, but this is entertaining, informative, and intelligent. The quality of the Blu-ray transfer is highly successful, adding visual depth and unusually high-definition clarity. Bonus materials include audio commentary from Robbins.