Solomon Northup's Odyssey (1984)

Solomon Northup's Odyssey, reissued as Half Slave, Half Free, is a 1984 American television film based on the autobiography Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, a free black man who in 1841 was kidnapped and sold into slavery. The film, which aired on PBS, was directed by Gordon Parks with Avery Brooks starring as the titular character. It was the second film to be funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, following Denmark Vesey's Rebellion in 1982. Parks returned to direct the film after years of absence. He chose to work in the Deep South and to collaborate with a crew of mixed races. The film first aired on PBS on December 10, 1984 and as part of PBS's American Playhouse anthology television series in the following year. It was released on video under the title Half Slave, Half Free.

Solomon Northup's Odyssey was the first film adaptation of Twelve Years a Slave. A second film adaptation, 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen, was released in 2013.

Synopsis

Solomon Northup's Odyssey is based on the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man in Saratoga, New York who was kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery (see slavery in the United States). Northup was intelligent, skilled in carpentry, and was able to play music. He was enslaved in the state of Louisiana for 12 years before he was released.

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