Directed by:
Charles BurnettCinematography:
Elliot DavisComposer:
Stephen James TaylorCast:
Richard Anderson, Wanda De Jesus, Erich Anderson, Victoria Dillard, Elliott Gould, Don Harvey, Ice Cube, Michael Ironside, Lori Petty, M. Emmet Walsh (more)Plots(1)
With THE GLASS SHIELD, acclaimed director Charles Burnett (KILLER OF SHEEP, TO SLEEP WITH ANGER) tackles the problematic issue of racism within the police force. J.J. Johnson (Michael Boatman) has wanted to be a cop ever since he was a kid. And now that he's just been promoted to the position of deputy in the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office, he's going to learn what being a police officer is really all about. As the first black deputy in Edgemar's all-white Sheriff's station, he must learn to adapt if his new assignment is going to work out. Befriending the station's only other minority, the Jewish, female Deborah Fields (Lori Petty), J.J. soon realizes it's impossible to "get along" or be one of the "good guys" when police brutality, political corruption and rampant racism reign supreme. After discovering that a man he has helped to indict (played with ferocious intensity by Ice Cube) is, in fact, the victim of a monumental cover up, J.J. risks his future by butting heads with the powers that be. Shelved after conflict erupted between Burnett and the film's distributor, Miramax, THE GLASS SHIELD remains a provocative, tense thriller that addresses its sensitive subject matter with grace and intelligence. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Richard Anderson
USA
Best movies:
Paths of Glory (1957)
The People Against O'Hara (1951)
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Wanda De Jesus
USA
Best movies:
Spider-Man: Sins of the Fathers (1996)
The Insider (1999)
Blood Work (2002)
Erich Anderson
Japan
Best movies:
Without Limits (1998)
Bat*21 (1988)
Nightwatch (1997)
Victoria Dillard
USA
Best movies:
Coming to America (1988)
Ali (2001)
Deep Cover (1992)
Elliott Gould
USA
Best movies:
American History X (1998)
Barbra: The Concert (1994) (concert)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Don Harvey
USA
Best movies:
The Night Of (2016) (series)
The Untouchables (1987)
Die Hard 2 (1990)
Ice Cube
USA
Best movies:
The Up In Smoke Tour (2000) (concert)
Cypress Hill: Still Smokin' (2001) (video compilation)
Family Values Fall Tour '98 (1998) (concert)
Michael Ironside
Canada
Best movies:
X-Men: First Class (2011)
Total Recall (1990)
Nuremberg (2000) (TV movie)
Lori Petty
USA
Best movies:
A League of Their Own (1992)
Point Break (1991)
Prison Break: The Final Break (2009) (TV movie)
M. Emmet Walsh
USA
Best movies:
Little Big Man (1970)
The Iron Giant (1999)
Serpico (1973)
Bernie Casey
USA
Best movies:
Brian's Song (1971) (TV movie)
Roots: The Next Generations (1979) (series)
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn (1999) (TV movie)
Jim Fitzpatrick
USA
Best movies:
Armageddon (1998)
Gangster Squad (2013)
Little Ghost (1997)
Julio Oscar Mechoso
USA
Best movies:
Phone Booth (2002)
Lords of Dogtown (2005)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Natalia Nogulich
USA
Best movies:
Christmas Vacation (1989)
Four Friends (1981)
Prey (1998) (series)
Drew Snyder
USA
Best movies:
The Pentagon Wars (1998) (TV movie)
Commando (1985)
Cruel Intentions (1999)
Corbin Timbrook
Best movies:
The Glass Shield (1994)
Ski Patrol (1990)
Ecstasy (2011)
Michael Boatman
USA
Best movies:
Running on Empty (1988)
The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)
Donor (1990) (TV movie)
Gaye Shannon-Burnett
Best movies:
The Glass Shield (1994)
Christine McGraw
Best movies:
The Glass Shield (1994)
Sunset Heat (1992)
Greta Sesheta
Best movies:
Ally McBeal (1997) (series)
The Glass Shield (1994)