Reviews
What the National Press Says about ZORA NEALE HURSTON: JUMP AT THE SUN:
“An exhilarating portrait of an exhilarating woman, and a cut above the usual American Masters portrait.”
– Newsday
“Continues the revival of interest in this free-thinker who in death has gained stature as a leading literary figure…There’s no doubt Oprah would approve…”
– Orlando Sentinel
“A fully rounded, intriguing account of an exuberant, independent woman who, in the words of her mother, refused to ‘hide her gleam.’ ”
– Chicago Tribune
“Jump at the Sun, written by Kristy Andersen and directed by Sam Pollard, does a fine job outlining Hurston’s life and her near-miraculous achievements, drawing on an unusually impressive and interesting group of talking heads. Draw your own portrait from the film’s wealth of testimony.”
– New York Times
“TONIGHT’S MUST SEE: “It’s a big story, beautifully told.”
– Detroit Free Press and Cincinnati Enquirer:
Hurston’s smooth glamour and exuberance bubble up everywhere. Her larger goal was to celebrate life, and the strongest parts of Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun are the ones that show the many ways she did – from fearlessly taking on the world to her incredibly prolific writings.”
– Daily News
“You don’t want to watch Idol give back? One of PBS’ best series, American Masters, offers Jump at the Sun, a profile of author Zora Neale Hurston.”
– USA Today Critic’s Corner
“Zora Neale Hurston, novelist, first black graduate of Barnard, researcher of folklore, and a rebel above all, saw her life end in poverty with no publisher willing to take her work on…all of which is chronicled in the American Masters film.”
– Wall Street Journal
“This Wednesday, PBS’s latest installment of the American Masters series honours an integral icon in modern history – Zora Neale Hurston”
– TV Guide Canada Editor’s Pick of the Week
“Dignity and class: No biography program pulls off that combination quite like PBS’s American Masters. Tonight, the venerable showcase profiles the life and times of Harlem Renaissance author and social activist Zora Neale Hurston.”
– National Post, Leader-Post, The Vancouver Province, The Ottawa Citizen=.
“I have a kind of collect-them-all affection for the PBS biographical series American Masters, now in its 22nd year and happily catholic in its definition of who qualifies as an American Master.”
– Los Angeles Times
“[The filmmakers] found Zora’s essence rich in grays and sparkling with imagination, much of it now shimmering through AMERICAN MASTERS: Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun.”
– Miami Herald
“Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun supplies a multifaceted portrait. The program continues the revival of interest in this free-thinker, who in death has gained stature as a leading literary figure and author of Their Eyes Were Watching God.”
– Orlando Sentinel
“In Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun, part of the PBS series American Masters, Andersen does her best to bring her back to life.”
– St. Petersburg Times
“It’s a pleasure to see that this new episode of PBS’s American Masters, about writer Zora Neale Hurston, which positions itself carefully and admirably between tribute and honesty, celebration and analysis. Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun clearly does some skipping and jumping around to fit such an extraordinary life into a brisk 90 minutes. But it gives us more than enough to pique further interest in a writer who was strong, opinionated, and unwilling to be quieted.”
– Boston Globe
“Great works of art are forever being rediscovered, whether they be Moby Dick or Van Gogh’s self-portraits. Yet American Masters does something even more with Jump at the Sun: It revives Hurston’s personality, her essential being, and that is something equally precious for being far less tangible. This is one of the best episodes of American Masters.
– Chicago Daily Herald for Black News Magazine
“Tomorrow night, PBS’ American Masters profiles the Harlem Renaissance writer in Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun. It’s a lively 90 minutes that’s must viewing for anyone who’s ever loved Janie Crawford.”
– Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer
“The talking-heads style of these PBS profiles is more effective than usual here, thanks to a collection of sharp, knowledgeable experts. Jump at the Sun balances the writer’s literary career with her path-breaking studies of rural African-American life in the South of the 1930s and the voodoo culture of New Orleans.”
– Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Zora Neale Hurston is one of the most tragic and triumphant figures of the Harlem Renaissance you may never have heard of. PBS’ American Masters hopes to rectify that with a 90-minute biography of the flamboyant writer and anthropologist who died impoverished in 1960.”
– Rocky Mountain News Prime Choice
“Let Jump at the Sun make Hurston’s life and work even better known.”
– North County Times
“PBS’ irresistible new profile of Zora Neale Hurston. While capturing the writer in all her intellectual vigor, physical swagger and abundant warmth, this 90-minute portrait doesn’t neglect the troubling aspects of her personality.”
– Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
“There’s no doubt Oprah would approve of this profile, which pays rightful homage to an American literary legend.”
– Globe and Mail
“That Oprah movie was a good ZNH start. Now learn the rest.”
– Entertainment Weekly
“American Masters takes full measure of the life of Barnard’s first African-American graduate, a woman who also performed pioneering research into Haitian vodou rituals.”
– Time Out New York
“This quality of passionate expressiveness comes to the foreground in PBS’ compelling new profile Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun, the latest installment in the network’s celebrated American Masters series. Jump at the Sun presents a succinct and surprisingly rich précis for anyone interested in finding out exactly why Zora Neale Hurston matters to us today.”
– The House Next Door blog
In the 22nd season of their American Masters series, PBS takes a huge step forward with Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun.”
– EbonyJet.com
“The compelling story of Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most successful and controversial writers of the Harlem Renaissance…”
– Austin 360 TV Blog