Chadwick Boseman: Five essential movies

A graceful presence on every screen he graced, Chadwick Boseman left behind a legacy of memorable performances.

Chadwick Boseman’s death came as a shock to movie lovers and his fans, who didn’t know the Black Panther star had been battling colon cancer for the past four years.

While relatively unknown to Australian audiences before his splash in Captain America: Civil War, his debut as T’Challa, Boseman had built a steady career in film and on television.

In every role he played, he brought grace and dignity to the screen, not always the easiest characteristic to convey if it wasn’t already innately within you.

Boseman may be gone and audiences robbed of the years of wonderful performances he had yet to craft, but his legacy will live on in the gifts he has already left us.

If you want to honour the man and the artist, revisit one of his great works.

BLACK PANTHER

Chadwick Boseman will forever be remembered for bringing Black Panther to life

Black Panther wasn’t just a defining moment in Boseman’s career, it was a defining moment for millions of people who had never seen themselves represented on screen as a larger-than-life in such an enormous production.

As Marvel Studios’ first black superhero to headline his own movie, Boseman became an icon to the world but most significantly to swathes of children who gleaned what was possible.

As King T’Challa, Boseman’s performance conveyed strength, dignity and commitment to his community and to a wider world in desperate need of heroes. Boseman’s performance reminded everyone you don’t need super powers to be strong.

Wakanda forever.

Watch it: Disney+

DA 5 BLOODS

As the memorable Stormin’ Norman in Da 5 Bloods

Boseman didn’t have the biggest share of screen time in Spike Lee’s Netflix movie but he left an indelible impression.

Seen only in flashbacks during the Vietnam War sequences, Boseman’s Stormin’ Norman was the hero squad leader his crew idolised, not just for his courage in battle but for the way he spoke with eloquence and passion about the way black people had been oppressed by the same country they now lay their lives down for in war.

It’s Norman that convinces his friend to snare the CIA gold as reparations for centuries of injustice.

Da 5 Bloods is a confronting, complex and visceral movie that reminds you the past is always in the present.

Watch it: Netflix

MARSHALL

Boseman alongside Josh Gad and Sterling K. Brown in Marshall

There are certain historical figures who are so meaningful to your community that most actors wouldn’t dare take on the challenge. As the first African-American justice on the US Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall was one of those roles.

But Boseman didn’t flinch and his confident and reverent depiction in Marshall is testament to his instincts as a performer.

Marshall tells the story of one of the famed jurists’ early cases as a lawyer for the NAACP, in which he defends a black chauffeur accused of raping his white employer.

Watch it: Netflix

42

As Jackie Robinson in 42

There’s a cruel irony that Boseman died on what the Americans call Jackie Robinson Day, which recognises the achievements of Robinson, the first black player in Major League Baseball at a time when racial segregation was the sport’s mandate.

Boseman played Robinson in 42, one of his first film roles and one which heralded his arrival as a major talent.

The film follows Robinson’s challenges in being a pioneer in a sport and team that didn’t want him while also contending with his personal demons.

Watch it: iTunes/Google Play/VOD platforms

GET ON UP

Boseman played James Brown in Get On Up

Boseman was already starting to be dubbed the king of biopics by the time he did Get On Up in 2014, a film about “Godfather of Soul” James Brown.

He displayed an incredible physicality, as well as impressive pipes, in portraying Brown’s story, another legend whose influence and significance are difficult to distil in a touch over two hours.

Alongside a cast that included Dan Aykroyd, Viola Davis and the late Nelsan Ellis, Boseman was unforgettable depicting a figure whose essence was almost impossible to capture – but which he did brilliantly.

Watch it: iTunes/Google Play/VOD platforms