I got a bit carried away. I'll expand on the list later, break it into categories, add links to trailers/imdb, etc. and maybe we can use it in the OP or something? Feel free to expand and/or comment on the list. These are films I've personally seen and can vouch for, so definitely give them a shot! Some are mainstream and some are obscure, but they all have a significant black presence to some capacity, whether it's behind or in front of the camera, or narratively/thematically.
Akeelah and the Bee
Hotel Rwanda
Antwone Fisher
Sometimes in April
The Harder They Come
Carmen Jones and Porgy and Bess if you don't mind musicals.
Down in the Delta
The Hurricane
Tales from the Hood (One of the few great black horror films, don't be off put by the title)
City of God
Medicine for Melancholy (How many independent black romantic dramas can you think of? Here's one and it's damned good)
Baadasssss!
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
Pariah
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
Sugar Cane Alley
Tsotsi
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema (If you like City of God, you'll love this)
Spook That Sat By The Door, Shaft and Across 110th Street (I left off blaxploitation for the most part considering that a lot of it is an acquired taste, but these are universally considered great films)
Life (One of the most underrated comedies in recent memory, basically a black Cool Hand Luke)
Cry Freedom
The Secret Life of Bees
Eve's Bayou
Menace II Society
Lumumba
Desert Flower
American Violet (<3 Nicole Beharie, her acting debut)
Lackawanna Blues
The Tuskegee Airmen
Lean on Me
Do the Right Thing
Cadillac Records (Better version of Dream Girls)
Boyz n the Hood
Friday
Bulworth
Life, Above All
Malcolm X
One False Move
Soul of the Game
Coming to America
The Express
In the Heat of the Night
Brian's Song (1971)
The Bingo Long Traveling All Stars & Motor Kings
A Raisin in the Sun
Juice
35 Shots of Rum
Sounder
Moolaade (Depressing as all hell, but how many African films have you seen? Ousmane Sembene is a legend in the game)
Get on the Bus
The Jacksons: An American Dream
The Temptations
Bamboozled and Coonskin (Both films are incredibly controversial and overt in their themes, but they're worth a watch IMO)
The Brother from Another Planet (Ridiculous title aside, pretty interesting concept)
Sparkle (Original)
Do the Right Thing
Hollywood Shuffle
Love Jones
Remember the Titans
Hustle & Flow
Want some classic stuff? Stormy Weather, Cabin in the Sky and St. Louis Blues.
Sidney Portier's directorial efforts starring himself and Bill Cosby are entertaining: Uptown Saturday Night and Let's Do it Again
Men of Honor
Love & Basketball
The Great White Hope (The 1970 version)
The Five Heartbeats
Clockers
Lady Sings the Blues (Don't be off put by The Wiz, this Diana Ross movie is excellent)
To Sir, With Love (Tired of the whole "White people helping black Urban youth" trope in movies? This one's the opposite)
Rosewood
The Color Purple
Sidney Portier tentpole films are obviously some quality shit: Lilies of the Field, The Defiant Ones, A Patch of Blue, Separate But Equal, Edge of the City, The Bedford Incident, No Way Out
Devil in a Blue Dress
The Josephine Baker Story
Basquiat
A Soldier's Story
What's Love Got to Do with It
The Last King of Scotland
Bird
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
American Gangster
The Great Debaters
Chameleon Street (Independent black film that's almost like a black Catch Me if you Can, it's also a true story. Also, read up on the director's experiences with making the movie. Interesting stuff.)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Nothing But a Man
The Pursuit of Happyness
Shaka Zulu mini series
Cooley High
The Corner miniseries
Black Orpheus
Night of the Living Dead
Fresh (IMO, the best hood film of the 90s)
Talk to Me
Dead Presidents
And if you're a fan of raunchy and racial humor, give Black Devil Doll a try. It's the most coonish film in existence, and it's legitimately terrible, but it's one of those films that so fucking awful that you can't help but laugh. It's basically a softcore porn though, so be careful. Here's a trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anbJlErYA94 It's also made funnier by the fact that it's a spiritual successor to a notorious ultra low budget black horror film called Black Devil Doll from Hell (
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0193013/)
