Panther is a 1995 film directed by Mario Van Peebles, from a screenplay adapted by his father, Melvin Van Peebles which was based on the his book of the same name. The film is an unapologetically sympathetic dramatization of the story of The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, tracing the organization from its founding through its demise in a compressed timeframe. Creative license is taken at some turns to amplify or dial down the significance of selected events, but the general trajectory of the Party and its experiences is still told factually, and the disclaimer placed at the beginning of the film lays claim only to its contents being "based on a true story".
The film is cinematically notable for Marcus Chong's near-mirror image resemblance to the actual Huey P. Newton in the film, as well as for what in the 2000s era might be considered an all-star black U.S. actors' roster, sporting names like Angela Bassett, Chris Tucker, Bobby Brown and even Chris Rock in a rarely-glimpsed 'before they were famous' capacity. Angela Bassett in particular had already played her Betty Shabazz role a few years earlier in the Spike Lee film Malcolm X.
Panther is also notable for being very
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