Ragtime

1982 • 153 minutes

About this movie

A vivid, high energy drama, nominated for eight Academy Awards that interweaves the lives and passions of a middle class, small town family against the scandals and events of America in 1906. A chapter of incidents turns Coalhouse Walker (Howard E. Rollins Jr.), a placid, romantic black man into a revolutionary full of rage. After Walker is insulted by some local firemen, a confrontation quickly escalates and he simply cannot rest until justice is served. Based on the E.L. Doctorow novel, Ragtime is both a compelling story of human emotion and a reflection of the innocence, excitement and drama of that important time in the country's history.