Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Directed by William Greaves, David Greaves
A decade after his death, genre-defying filmmaker William Greaves has one last trick up his sleeve with what he considered the most important event he captured on film: a 1972 party he engineered with the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. From TMDB
83 reactions from 3 sources (Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Oct 15, 2026 · last updated Oct 16, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
Sentiment labels for these sources are still being hand-checked; no score yet.
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
83 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
What people are saying
A written summary appears once the title has a score.
Critics, per Wikipedia
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 42 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.9/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 93 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 83 · most liked firstIs 2026 a watershed year for docs? This morning's reviews at The Reveal suggest so. I think YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING is just staggeringly brilliant, and @kphipps3000.bsky.social was wowed by ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM: thereveal.film/in-review-yo...
unlabelledView post →ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM is the best party I’ve ever been to and the well-deserved winner of this year's @librarycongress.bsky.social Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film. Looking forward to recognizing the Greaves family in October. Read more here: www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
unlabelledView post →“Once Upon a Time in Harlem,” a documentary of footage the core of which William Greaves shot at a party in 1972, hits theaters Oct. 16. Partygoers included the likes of Ernest Crichlow, Romare Bearden, Ida Cullen Cooper and more. | Reggie Ugwu www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/m... #BlackskyNews
unlabelledView post →Wildwood, first and foremost, because Laika. For real. A Laika movie isn't merely a film; it's an *event.* It's something visceral, it's something that you FEEL. The Only Living Pickpocket in New York Once Upon a Time in Harlem Possible Love
unlabelledView post →There are two extraordinary documentaries opening this weekend. Here's my review of the first of those two: ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM.
unlabelledView post →ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM (William Greaves & David Greaves, 2026). Another hit! Fascinating documentary created from William Greaves’ footage of a party held in 1972 for leading cultural figures from the Harlem Renaissance. Various writers, poets, artists, journalists, librarians >> #FilmSky #LFF
unlabelledView post →Day 6 of #TIFF2026 📽️: different stories about identity, community, belonging, and finding your place in the world. Elephants in the Fog (Dir. Abinash Bikram Shah) Bitter Christmas (Dir. Pedro Almodóvar) Once Upon A Time In Harlem (Dir. William Greaves) How We Stand (Dir. Marie Clements)
unlabelledView post →I haven not seen YCSE yet but I can't wait, especially after this review. And ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM is what we used to call "essential viewing" back at The Dissolve.
unlabelledView post →With William Greaves's eagerly anticipated *Once Upon a Time in Harlem,* coming this Fall, now is the perfect time to pick up a copy of WILLIAM GREAVES: FILMMAKING AS MISSION, edited by Scott MacDonald and Jacqueline Najuma Stewart! tinyurl.com/8crh87zf @columbiaup.bsky.social
unlabelledView post →my 4th NYFF 64 dispatch is up, and it’s nothing but bangers. new James Gray masterpiece Paper Tiger, Herzog’s beguiling Bucking Fastard, surprisingly engrossing I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming, cinematic event Once Upon a Time in Harlem, and Godzilla Minus Zero! capybaroness.substack.com/p/nyff-64-di...
unlabelledView post →‘Once Upon A Time In Harlem’: The Story Behind William Greaves’ Unreleased Opus, Which Debuts At Sundance After Five Decades Under Wraps. > 'Once Upon A Time In Harlem' is an oral history of the Harlem Renaissance shaped around a party Greaves hosted at Duke Ellington’s home in Harlem.
unlabelledView post →"We need to be reminded that creativity is the gift of humanity. We need to use it to make the world better." 💜 Director David Greaves, producer Liani Greaves, and producer & editor Anne de Mare discuss ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM at the #NYFF64 hometown premiere.
unlabelledView post →Best Films I watched in September 1. The Dreamed Adventure 2. Life of Jorge Luis Borges 3. All of a Sudden 4. The Unknown 5. My Wife Cries 6. Primetime 7. The Man I Love 8. Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney 9. Once Upon a Time in Harlem 10. Resident Evil
unlabelledView post →Reviewed ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM, a must-see crookedmarquee.com/review-once-...
unlabelledView post →Time to party like it's the summer of 1972: an #NYFF64 selection, William Greaves & David Greaves' ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM opens at FLC this Friday! See this breathtaking miracle of a movie, now nominated for five Critics Choice Documentary Awards. 🎟️: filmlinc.org/harlem
unlabelledView post →In this week’s episode of the Black Girl Nerds podcast, we welcome filmmakers David Greaves and Liani Greaves of the film documentary Once Upon a Time in Harlem.
unlabelledView post →1. Once Upon a Time in Harlem 🇺🇸 2. Possible Love 🇰🇷 3. Fjord 🇷🇴 4. You Can See Everything 🇺🇸
unlabelledView post →In 1972, filmmaker William Greaves hosted a reunion of Harlem Renaissance icons at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. Now that footage can finally be seen in Once Upon a Time in Harlem, newly restored by Greaves’ son David. Catch upcoming showings in NYC @filmforumnyc.bsky.social and @filmlinc.bsky.social.
unlabelledView post →Before you see ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM, which is a towering and thrilling work of non-fiction, check out this Greaves documentary from 1968, narrated by Ossie Davis, about the Black middle class. They make a great double feature. youtu.be/nHcusYwUofg?...
unlabelledView post →Thrilled that my favorite movie out of Sundance is getting a release! Neon picked up ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM earlier this week. Here’s my festival review from Sundance for @theplaylist.bsky.social: theplaylist.net/once-upon-a-...
unlabelledView post →William and David Greaves’ unearthed cinematic treasure Once Upon a Time in Harlem is an immersive and masterfully rendered documentary that presents a living, breathing oral history of the Harlem Renaissance. Read @thekentman.bsky.social's Critic's Pick review: thefilmstage.com/sundance-rev...
unlabelledView post →Episode 709: We discuss our Top 5 documentaries of the 21st century! Plus, JD gives us his thoughts on HER PRIVATE HELL, THE CHRISTOPHERS, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM and more! Watch: youtu.be/mkOthuO0owc Listen: linktr.ee/insessionfilm
unlabelledView post →’14th,’ ‘You Can See Everything’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Harlem’ Lead Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations.
unlabelledView post →#TIFF26 day five: Prima Facie - the only movie I actively hated this year Once Upon a Time in Harlem - grateful for the opportunity to be a fly on the wall The Debut - funny, surprising, God I love Paul Giamatti. Has a gag with a cigarette that *kills* Look Back - lovely way to close out the fest!
unlabelledView post →Once Upon a Time in Harlem (2026, dir William Greaves and David Greaves). A decade after his death, genre-defying filmmaker William Greaves has one last trick up his sleeve with what he considered the most important event he captured on film: a 1972 party he engineered with the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1596300-once-upon-a-time-in-harlem
unlabelledView post →Once Upon a Time in Harlem review – remarkable Harlem Renaissance documentary. > You could probably release that remarkable footage in full, completely unedited and unstructured, and still have a good documentary; every piece is now, 50 years later – the same distance to us as the Harlem Renaissance was to them – a bridge to a time no living person can remember, each face and gesture informed by decades of aftermath no straightforward nonfiction film on the period could capture. But Once Upon a…
unlabelledView post →‘Once Upon A Time In Harlem’ Wins $200,000 Library Of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize For Film deadline.com/2026/09/once...
unlabelledView post →Once Upon a Time in Harlem (2026, dir William Greaves and David Greaves). A decade after his death, genre-defying filmmaker William Greaves has one last trick up his sleeve with what he considered the most important event he captured on film: a 1972 party he engineered with the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1596300-once-upon-a-time-in-harlem
unlabelledView post →54-years-in-the-making Sundance documentary "Once Upon a Time in Harlem" is an early contender for 2026's highest-scoring film: www.metacritic.com/movie/once-u...
unlabelledView post →ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM begins its theatrical run, and series commemorating the William Greaves centennial are set for @filmforumnyc.bsky.social, the Barbican, and IDFA ! www.criterion.com/current/post...
unlabelledView post →After decades in the making, the late William Greaves' brilliant capturing of aging Harlem Renaissance figures hits screens this weekend. Brandon Wilson reviews ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM.... www.hammertonail.com/reviews/once... @geniusbastard.bsky.social
unlabelledView post →Everything I've seen so far: Wild Horse Nine, Gentle Monster, The Fox (silly but fun) and the fab Once Upon a Time in Harlem. Dr Mole also gives the thumbs up to Making Marie Antoinette, which I missed.
unlabelledView post →‘Once Upon a Time in Harlem’ Review: A Renaissance of Their Own www.nytimes.com/2026/10/15/m...
unlabelledView post →And if you want to impress your cinephile friends, Duke Ellington’s house where Once Upon a Time in Harlem was filmed is a couple of doors down from the first house Hearst bought Marion Davies. @scotttobias.bsky.social @kphipps3000.bsky.social
unlabelledView post →Once Upon a Time in Harlem vs. The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, FIGHT! 💥🥊
unlabelledView post →Looking forward to seeing this. Amazing footage. Trailer for Once Upon a Time in Harlem: youtu.be/ESnX3LQbCVI
unlabelledView post →Excellent! WILD HORSE NINE was on my initial list, but I decided to look elsewhere as it’ll be on general release pretty soon. My highlights so far are PAPER TIGER, TO HOLD A MOUNTAIN and ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM. I’m a little mixed on THE DREAMED ADVENTURE, but it deserves a second watch!
unlabelledView post →Once Upon a Time in Harlem The Only Living Pickpocket in New York Wicker Clayface
unlabelledView post →‘Once Upon a Time in Harlem’ comes home: The Greaves family on memory, ancestors and immortality amsterdamnews.com/news/2026/10... William Greaves, the Harlem-born filmmaker, spent more than five decades making films and television programs concerned with African American history, politics & culture
unlabelledView post →My local indie theater had Once Upon a Time in Harlem as the opening night film for their annual Doctober (a month-long documentary film festival), and what a film! It’s a cross btwn an essential historical document and a hangout movie. If this movie comes to your area, go to the theater and see it!
unlabelledView post →"We need to be reminded that creativity is the gift of humanity. We need to use it to make the world better." 💜 Director David Greaves, producer Liani Greaves, and producer & editor Anne de Mare discuss ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM at the #NYFF64 hometown premiere.
unlabelledView post →Just drafted my Vulture Movie Fantasy League! I went with: The Odyssey ($45) The Debut ($20) Cliff Booth ($15) The Invite ($10) Tender Loving Care ($5) The Christophers ($3) The History of Concrete ($1) Once Upon a Time in Harlem ($1)
unlabelledView post →THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE is one of the most important chapters in all of American cultural and political history. There is an INCREDIBLE new documentary film about it that is a MUST-SEE. Here is my NEWSWEEK piece discussing what and how of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM: www.newsweek.com/william-grea...
unlabelledView post →Saw both of these at NYFF. You Can See Everything is the movie of the year. Watch it immediately. Also loved Once Upon a Time in Harlem, particularly in a time where non-white history is being stifled. It’s also just really entertaining.
unlabelledView post →ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM: It is humbling to sit in its rooms for 100 minutes alongside such sparkling intellect. film-forward.com/documentary/... ❤️ #nyff @neon-rated.bsky.social
unlabelledView post →& bookstore owners reminisce & discuss the period, which gives rise to various anecdotes & some lively debate! Directed by William’s son, David, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM is a love letter to the period & his father’s work. An illuminating film that shines a light on a key strand >> #FilmSky #LFF
unlabelledView post →Selling @lffstubs.bsky.social #lffstubs The Liberation - 10th October (today!) 8pm - £15 Once Upon A Time in Harlem - 11th October - 6:15pm - £15 They’re physical tickets so you’ll have to grab them from me, I’ll be around either Piccadilly Circus or Southbank!
unlabelledView post →This historical time capsule is as important as any film released this century! 🔥 Read Will's review of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM, a must-see account of a single evening with members of the Harlem Renaissance! Watch it tomorrow at the BFI London Film Festival and next week in US theaters! 👀✨
unlabelledView post →I loved "Once Upon a Time in Harlem," the late William Greaves's documentary about a 1972 gathering of "living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance." A minor thing that struck me: In 100 minutes of talk, no profanity (unless you count 2 "damn"s and 1 "fer chrissake"). www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESnX...
unlabelledView post →LOC Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” - WINNER Directed by David Greaves and William Greaves Shot in Duke Ellington's house in 1972. Harlem Renaissance figures reunited, filmed by William Greaves. Footage never released til now. www.loc.gov/programs/lav...
unlabelledView post →Your Mother Your Mother … Other Mommy Possible Love Once Upon a Time in Harlem
unlabelledView post →Today - Burnett's MY BROTHER'S WEDDING and Beyzaie's DOWNPOUR at Lightbox, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM previews at Paradise via Black Gold, Min Sook Lee's THERE ARE NO WORDS, Marianne Faithful doc BROKEN ENGLISH and SHEEP DETECTIVES at Hot Docs, more! Rundown: letterboxd.com/torontoplex/... #toRep
unlabelledView post →A great month, thanks to AIFF: Days and Nights in the Forest Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney Once Upon a Time in Harlem A Long Winter Tender Loving Care All of a Sudden This History of Concrete Minotaur The Debut
unlabelledView post →Cannot WAIT to see this: ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM by William Greaves (put together from 1972 footage by his son David).
unlabelledView post →GO SEE THIS FILM THIS WEEKEND! "Once Upon a Time in Harlem". I saw a screening at Studio Museum in Harlem last night, introduced by Dapper Dan, with a post-screening panel with the filmmakers. An incredible film. History; memory; culture; spirit. Culturally wistful. What an historical document.
unlabelledView post →Once Upon a Time in Harlem - Official Trailer - In Theaters October 16 https://youtu.be/ESnX3LQbCVI?si=0zb_rcnb2BnAEbgk
unlabelledView post →Can't wait for Once Upon A Time In Harlem, too. Glad it's opening slow so it can hopefully duck out of the way of this
unlabelledView post →‘Once Upon a Time in Harlem’ Review: A Renaissance of Their Own
unlabelledView post →I got a late start on this season of You Must Remember This, but episode 1 pairs very well with Once Upon a Time in Harlem as well @karinalongworth.bsky.social
unlabelledView post →Oh the shame, booked for "Once Upon a Time in Harlem" and selected the over 60 concession 👩🏻🦳
unlabelledView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.