Originally released as a motion picture in 1961.

Based on the stage play by Lorraine Hansberry.

Special features include: production notes ; talent files ; theatrical trailer ; bonus trailers.

Dual-sided DVD: side A is widescreen in original theatrical aspect ratio, approx. 1.85:1 ; side B is full screen version and formatted to fit TV.

Music by Laurence Rosenthal.

Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands.

Film of the award-winning play about a struggling black family living on Chicago's South Side and the impact of an unexpected insurance bequest. Each family member sees the bequest as the means of realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations.

"A raisin in the sun is a groundbreaking drama celebrating the human spirit ... the Younger family, frustrated with living in their crowded Chicago apartment, sees the arrival of a $10,000 insurance check as the answer to their prayers. Matriarch Lena Younger promptly puts a down payment on a house in an all-white suburban neighborhood. But the family is divided when Lena entrusts the balance of the money to her mercurial son Walter Lee, against the wishes of her daughter and daughter-in-law. It takes the strength and integrity of this African-American family to battle against generations of prejudice to try to achieve their piece of the American dream."--Container notes.

MPAA rating: Not rated.

DVD ; Region 1 ; NTSC ; Dolby digital, mono.

English dialogue, English, Spanish, Portugese, Chinese, Korean and Thai subtitles ; closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.

Cannes Film Festival, 1961: won the Gary Cooper Award (Daniel Petrie, director).

National Board of Review Awards, 1961: Best Supporting Actress (Ruby Dee).

National Film Preservation Board, 2005: won a place on the National Film Registry.