Sounder (film)

Sounder is a 1972 American drama film directed by Martin Ritt and adapted by Lonne Elder III from the 1969 novel by William H. Armstrong. The story concerns an African-American sharecropper family in Louisiana who struggle with economic and personal hardships during the Great Depression. It stars Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, and Kevin Hooks. Taj Mahal composed the film's blues-inspired soundtrack, and also appears in a supporting role.

The film was both a critical and commercial success, and the National Board of Review ranked it as one of the Top 10 best films of 1972. Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield both received Oscar nominations for their performances, and the film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Taj Mahal's score was nominated for a BAFTA and Grammy Award, and 13-year old Hooks earned a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer – Male.

In 2006, the American Film Institute ranked the film #61 on their list of the most inspiring movies of all time. In 2021, the same year Cicely Tyson died, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".