Ragtime

Ragtime (1981) is a historical drama directed by Miloš Forman that you can watch online on iFILM. New York City at the dawn of the twentieth century: racial fault lines, old money, and a new music that polite society doesn't quite know what to do with.

Coalhouse Walker, a talented Black pianist played by Howard Rollins, suffers a calculated humiliation and refuses to let it go. His pursuit of justice — through every legal and moral channel available — collides with a city that was never designed to give him any. Around him, other lives tangle: a prosperous white family, a chorus girl turned celebrity (Elizabeth McGovern), and the machinery of power that grinds on regardless. James Cagney, in his first film appearance in two decades, plays the New York City Police Commissioner.

The screenplay by Michael Weller is adapted from E. L. Doctorow's 1975 novel. Mandy Patinkin and Mary Steenburgen also star. Watch Ragtime (1981) online on iFILM.