“Although The Long Night is Woodie King, Jr.'s first feature film, the director is a seminal force in contemporary black theatre. Not only is he a founder and co-director of The New Federal Theatre but he is artistic director of the celebrated Henry Street Settlement House. As a producer he helped bring to the attention of the theatre public such black writers as LeRoi Jones, Ed Bullins, Ronald Milner, Ben Caldwell, J.E. Franklin and Miki Grant, and was associated with many acclaimed productions including ‘Black Girl,' ‘What The Wine Sellers Buy' and ‘The Prodigal Sister.'
“Woodie King, Jr. speaks of his film as being about the fight for emotional survival. ‘Filmed in Harlem and other parts of New York City, it is representative of the Harlems throughout the nation and further dramatizes the larger and universal themes of peer group acceptance and male-female relationships. It also is revealing of black family dynamics and the sociology of the black community. The story speaks to such a common urban “inner-city” experience it could be any city or town and almost any black family....' The narrative, dramatically structured around one critical night in the life of a Harlem youth is ‘...about survival in a world where the odds are against the “wholesome” existence... and (it) attempts to illustrate the problems without the common exploitation syndrome of violence and profanity.' The film was made with the full cooperation of the communities in which it was photographed; in one instance to light an entire block, traffic was stopped along Adam C. Powell Boulevard (Seventh Avenue).”