I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (film)

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
VHS Cover
Genre	Biography Drama
Written by	Maya Angelou
Directed by	Fielder Cook
Starring	Constance Good Esther Rolle
Music by	Peter Matz
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Thomas W. Moore
Producer	Jean Moore Edwards
Cinematography	Ralph Woolsey
Editor	Frank J. Urioste
Running time	96 minutes
Production company	Tomorrow Entertainment
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	April 28, 1979 (1979-04-28)

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an American television film based on the autobiography of the same name by Maya Angelou, first aired April 28, 1979, on CBS. Angelou and Leonora Thuna wrote the screenplay, and the movie was directed by Fielder Cook. Constance Good played the young Maya Angelou. Also appearing were Esther Rolle, Roger E. Mosley, Diahann Carroll, Ruby Dee, and Madge Sinclair. Filming took place in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The movie traces Maya's life from when she and her brother move in with their grandmother to the trauma of being raped as a young girl by one of her mother's boyfriends and the several years of silence that came after the attack.

Two scenes in the movie differed from events described in the book. Angelou added a scene between Maya and Uncle Willie after the Joe Louis fight. In it, he expresses his feelings of redemption after Louis defeats a white opponent. Angelou also presents her eighth-grade graduation differently in the film. In the book, Henry Reed delivers the valedictory speech and leads the black audience in the Negro national anthem. In the movie, Maya conducts these activities.