These informative and inspiring films honor the prolific legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist who fought for racial equality—a fight that still continues to this day. Students, patrons, and movie viewers can use these highly recommended films and documentaries to learn more about Dr. King's remarkable work and life.
(Click the film title to read the full review)
Selma
Paramount, 128 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $39.99, May 5 Volume 30, Issue 3
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Oyelowo's powerful, provocative portrayal is electrifying, aptly reflecting King's oratorical cadence and canny political strategy. Although plagued by controversy over the depiction of President Johnson, this is an inspiring and impassioned film that delivers King's reverberating and sadly still necessary message of perseverance against racism. Highly recommended.
Our Friend Martin
(1998) 61 min. $14.98. Fox Home Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Closed-captioned. Vol. 14, Issue 1
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The film's most winning aspect, however, is the screenwriting, which raises key issues of segregation and racism through dialogue and pointed visuals, including archival film footage integrated seamlessly into the animation. There's hardly of whiff of didacticism in an hour's worth of story telling, but the point comes across with the singular clarity and power of a thunderbolt. Enthusiastically recommended.
I Am MLK Jr.
(2018) 93 min. DVD: $19.99. Virgil Films (avail. from most distributors). Closed-captioned. Volume 33, Issue 4
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Filmmakers John Barbisan and Michael Hamilton effectively drill into the psyche of Martin Luther King Jr. in this excellent documentary, detailing his thinking and strategies for political action...A fine biographical portrait of one man who carried the destiny of many, this is highly recommended. Editor’s Choice.
Boycott
HBO, 113 min. not rated, VHS: $52.50, DVD: $24.98 Volume 17, Issue 1
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Both the movement and the man are nicely recreated in this stylishly crafted telefilm, with Jeffrey Wright (Basquiat) not only capturing the familiar rhetorical flourishes and cadences of King, but also convincingly portraying a nobly righteous man conflicted by responsibility to his family as well as duty to his ethnic brethren. Highly recommended.
Road to Memphis: The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
(2010) 90 min. DVD: $24.99 ($44.95 w/PPR). PBS Video. Closed-captioned. Volume 25, Issue 5
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This PBS-aired American Experience documentary examines the motives and methods of King's assassin, James Earl Ray, while also chronicling the international manhunt to track the gunman down...A perceptive and even suspenseful historical account of a national tragedy, this is highly recommended.
MLK/FBI
(2022) 106 min. Blu-ray: $18.39. Not Rated. IFC Films.
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The film’s chronology stems from 1955 to King’s death in 1968. Interestingly, no new information is provided regarding his assassination. Those wishing to see James Earl Ray be exonerated won’t find it here. Instead, attention is paid to the FBI’s attempts to discredit the activist...a must-see in any Black History Month or Martin Luther King Jr. Day library programming.