Selma

Ava DuVernay's Best Picture-nominated historical drama about the voting-rights struggle during 1965 begins with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) receiving the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, after which he meets with President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson), urging him to support passage of a national Voting Rights Act. To underscore the need for change, Dr. King and his Southern Christian Leadership advisors travel to Selma, AL, in March 1965, for a peaceful, non-violent protest, and then boldly march 50 miles from Selma to the state's capital of Montgomery. Stressing that raising white America's consciousness is as crucial as organizing black communities, King outlines his three principles of protest: “Negotiate, demonstrate, resist.” Hideous brutality erupts, with opposition coming not only from Sheriff Jim Clark (Tim Houston) and his posse on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, but also Alabama's Gov. George Wallace (Tim Roth). Determined to discourage King by monitoring his movements and disrupting his marriage, J. Edgar Hoover (Dylan Baker) leaks secret FBI recordings of King's adulterous liaisons. Co-producer Oprah Winfrey cameos here as an elderly churchwoman unable to register to vote. 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. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the featurettes “National Voting Rights Museum and Institution” (8 min.) and “Student Tickets: Donor Appreciation” (3 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are two audio commentaries (one by director Ava DuVernay and star David Oyelowo; the other with DuVernay, cinematographer Bradford Young, and editor Spencer Averick), deleted and extended scenes (30 min.), the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Recreating Selma” (27 min.) and “The Road to Selma” (13 min.), vintage newsreels (5 min.), a music video for “Glory” with John Legend and Common, a text discussion guide, and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine Blu-ray extras package for this Best Picture nominee.] (S. Granger)