Selma (MLK Biopic)

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by Doctor Jack

Ah another movie that will completely ignore what a serial adulterer MLK was despite him thinking himself a moral authority. Let's just continue to ignore these things because can't tell the truth when it comes to people deemed great.

You mean like every single preacher I have ever met? Being an adulterer has nothing to do with ones greatness. Men will be men...hell even Jesus had women.

[Adam_ME]

Originally Posted by chris_sc77

Heard such good things but the cast is awful. Wish they could have put together a good cast for this one

Regarding the cast, is there a particular reason it's filled with so many Brits? I'm not questioning their acting ability, but it seems like you'd wanna go with Americans when dealing with such a pivotal moment in this nations history. Then again, 12 Years a Slave and Lincoln both had Brits in the lead roles, so I guess American actors are just sh-t out of luck.

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by Blue Bull

Wow, you really got a wrap sense of reality. Adultery is something for the husband and wife to deal with. Now would you say the same thing about FDR or JFK?

Or Reagan (before he was President) or Eisenhower....or W. heck the ONLY President of the last 60 years that didnt ever have an affair was Nixon! He just had other issues....

[Mandalorian]

Originally Posted by ccg1978

anything is too much sir

I've never understood the hate.

[format916]

really good movie. didnt think it would be as good as it was.

[JamesKurtovich]

Originally Posted by Elvis

hell even Jesus had women.

Source?

[benbess]

I liked the movie, but this article below makes some good points. MLK is a great hero to me and to millions of others. But they didn't need to lie about LBJ to make the point....

http://time.com/3658593/selma-lbj-history/

[Holmes]

In depicting the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most eminent and lionized of American historical figures, and the events leading to the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, director Ava DuVernay's Selma wisely emulates Steven Spielberg's fantastic Lincoln by showing how amber-encased Great Men and Great Moments are born of fiery arguments, ideological compromises, and shrewd political maneuvers. There is a present-tense urgency to the film's depiction of Dr. King and his circle of allies, friends, and in-movement rivals, and though historians have (perhaps justifiable) concerns regarding the portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the scenes shared by David Oyelowo's squarely focused King and Tom Wilkinson's pragmatic, wary Johnson are dynamic in their contemplation of legacy and responsibility. Despite the admirable lead performances, fascinating ground-level point-of-view, and other qualities, including atmospheric photography, the film is, alas, not entirely without flaws. There are a handful of ham-and-cheese moments. They are recognized easily as thunderous orchestral music signals despair or uplift while characters lapse into purple-prose verbosity and foreshadowing. There are also a few distracting casting decisions in minor roles. I refer here to, say, Martin Sheen (wandering in from a lost episode of The West Wing, authoritative and solemn) or the comic-strip malevolence of Stephen Root as Alabama Department of Public Safety director Al Lingo, but not a low-key and touching Oprah Winfrey as Annie Lee Cooper, a rather more obscure figure from the civil-rights movement.

Oh, and a bit of a superficial gripe: I found it strange how the end credits featured sepia-tinted/B&W production photos of the cast rather than real historical photographs. It seemed to me a bit of an arbitrary and self-congratulatory cap when they could have given audiences a taste of the real faces, sights, and textures of Selma in the 1960s.


B+

[Holmes]

Oh, by the way: the film does not ignore King's adultery and strains on his marriage to Coretta.

[soarinsteven]

Wow. Riveting film and a stirring tribute to the courage and resilience of the individuals who fought and do fight for progress and change.

Like Steven Spielberg's Lincoln and Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave, this is long overdue, and a powerful, painful, inspiring, and essential film experience.

Ensemble was uniformly great, and lovely to see Tessa Thompson. Rising talent, and I've been crushing on her since Dear White People. David Oyelowo tho. My god, like Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln he breathes life and humanity into the icon in both subtle intimate moments, and delivers precise, rousing, charisma in the bigger ones. Great performance. Great film. Go see it.

[Snicket]

It's threads like these where I miss EricJ and what would surley be his completely sensible, level, informed and completely non-racial opinions.

[SilentDawn]

I thought it was very good. The performances and writing are the stars here.

4/5

[Infernal King]

99% on Rotten Tomatoes.

[dogofwar]

I went with 4 out of 5. It was a good movie, I thought there were parts that dragged. I think they could have cut 10-15 minutes out.

[Spirit Zero]

After everything that's been going on recently I honesty have no real interest in seeing this.

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by Spirit Zero

After everything that's been going on recently I honesty have no real interest in seeing this.

[jamesdevil]

Originally Posted by Spirit Zero

After everything that's been going on recently I honesty have no real interest in seeing this.

That's precisely why you should see it.

I can't think of too many films based on historical events that were as well-rounded as this was. The politicking within King's movement, within the Oval Office, in Alabama and then how well it focused and gave so many of the people involved their due was really impressive. Selma has one heck of a script. The last 5-10 minutes were as stirring and resonant as they deserved to be.

My one quibble is it didn't have the directorial grandeur of something like say, Lincoln, but that's a minor fault when it gets so many other things right.

Malcolm X is a personal political hero of mine so I was really pleased and impressed they gave him respect and a small moment. They didn't have to but I appreciated it and I felt it was one of many examples of how fully encompassing the script is to that setting and year.

I'm glad this was made and it couldn't be coming out at a better time.

[MEB]

5 out of 5 from the Booth Bijou! Amazing performance by David Oyelowo!!

Mark

[Rinzler]

I thought this was one of the year's best, and either it or The Imitation Game take best picture at the Oscars.

[Mandalorian]

I loved Selma. I felt like it dragged at times, but maybe that's because I didn't get to sleep until 4:30am, and saw this at 11:30am. Either way, The performances are very good, and I enjoyed a lot of the cinematography. The speeches and marches were my favorite parts by far, and some of the political discussions between the President, Governor, and Dr. King were not elevated beyond the majority of these types of minority/class struggle films where you have good and bad with little gray area in between, but it was excellent overall. 4.5/5