IMDb RATING
7.0/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Based on newly declassified files, Sam Pollard's resonant film explores the US government's surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr.Based on newly declassified files, Sam Pollard's resonant film explores the US government's surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr.Based on newly declassified files, Sam Pollard's resonant film explores the US government's surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Awards
- 6 wins & 17 nominations
Martin Luther King
- Self
- (archive footage)
J. Edgar Hoover
- Self - FBI Director
- (archive footage)
David Garrow
- Self - Author, Bearing the Cross
- (as David J. Garrow)
Clarence B. Jones
- Self - Attorney, Speechwriter for Martin Luther King, Jr
- (as Clarence Jones)
H. Rap Brown
- Self - Civil Rights Activist
- (archive footage)
Arthur Goldberg
- Self - Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
- (archive footage)
Merv Griffin
- Self - TV Host
- (archive footage)
Lyndon B. Johnson
- Self - 36th President of the United States
- (archive footage)
Kenneth Keating
- Self - U.S. Senator from New York
- (archive footage)
John F. Kennedy
- Self - 35th President of the United States
- (archive footage)
Robert F. Kennedy
- Self - Former United States Attorney General
- (archive footage)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOfficially released on what would have been the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 92nd birthday.
- Quotes
Self - Author, Bearing the Cross: The FBI was not a renegade agency. It was fundamentally a part, a core part of the existing mainstream American political order.
- ConnectionsFeatures I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. (1951)
Featured review
IN BRIEF: A well made documentary about this great leader but flawed man and the FBI 's vicious attempt to discredit him.
JIM'S REVIEW: (RECOMMENDED) Sam Pollard's gripping documentary, MLK/FBI, chronicles the Civil Rights movement and the FBI's shameful discrediting of one of its leaders, the Rev. Martin Luther King, which was orchestrated by its bureau chief, J. Edgar Hoover. Having the FBI conduct surveillance of MLK with the sole purpose to humiliate and destroy his image with the public, the film uses declassified documents, archival footage, and Hollywood propaganda film to state its case. (The entire FBI tapes are slated to be available to the public in 2027, so only some documentation, photographs, and interviews are the film's basis.)
The documentary is fascinating in its thorough researching of those turbulent times during the 50's and 60's from the start of the Civil Rights protests until MLK assassination, with comments from historians about his legacy. The filmmakers try to encapsulate the unrest in our nation during those polarizing times and it confirms the governmental tactics used to wiretap its citizenry and lump MLK with the evils of communism while labeling MLK with other more military-minded Black protest groups as subversives. Call them "domestic terrorists" before that term was commonplace, but the film resonants with today's racist climate.
The documentary is not totally successful in its narrative structure and one wishes their scope was narrowed down and more concise in its storytelling and also focused more on Hoover's backstory and obsessive mission to destroy another man. Granted there is too much to comprehend as the film covers nearly two decades and most history buff would savor this retelling. But this is an important film for all to experience and its lingering message is truly thought-provoking. Most telling is the turnaround by a supportive President Lyndon Johnson and the FBI Bureau after MLK is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Indeed, politics does have strange bedfellow.
The director's sense of irony is also at play as he begins his documentary with this quote from a film clip of former President Ronald Reagan:
"In most stories, villains are usually defeated and the ending is a happy one. I can make no such promise with this picture you are about to watch. The story isn't over..."
MLK/ FBI is a noble effort by Mr. Pollard and his crew. Their film is very well constructed and edited with skill by Laura Tomaselli, making this history lesson a cautionary tale for all Americans to heed. And yes, the story isn't over! (GRADE: B)
JIM'S REVIEW: (RECOMMENDED) Sam Pollard's gripping documentary, MLK/FBI, chronicles the Civil Rights movement and the FBI's shameful discrediting of one of its leaders, the Rev. Martin Luther King, which was orchestrated by its bureau chief, J. Edgar Hoover. Having the FBI conduct surveillance of MLK with the sole purpose to humiliate and destroy his image with the public, the film uses declassified documents, archival footage, and Hollywood propaganda film to state its case. (The entire FBI tapes are slated to be available to the public in 2027, so only some documentation, photographs, and interviews are the film's basis.)
The documentary is fascinating in its thorough researching of those turbulent times during the 50's and 60's from the start of the Civil Rights protests until MLK assassination, with comments from historians about his legacy. The filmmakers try to encapsulate the unrest in our nation during those polarizing times and it confirms the governmental tactics used to wiretap its citizenry and lump MLK with the evils of communism while labeling MLK with other more military-minded Black protest groups as subversives. Call them "domestic terrorists" before that term was commonplace, but the film resonants with today's racist climate.
The documentary is not totally successful in its narrative structure and one wishes their scope was narrowed down and more concise in its storytelling and also focused more on Hoover's backstory and obsessive mission to destroy another man. Granted there is too much to comprehend as the film covers nearly two decades and most history buff would savor this retelling. But this is an important film for all to experience and its lingering message is truly thought-provoking. Most telling is the turnaround by a supportive President Lyndon Johnson and the FBI Bureau after MLK is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Indeed, politics does have strange bedfellow.
The director's sense of irony is also at play as he begins his documentary with this quote from a film clip of former President Ronald Reagan:
"In most stories, villains are usually defeated and the ending is a happy one. I can make no such promise with this picture you are about to watch. The story isn't over..."
MLK/ FBI is a noble effort by Mr. Pollard and his crew. Their film is very well constructed and edited with skill by Laura Tomaselli, making this history lesson a cautionary tale for all Americans to heed. And yes, the story isn't over! (GRADE: B)
- jadepietro
- Jan 27, 2021
- Permalink
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $45,200
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $21,603
- Jan 17, 2021
- Gross worldwide
- $91,833
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
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