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4 Little Girls

Play trailer Poster for 4 Little Girls Released Jul 9, 1997 1h 42m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
On Sunday, September 15, 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was bombed by four members of a Ku Klux Klan-affiliated racist group. Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, four African-American girls between the ages of 11 and 14 who had been attending the church's Sunday school, were killed in the blast. Director Spike Lee's somber 1997 documentary tells the story through new interviews and archival footage.
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4 Little Girls

4 Little Girls

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Critics Consensus

4 Little Girls finds Spike Lee moving into documentary filmmaking with his signature style intact -- and all the palpable fury the subject requires.

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Critics Reviews

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John Leonard New York Magazine/Vulture Only a filmmaker so resourceful, so entirely confident in his practiced craft, could have made such a quilt out of patches of nightmare and nostalgia -- of gospels, ghosts, and grief. Feb 1, 2018 Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader There isn't an ounce of flab or hype, and the story it tells is profoundly affecting. Sep 22, 2008 Full Review Todd McCarthy Variety A compelling, straightforward account of a deeply sorrowful and pivotal event in the civil rights movement. May 16, 2008 Full Review Thrillist Entertainment Staff Thrillist 4 Little Girls is a masterpiece that needs to be seen and remembered. Nov 28, 2018 Full Review Rob Nelson City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul Spike Lee has launched another perfectly timed counteroffensive: a calmly wrenching mix of oral history and period newsreels. Aug 20, 2009 Full Review Film4 It's presented with Lee's usual intelligence and clarity as he skilfully mixes politics with moving reminders of the lives it affects. Sep 22, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member All dol respect to the victims - of this senseless act of cowardice, but it really was a snooze. I understand that there needs to be time given to talk about the family members and so on, but I really could not keep myself engaged while all of that was going on. I do know that in '97 things weren't 100% what they are now in TV but still, all the reasons in the world wouldn't make this interesting and God knows there is a lot to dive into with a church bombing. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Watched this tonight on what is the 57th anniversary of the Birmingham church bombing. Excellent documentary with interviews of the families affected by this senseless terrorist act. There is a clip with Bill Cosby being interviewed though that I'll bet Spike wishes he could take back. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Spike takes us on an incredible journey! We all know what happened. But by the time he weaves us in and out of their lives and paints the backdrop of the social climate they lived in, we are completely entrenched. When the event unfolds in the film, these are our four little cousins, our four sisters, or the four girls who live next door. Our hearts and minds are completely invested. As. They. Should. Be. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member It was a very heartfelt movie i found out alot of truths Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Spike Lee's documentary about the 1963 bombing of a church in BIrmingham, Alabama that killed 4 young girls is an appropriately quiet and direct telling of the events leading up to the tragedy and it's aftermath. Lee interviews family, friends and other witnesses and largely lets their words speak for themselves. He briefly uses morgue photos of the 4 girls to hammer home exactly what a senseless act like this does. It's a frustrating and infuriating film and it should be. It's one of his better films of the last 30 years. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member I wasn't a huge fan of the music - it was a little distracting at times. However, the movie was very powerful. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews
4 Little Girls

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Movie Info

Synopsis On Sunday, September 15, 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was bombed by four members of a Ku Klux Klan-affiliated racist group. Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, four African-American girls between the ages of 11 and 14 who had been attending the church's Sunday school, were killed in the blast. Director Spike Lee's somber 1997 documentary tells the story through new interviews and archival footage.
Director
Spike Lee
Producer
Sam Pollard
Distributor
Direct Cinema Limited
Production Co
40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Home Box Office (HBO)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 9, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$130.1K
Runtime
1h 42m
Sound Mix
Dolby, Surround
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