Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

4 Little Girls

Play trailer Poster for 4 Little Girls 1997 1h 42m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 90% 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.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

4 Little Girls

4 Little Girls

What to Know

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
John Leonard New York Magazine/Vulture 02/01/2018
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. Go to Full Review
Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader 09/22/2008
There isn't an ounce of flab or hype, and the story it tells is profoundly affecting. Go to Full Review
Todd McCarthy Variety 05/16/2008
A compelling, straightforward account of a deeply sorrowful and pivotal event in the civil rights movement. Go to Full Review
Thrillist Entertainment Staff Thrillist 11/28/2018
4 Little Girls is a masterpiece that needs to be seen and remembered. Go to Full Review
Rob Nelson City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul 08/20/2009
Spike Lee has launched another perfectly timed counteroffensive: a calmly wrenching mix of oral history and period newsreels. Go to Full Review
Film4 09/22/2008
It's presented with Lee's usual intelligence and clarity as he skilfully mixes politics with moving reminders of the lives it affects. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Hanik_ F Mar 3 so inteleggent film for 4 little girls, omg its very good See more Anindya Salwa F Mar 2 wow, that's amazing, the movie is so cool, very good See more tugas2022 T Mar 2 So good film i like this action See more Mar 2 Gaa bikin bosen film nya See more 02/16/2021 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. See more 09/15/2020 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. See more Read all reviews
4 Little Girls

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills 100% 94% Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills Watchlist Revelations: Paradise Lost 2 92% 84% Revelations: Paradise Lost 2 Watchlist Jim Brown: All-American 57% 82% Jim Brown: All-American Watchlist Waco: The Rules of Engagement 88% 86% Waco: The Rules of Engagement Watchlist Regret to Inform 94% 78% Regret to Inform Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

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
Home Box Office (HBO), 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
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
Most Popular at Home Now