A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks

2021

1 hr. 30 min.

Documentary

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List

88%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

41%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

Best known for his iconic portraits of everyday Black Americans in all their pain, ordinariness and glory, photographer and filmmaker Gordon Parks shot everything from fashion to Malcolm X, Gloria Vanderbilt and Muhammed Ali. Long time photographer and first African American on the staff of Life magazine, Parks captured the deep humanity of anyone fortunate enough to be in front of his lens. Through his striking images, Parks disrupted conventional ideas of who was an American and, using his camera as a weapon, fought for social justice in the US and abroad, eventually evolving into a novelist and a Hollywood film director.

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Ian S

Inspiring and very moving

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/03/23

Full Review

Margaret E

Superb and a must see for anyone interested in photography. The more you observe the more you understand the world around you.. the ordinary becomes extraordinary. The unseen comes into clear and sometimes uncomfortable focus.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

David A

Really wanted to like this. The concept seemed great ... but it was bad.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/20/21

Full Review

Audience Member

Powerful. Beautiful. Inspiring. Informative. Challenging! Loved loved loved this documentary! Gave me a new perspective on Mr. Parks and his body of work!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ignoring the reality of inner cities by selective photos. Simple statistics tell us this storyline is boloney. Hard to watch a movie that is void of and ignores reality.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

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John Maggio

Director

Kareem Abdul-Jabaar

Self

Anderson Cooper

Self

Spike Lee

Self

Gordon Parks

Self

LaToya Ruby Frazier

Self

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A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks: Trailer 1

1:51

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Nicolas Rapold

New York Times

As Parks once said, "I consider this my world," and we're all still living in it.

Nov 16, 2021

Full Review

Tambay Obenson

indieWire

A welcomed effort, the film doesn't fully commit, resulting in a rather uninspired portrait of one of America's greatest artistic trailblazers.

Rated: C+

Nov 15, 2021

Full Review

Matt Fagerholm

RogerEbert.com

[A Choice of Weapons is] deeply moving in how it illustrates the ways in which a single life can have an eternal ripple effect throughout the generations.

Rated: 4/4

Nov 15, 2021

Full Review

Cassondra Feltus

Black Girl Nerds

Parks chronicled all walks of life - the impoverished, the elite, the dehumanized, the sensationalized. While I would've loved more details about Parks' life and experiences, the documentary is a good overview that is sure to encourage further research.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 13, 2021

Full Review

Wade Major

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

It's a wonderful dialogue. Striking and stirring.

Nov 13, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Best known for his iconic portraits of everyday Black Americans in all their pain, ordinariness and glory, photographer and filmmaker Gordon Parks shot everything from fashion to Malcolm X, Gloria Vanderbilt and Muhammed Ali. Long time photographer and first African American on the staff of Life magazine, Parks captured the deep humanity of anyone fortunate enough to be in front of his lens. Through his striking images, Parks disrupted conventional ideas of who was an American and, using his camera as a weapon, fought for social justice in the US and abroad, eventually evolving into a novelist and a Hollywood film director.

Director: John Maggio
Executive Producer: Nancy Abraham, Jelani Cobb, Jacqueline Glover, Lisa Heller, Alicia Keys, Peter W. Kunhardt, Swizz Beatz
Production Co: HBO Documentary Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 15, 2021

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