A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks

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1:51

A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks

2021

1h 30m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

42%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

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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Nicolas Rapold

New York Times

11/16/2021

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

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Tambay Obenson

IndieWire

11/15/2021

C+

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

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Matt Fagerholm

RogerEbert.com

11/15/2021

4/4

[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.

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Cassondra Feltus

Black Girl Nerds

11/13/2021

4/5

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.

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Wade Major

FilmWeek (LAist)

11/13/2021

It's a wonderful dialogue. Striking and stirring.

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David A

11/20/2021

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

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11/16/2021

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

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11/15/2021

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.

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John Maggio

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

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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
Producer: Monica Berra, Matthew O. Henderson, George Kunhardt, Teddy Kunhardt, Richard Lowe, John Maggiop, John Maggio
Production Co: HBO Documentary Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 15, 2021
Runtime: 1h 30m

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