King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis

Released Mar 24, 1970

2h 33m

Documentary

List

100%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

100%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

This Academy Award-nominated documentary presents key events in the life of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Beginning with the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, the production follows King through major steps in his struggle to promote racial equality. Including footage of King's stirring speeches, the documentary is a fitting tribute to his legacy, and features clips narrated by numerous celebrities such as Harry Belafonte, Paul Newman and James Earl Jones.

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Roger Greenspun

New York Times

King attempts no analysis. It raises reportage to the power of ritual, and for all its lapses it is a most solemnly beautiful film.

Sep 23, 2020

Full Review

Richard Brody

New Yorker

Emphasizes the wide range of his activism, including his opposition to the Vietnam War and his battles against economic injustice.

Aug 10, 2020

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Christopher Campbell

Nonfics

A great example of why we need classic documentaries to be preserved not just physically but historically...King: A Filmed Record…Montgomery to Memphis isn’t a must-see film, but it deserves to be looked at more critically.

Mar 1, 2024

Full Review

Brian Lynch

Georgia Straight

This celluloid monument earns every minute of its three-hour running time.

Sep 23, 2020

Full Review

Jim Williams

Freedomways

The excellent three-hour documentary film added quantity to our knowledge of the life and time of "the beginner" Martin Luther King, Jr. We need a great dramatist and/or a great biographer who will give us his true quality.

Sep 23, 2020

Full Review

Kam Williams

AALBC.com

A timeless tribute to a selfless martyr who led his people to the Promised Land by holding fast to his fervent faith that their willingness to endure suffering along the way would exceed their enemies' capacity to inflict suffering.

Rated: 4/4

Aug 26, 2013

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Audience Member

One of the most important historical records ever recorded on film!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This excellent three-hour documentary on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King utilizes newsreel footage: raw, unedited, uncensored; to showcase the career of the civil rights leader from the Bus Boycott in Montgomery all the up to his death in 1968. This is the definitive article when it comes to King, as it doesn't waste your time with a bunch of talking heads telling you how great the man was, we know how great he was, it just relies on the facts, showing you what happened exactly as it happened, and giving you a sense of the time and King's major role he played in the Civil Rights Movement. Important viewing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I was 10yso when I saw this on PBS. Ely Landau won the 1970 Oscar for documentary film. After watching THIS I knew the significance of Martin Luther King in full. Have only seen the full 3 hour version once. I believe its so powerful that they refuse to air the unedited version anywhere.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

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Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Director

Sidney Lumet

Director

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Synopsis

This Academy Award-nominated documentary presents key events in the life of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Beginning with the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, the production follows King through major steps in his struggle to promote racial equality. Including footage of King's stirring speeches, the documentary is a fitting tribute to his legacy, and features clips narrated by numerous celebrities such as Harry Belafonte, Paul Newman and James Earl Jones.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Sidney Lumet
Distributor: Maron Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 24, 1970, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 22, 2018
Runtime: 2h 33m

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