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Panther

Play trailer Poster for Panther R 1995 2h 4m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
27% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
In this semi-fictionalized account of the origins of the Black Panthers, Vietnam vet Judge (Kadeem Hardison) returns to his hometown of Oakland to find it beset by violence and police discrimination against African-Americans. Judge's friend Cy tells him about a vigilante group that's organizing against the police and introduces him to its leaders, Bobby (Courtney B. Vance) and Huey (Marcus Chong). Judge joins the movement but is soon beset by police pressure to inform against Huey.

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 01/01/2000
2.5/4
There is a fascinating study to be made of the Black Panther Party. Panther is not that film. Go to Full Review
Sheila Reid Women in the Life 05/16/2022
Using a cast of young, spirited and very talented men and women, Mario Van Peebles is on track for three-fourths of the film. The ending is weak in comparison with the rest of the story, but I still strongly suggest that everyone see it. Go to Full Review
Anderson Jones Philadelphia Daily News 04/26/2022
2.5/4
The film is, in fact, more a fictionalized documentary than a narrative film based on fact. And as such it is sluggish, uninspired. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 10/06/2006
C
In his fictionalized story, Van Peebles simplifies the history of the Black Panthers, doing harm to a subject that he presumably intends to honor. Panther suffers from the same narrative and stylistic problems that has plagued his earlier films. Go to Full Review
Fred Topel About.com 07/14/2003
2/5
Doesn't really shed much light on the movement. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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thiago s @Thiagostone Jul 26 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Steve D 02/18/2023 If it actually told a true story this could have been fantastic. See more kassie r 11/06/2021 If you studied your history properly, it's clear to see that this is a sensational fictitious account of the BPP story intertwined with the Iran-contra affair and heavily loaded with COINTELPRO. The movie is not meant to be biographical and there is even a disclaimer at the beginning of the film explaining this. It's a good stepping stone into the BPP history. My favorite part is the exposure of the CIA's involvement in the crack epidemic uprising via Iran contra affair And the FBI's corruption. See more 02/28/2020 What a cast! great film See more 01/20/2020 A soul touching movie about the Black Panther Self defense movement See more 08/07/2018 As a person who has read and studied many events circulating the Black Panther Party (BPP), I really enjoyed this film. It brought to light a lot of the struggles black Americans went and still go through today. The movie broke down the BPP movement quite well, for what it could in 2 hrs. Honestly, a TV drama would be a perfect way to really dig deeper into the history, but that's neither here nor there. The acting was acceptable - and I feel the casting was what stood out the most to me, that was very well executed. If you enjoy learning history with highlighted points to excel your knowledge, I would highly recommend this movies. See more Read all reviews
Panther

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Movie Info

Synopsis In this semi-fictionalized account of the origins of the Black Panthers, Vietnam vet Judge (Kadeem Hardison) returns to his hometown of Oakland to find it beset by violence and police discrimination against African-Americans. Judge's friend Cy tells him about a vigilante group that's organizing against the police and introduces him to its leaders, Bobby (Courtney B. Vance) and Huey (Marcus Chong). Judge joins the movement but is soon beset by police pressure to inform against Huey.
Director
Mario Van Peebles
Producer
Preston L. Holmes, Mario Van Peebles, Melvin Van Peebles
Screenwriter
Melvin Van Peebles
Production Co
MVP Films, Gramercy Pictures, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Tribeca Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.3M
Runtime
2h 4m
Sound Mix
Surround