Stamped From the Beginning

R

Released Nov 10, 2023

1 hr. 31 min.

Documentary

List

100%

28 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams brings Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's New York Times bestseller to the screen with Stamped From the Beginning. Published in 2016, Dr. Kendi's National Book Award winner chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history.

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Netflix

Watch Stamped From the Beginning with a subscription on Netflix.

Critics Consensus

Looking pointedly to the past in an effort to help illuminate the present, Stamped from the Beginning is an outstanding documentary achievement.

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Bob B

Seemed appropriate to take up my time and attention on the weekend before MLK day.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/24

Full Review

Jay B

"interesting. but it would be nice if we could stop living in a past that doesn't affect us" That is not a review as much as a statement about themselves. It has nothing to do with the quality of the film and should be ignored when looking at the audience score.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/24

Full Review

dave d

A documentary feature that us heavy-handed at times, but with a purpose to open eyes and give a different perspective. There is no doubt certain shades of people have been given a disadvantage and this film makes that case very well. It might be hard for some majorities to hear that they may have been given more money for passing GO than their neighbor. What will be more difficult for those same people: to accept it. It's a very necessary documentary feature for the flaws on being very one-note. Final Score: 7/10

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/25/23

Full Review

B. S

This is a film which harms society with its absurdity.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/17/24

Full Review

Robert B

Ibram X. Kendi is the biggest grifter in the world.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/09/23

Full Review

Jonathan B

Let's elevate each other, not divide.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/09/23

Full Review

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Roger Ross Williams

Director

Ibram X. Kendi

Self

Angela Davis

Self

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Self

Brittany Packnett

Self

David Teague

Writer

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tt stern-enzi

WXIX-TV (Cincinnati, OH)

[Roger Ross Williams] comes with a really high pedigree for this type of project and completely knocks it out of the park.

Rated: A

Dec 14, 2023

Full Review

Murtada Elfadl

Variety

The film does not pretend to be presenting radical or new beliefs. Yet by the end, it reveals the myths, the distortions and the made-up fallacies that have been presented as truth for centuries. And that is the most radical thing it could have done.

Nov 25, 2023

Full Review

Lisa Kennedy

New York Times

In addition to interviews and archival images, film clips and news footage, Williams (“Cassandro” “Life, Animated”) leans into animation.

Nov 20, 2023

Full Review

Edward Frumkin

The Film Stage

Unlike most racism-occupied documentaries that often conclude on a dark note, Williams uplifts his end with an honest, enlightened meaning of unity and an anti-racist society. There’s so much improvement and hope for a better nation.

Rated: B

Apr 5, 2024

Full Review

Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

'Black people know what they want. They know what freedom and liberation will look like. And it doesn't look like this radical utopia. It looks a lot like the world that white people live in. The world that white people living in never question.'

Rated: B

Jan 11, 2024

Full Review

Herb Boyd

Metro Times (Detroit, MI)

...such can be said about much of the presentation that even extended for hours would fall short of capturing the impact of racism on Black Americans, but this iteration can and should be seen as another promising “beginning.”

Dec 8, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams brings Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's New York Times bestseller to the screen with Stamped From the Beginning. Published in 2016, Dr. Kendi's National Book Award winner chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history.

Director: Roger Ross Williams
Executive Producer: Mara Brock Akil, Susie Fitzgerald, Ibram X. Kendi, Geoff Martz, Roger Ross Williams
Screenwriter: David Teague
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: One Story Up Productions, Netflix
Rating: R (Racism|Drug Content|Nude Images|Language|Some Violent Content)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 10, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 20, 2023
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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