The Birth of a Nation

Play trailer

2:36

The Birth of a Nation

R

Released Oct 7, 2016

1h 54m

History

Drama

Biography

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

72%

Tomatometer

269 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Nat Turner is an enslaved Baptist preacher who lives on a Virginia plantation owned by Samuel Turner. With rumors of insurrection in the air, a cleric convinces Samuel that Nate should sermonize to other slaves, thereby quelling any notions of an uprising. As Nate witnesses the horrific treatment of his fellow man, he realizes that he can no longer just stand by and preach. On Aug. 21, 1831, Turner's quest for justice and freedom leads to a violent and historic rebellion in Southampton County.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

The Birth of a Nation overpowers its narrative flaws and uneven execution through sheer conviction, rising on Nate Parker's assured direction and the strength of its vital message.

Read Critics Reviews

Kristen Lopez

Culturess

Parker's film depicts an important event in American history through the eyes of an amateur passing a test in Film Production 101.

Nov 20, 2017

Full Review

Adam Nayman

Cinema Scope

It's very strange to watch painful verities staged in a way that diminishes their power under the guise of amplifying it. This is a film about deep-seated systems of oppression that feels tonally like a superhero origin myth.

Sep 28, 2017

Full Review

Soraya Nadia McDonald

Andscape

One of The Birth of a Nation's biggest weaknesses is that the film's female characters are given little consideration in comparison to their male counterparts.

Sep 26, 2017

Full Review

Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

Today, directly echoing the racial tension and divides present in our country, The Birth of a Nation acquires the “timely” badge and earns the difficult processing time it requires of its audiences.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 16, 2024

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

From start to finish “Birth” keeps you locked in and focused. Parker never loses the potency of his subject matter.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 19, 2022

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Instead of inspiring his audience, Parker's desperation to achieve greatness proves transparent, while the quality of filmmaking does not equal his ambitions.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 11, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Pat B

The truth hurts… reviews talking about the film being bad because the producers, it was amateurish blah blah blah… it doesn’t matter, just like the Jewish say “never forget”. This is the same “we should never forget”

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/05/25

Full Review

Jack F

Terribly pretentious and makes cowards of its heroes….

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/28/25

Full Review

Jason S

Brilliant film about American Nat Turner and the rebellion.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/11/23

Full Review

Gareth v

Impressive directorial debut from Nate Parker (and a more than solid acting gig as well) in this brutal and compelling story.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/23/23

Full Review

Georgan G

Great writing & acting. Difficult topic but well handled. Sad, but put into somewhat perspective by the child who became a Union soldier.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/23/23

Full Review

Dave S

While Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation clearly has an important story to tell, looking at it objectively, it's actually not a very well-made movie. It is the tale of Nat Turner, a slave on a Virginia plantation, who uses the word of God to initiate a rebellion against the ruthless plantation owners. Based on actual events, it is a powerful and inspirational story of freedom, dignity, and the horrors of oppression and hate. Unfortunately, it feels downright amateurish at times. There are far too many close-ups that serve no purpose, the editing at times is too rapid-fire and doesn't allow the viewer time to digest the shot, many shots are poorly composed with too much extraneous and needless detail, and the shot of the angel at the end is laughable, probably not Parker's intent. While it is a film with some merit, it is also deeply flawed.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/16/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Nate Parker

Director

Nate Parker

Nat Turner

Armie Hammer

Samuel Turner

Mark Boone Junior

Reverend Zalthall

Colman Domingo

Hark

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

Nancy Turner

12 Years a Slave

95%

90%

12 Years a Slave

Watchlist

TRAILER

for 12 Years a Slave

I Saw the Light

20%

38%

I Saw the Light

Watchlist

TRAILER

for I Saw the Light

Seberg

36%

50%

Seberg

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Seberg

The Bleeder

82%

63%

The Bleeder

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Bleeder

Jackie

88%

60%

Jackie

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Jackie

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Las Vegas Film Critics: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Takes 5 Awards

2017 NAACP Image Awards: Hidden Figures, black-ish, Queen Sugar Win Top Awards

DGA Awards Winners: La La Land Notches Another Win, HBO Dominates TV

The Birth of a Nation: Trailer 1

2:36

The Birth of a Nation: Teaser Trailer 1

1:50

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Nat Turner is an enslaved Baptist preacher who lives on a Virginia plantation owned by Samuel Turner. With rumors of insurrection in the air, a cleric convinces Samuel that Nate should sermonize to other slaves, thereby quelling any notions of an uprising. As Nate witnesses the horrific treatment of his fellow man, he realizes that he can no longer just stand by and preach. On Aug. 21, 1831, Turner's quest for justice and freedom leads to a violent and historic rebellion in Southampton County.

Director: Nate Parker
Producer: Nate Parker, Kevin Turen, Jason Michael Berman, Aaron L. Gilbert, Preston L. Holmes
Screenwriter: Nate Parker
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Production Co: Phantom Four, BRON Studios, Mandalay Pictures
Rating: R (Some Brief Nudity|Disturbing Violent Content)
Genre: History, Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 7, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 21, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $15.8M
Runtime: 1h 54m

Most Popular at Home Now