The Central Park Five

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The Central Park Five

2012

1h 59m

Documentary

Crime

Drama

History

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Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

76 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Filmmakers Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon examine a 1989 case of five teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of raping a woman. After spending from six to thirteen years in prison, a serial rapist confessed to the crime.

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Olivia B. Waxman

TIME Magazine

Sep 19, 2024

That access to the exonerated suspects makes this documentary unique compared to other true crime docs...

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Dwight Brown

National Newspaper Publishers Association

Nov 9, 2016

4/4

A searing, purposeful documentary -- a 21st century cautionary tale.

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Chris Chang

Film Comment Magazine

Jun 17, 2013

The film, in some ways a primer on the perennial intractability of racial prejudice, clearly intends to be some sort of vindication of its five central figures. It succeeds in the first respect but falls wide of the mark in the second.

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Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

Feb 28, 2021

The Central Park Five chronicles the case, focusing on interviews with the now-adult men who suffered appallingly at the hands of a vindictive and unjust legal structure and media.

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Jordan M. Smith

IONCINEMA.com

Nov 16, 2020

As we see our societal systems breaking down at the most basic levels, The Central Park Five elegantly marks a point in U.S. history we hope to avoid repeating.

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Allen Almachar

The MacGuffin

Jul 29, 2020

A

This is an affecting documentary that stirs the emotions, because it takes a mirror and places it directly in front of us as a people.

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Mark B

@Markus28 Jun 15, 2026

Terrible propaganda slop. Truly offensive and inaccurate portrayal of five teens who WERE guilty and got released due to a false confession of a sole attacker.

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Bryan C

@RT93737218 Jun 12, 2026

A gross and disgusting misrepresentation of the case, facts, and characters. So much so that the DA sued Netflix and won. To call this fantasy movie a "documentary" is an affront to the English language itself. Zero similarities to the historical event.

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Michael C

@Michael71 Apr 26, 2021

Ken Burns has once again delivered an excellent documentary. It is very compelling from the beginning and never lets up. The fact that all five men agreed to be interviewed for the documentary helps a great deal. The viewer can certainly feel the pain of the five men who were wrongly convicted of the horrific attack on the Central Park Jogger as they tell their stories. What makes this case even more sad is that the prosecution in the case knew they did not have sufficient evidence to convict the five suspects of the crime so they decided to use brutal tactics to force confessions out of them. It is shocking beyond all belief. "The Central Park Five" also does a great job showing what is very wrong with our system of policing. It is stories like these that need to be told in order for things to change and "The Central Park Five" shows that change is desperately needed. This Peabody Award winning documentary is something that I feel everybody should see for a number of reasons. Though is has been more than three decades since this terrible crime, it is very important that it is not forgotten so the mistakes of the past will not be repeated.

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Oct 7, 2019

It was real and heart breaking to wat h. This story needs to be told and the movie captures it well!

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Jun 6, 2019

OMG!! SHOCKING!! Could not take my eyes off of it! Sad but true events!!!

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Nov 26, 2018

Stunning and shocking re how far the police will go to "solve" a high profile crime. Its very sad that the 5 had to fulfill the sentences which ranged from 6.5 - 13yrs, as the truth came out afterwards. They truly deserve a settlement from the city/police force.

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Ken Burns

Director

Sarah Burns

Director

David McMahon

Director

Ed Koch

Actor

Craig Steven Wilder

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Dr. Calvin O. Butts III

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Synopsis

Filmmakers Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon examine a 1989 case of five teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of raping a woman. After spending from six to thirteen years in prison, a serial rapist confessed to the crime.

Director: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
Producer: Sarah Burns, David McMahon
Screenwriter: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Florentine Films
Genre: Documentary, Crime, Drama, History
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 23, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 4, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $273.7K
Runtime: 1h 59m

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