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The Fight

PG-13 Released Jul 31, 2020 1h 36m Documentary TRAILER for List
99% Tomatometer 69 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
At a defining moment in American history, a scrappy team of heroic ACLU lawyers battles for abortion rights, immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights and voting rights.
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The Fight

The Fight

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Critics Consensus

The Fight takes an engaging look at some of the people working on the front lines for the ACLU -- and makes a passionate case for the legal battles they wage.

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Critics Reviews

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Christy Lemire FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles) Very informative. It's not an "eat your vegetables" thing at all; it is shot and cut very thrillingly and you really come to care and appreciate the hard work that these folks put in. Aug 13, 2020 Full Review Tim Cogshell FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles) It's a fairly thrilling and gut-wrenching examination of how these things work. Aug 13, 2020 Full Review Charlotte O'Sullivan London Evening Standard This is a jubilant and mischievous documentary that suggests changing the world for the better is something we can all do. Rated: 5/5 Jul 31, 2020 Full Review Michael Cuby them. The tireless fight against injustice gets the documentary treatment in The Fight...a necessary account... Sep 29, 2022 Full Review Josh Parham Next Best Picture Overall, this is an engaging documentary that finds the passion in the struggle to fight the rights of citizens. Rated: 7/10 Jun 5, 2022 Full Review Witney Seibold Critically Acclaimed Podcast How hard is the ACLU fighting? This hard. Mar 30, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Christopher H If you like one-sided documentaries that ignore the other half of the issue and try to emotionally manipulate you with musical cues and bad news anchor acting, then my god, do I have a film for you! I'll provide one example here. ACLU members read their hate mail, and one of them says, "If you ignore the negative things, you just put yourself in a bubble." ...Of the thousands of genuine criticisms they must receive, they are selectively casting their opponents in the worst possible light by selecting from the worst possible arguments. That's not taking yourself out of your bubble. When you only read the negative comments which enforce some notion that you are correct, and those are the only ones you want to present to the world, you are in fact just sticking yourself deeper into your bubble. And to not acknowledge this shows self-delusion. Indeed, the entire thing presents itself as a delusion of grandeur. This organization used to support EVERYONE'S right to freedom of speech, because once upon a time, it understood the notion that our concept of degrees of wrongfulness needs to be defined by seeing whereat "very wrong" actually is, and when you stop doing this, you demonize neutrality, because neutrality becomes the new wrong. So, what do neutral people do when forced to pick sides? Well, often they say, "Screw you for dragging me into this, I'll pick a side that opposes you." And now you have someone to make a straw man of, to mischaracterize and justify your unnecessary existence as an organization. And on and on the cycle of stupidity goes, because, "Look at t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶e̶ ̶c̶r̶e̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ the nuisance that was totally always already here and present at this level." Conveniently missing: the ACLU's new(er) guidelines stating that, before taking a case involving defending free speech, they want to know what you say. This fat, bloated carcass of an organization is just fascism with a new coat of paint. Sorry, ACLU, but rainbow-fascism is still fascism. And only defending people who agree with you is not the same as defending all free speech. But, I already provided a pretty good microcosm of that. This is one of the most biased documentaries I could have conceived of. It doesn't even deserve to be called a documentary. It's a puff piece. It's propaganda. It's preaching to the choir. The audience who rates it likes it not because it succeeds at what it does, but because they agree with it. But, news flash: you aren't supposed to rate the merits of a documentary based on whether you agree with it. You're supposed to judge it by whether it's true and multifaceted, of which this film is neither. We're approaching peak Idiocracy so fast my head is spinning, when we call films like this "documentaries." I'm sure plenty of other fascist organizations produced "documentaries," too, under the guise of being good for the world. And the trained seals clap. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Good documentary. Good choices on the content to include. Nice camera work. Glad they included the video of Charlottesville. Even more glad that the reality of what was actually going on is clear in each case. 3.5 stars Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review luke g An impassioned look at an organization whose sole purpose is to fight for civil liberties under the constitution. There were times in watching this that I was not a fan of some of their clientele. Nevertheless, everyone has the rights as guaranteed by our constitution. Very thought provoking. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Jared S Incredible and poignant film! I wept throughout for the families that have been torn apart and for those who must fight for basic right. I am so grateful for the ACLU. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/13/21 Full Review Audience Member Exceptional movie, everyone must see it. True Hero's in this movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie is awesome according to me. But you should also watch this: https://dollarmakingwallet.com/how-to-make-100-dollars-a-day/ Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Fight

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Cast & Crew

All In: The Fight for Democracy 100% 67% All In: The Fight for Democracy TRAILER for All In: The Fight for Democracy Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America 98% 54% Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America TRAILER for Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America Boys State 95% 91% Boys State TRAILER for Boys State Civil: Ben Crump 88% 70% Civil: Ben Crump Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am 97% 96% Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am TRAILER for Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis At a defining moment in American history, a scrappy team of heroic ACLU lawyers battles for abortion rights, immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights and voting rights.
Director
Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman, Eli B. Despres
Producer
Eli B. Despres, Peggy Drexler, Josh Kriegman, Maya Seidler, Elyse Steinberg, Kerry Washington
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Production Co
Topic Studios, Ford Foundation - Just Films, Edgeline Films, Drexler Films, Bow and Arrow Entertainment, Simpson Street
Rating
PG-13 (Strong Language|Brief Violence|Thematic Material)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 31, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 30, 2020
Runtime
1h 36m
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