Synopsis
The Story of Martin Luther King and One Act of Defiance That Changed a Nation
This made-for-TV movie dramatizes the historic boycott of public buses in the 1950s, led by civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Boycott
Cast
Director
Writers
Original Writer
Assistant Director
Studios
Country
Language
Alternative Titles
Daybreak of Freedom, Boykott, Boicote, 联合抵制, 보이콧, Boicot, Bojkott, Bojkot
Releases by Date
Theatrical
-
Romania15
-
USAPG
TV
24 Oct 2001
-
Germany12
Releases by Country
Germany
24 Oct 2001
- TV12 PAY-TV
Romania
24 Feb 2001
- Theatrical15
USA
24 Feb 2001
- TheatricalPG
Popular reviews
More-
The cast all acquit themselves, including Jeffrey Wright who has the thankless task of playing MLK Jr., one of the most charismatic and recorded figures in history. But the script is patchy and the direction unpardonable, convinced as it is that this story just isn't enough. The endless tricks that are deployed to make the film look interesting to young people are all laughably outdated; like it's a Fly Girls video from "In Living Color".
-
Frequently asked questions:
Does this film start with the song sweet home Alabama? Yes
Do the characters randomly break the forth wall implying that this is a "documentary" but nothing else about this film has a documentary fell except for the occasional shakey cam? Yes
Does Jefferey Wright look or sound like MLK? Not at all
Is he too light? Sure thingIs Carmen Ejogo the sexiest hottest best dressed Coretta Scott King to be shown on screen? Yes
Is she too light? YesWere Jeffery Wright and Carmen Ejogo married while filming this and also playing a married couple? Yes
Would you know that based on their chemistry in this film? Nope
Does this film present the idea that…
-
This is weird to rate. Like, it's a good movie but had some really questionable decisions.
It was unintentionally funny. Like, they did sprinkle humor in the movie but it was too forced but there were some random moments that I just couldn't help but laugh.
Overall, it's a good movie with a great message telling the story about the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement in the US.
-
I don't even know what to think of this movie. Jeffrey wright did an amazing job portraying Martin Luther King Jr., but the rest of the film was a mess. I don't know what kind of format they were trying to go for, a documentary, or just a narrative, and the editing was corny as hell. I guess it was an okay movie.
-
This was alright, it was fine for the most part but the editing was very out of place and it would have been better just as a biopic. Other than that, I didn’t have any huge problems with it.
-
While the writing and acting is all quite good, the directing and editing and cinematography was questionable, to say the least.
-
A fascinating movie. Simultaneously modern in theme and content, and yet so dated in its execution.
Jeffrey Wright is absolutely wonderful as a young Dr. King, at the very beginning of his ascendancy. If anything, watch this for him. -
This feels like a theater piece put onto the screen or it's heavily borrowing from Spike Lee's in-your-face, 4th wall, monologues. It's a great who's-who of African-American actors before they really hit their stride. The sentiment is great for that "struggle against oppression" type feeling and adding a hint of nuance to a familiar story. Ultimately, it's a pretty standard depiction of a historical event as we have become used to from HBO.
-
Watched with my son at my cousin's house.
I never realized before (until reading it on imdb trivia) that Jeffrey Wright and Carmen Ejogo married after meeting on the set of this film and were married for 14 years after that. One of the things I love about this film is that the movie takes pains to show the Kings as a loving couple — not only loving in a spiritual, abstract way, but in a sensual, concrete way. The very first time we see the Kings at all, Martin is cajoling Coretta to dance with him to Nat King Cole singing "Walkin' My Baby Back Home." And there's a scene later, from deep in the thick of the boycott,…
-
Why, oh why, is there so much shaky-cam and fourth wall-breakage in this? An otherwise truly fine film, marred by directorial decisions that I just cannot make heads or tails out of.
-
After seeing Jeffrey Wright's terrific performance in American Fiction, I was inspired to revisit one of my first encounters with him. Boycott is an HBO original drama about the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. Just as I remembered, Wright is galvanizing as a young MLK leading his first civil rights demonstration. Valuable as a reminder how much work went into changing the racial policies and thinking in our country; much of this story is a nitty-gritty process movie about how a successful protest is not just started but maintained after the initial sense of outrage subsides. Biggest flaw is the lack of budget that makes the story feel smaller than it actually was. (King's sermons at the outset of…
-
The type of mild history drama a middle school social studies teacher would put on during the civil rights unit.