King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1969) User Reviews

To be bathed in M. L. King's oratory

[steiner-sam · 8/10 · 23 February 2024]

It's a documentary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life from 1955 to his death in 1968. Except for his first speech at the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, it is primarily news footage and coverage of his best-known activities during those years and the local circumstances that brought about those activities. The Montgomery speech is audio only. That is both its strength and limitation.

This film is one of the few places you can still see and hear the entirety of King's "I Have a Dream" speech of 1963. There are numerous other memorable speeches; seeing him deliver them visually dramatically increases the impact. It is so focused on King, however, that you don't get an overview of the Civil Rights movement, especially those parts in which he had a limited profile, such as the Freedom Rides in 1961.

There is nothing about King's personal life or the work of his associates. To get better context, you need the background of a good biography like Jonathan Eig's "King: a Life." But to be bathed in M. L. King's oratory, this three-hour film is the place to go.

Some celebrities narrate brief segments intermittently. They are a distraction and add nothing.

Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., A Great American

[virek213 · 10/10 · 15 April 2013]

If ever there were a documentary that could be deemed absolute required viewing, whether in classrooms or in homes, it is KING: A FILMED RECORD…MONTGOMERY TO MEMPHIS. Shown in only a handful of theaters on one single day (March 24, 1970), and released on video numerous times over the years in condensed form, this monumental documentary, some fourteen years after it was entered into the National Film Registry, is back in release on DVD in the form that people who got to see it in 1970 originally saw it, in its uncut length of just slightly over three hours.

Put together by filmmakers Sidney Lumet and Joseph L. Mankiewicz and producer Ely Landau, KING: A FILMED RECORD looks at the place that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holds in American history. Having gone from a relatively unknown preacher in the early 1950s to national prominence as a result of Rosa Parks' breaking the segregation barrier on transit buses in Montgomery Alabama, King became one of the great figures of our history by making it his mission in life to see that all men, women, and children in America would be judged by what's in their heart and not by what their skin color was. In the original uncut form that had gotten it an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature in 1970 (it lost to WOODSTOCK), KING: A FILMED RECORD looks at all the important moments in Dr. King's non-violent revolution that would forever change the American landscape, even if it didn't change everybody's perceptions of those different from themselves. He fought non-violently against racist governors like George Wallace, bigoted police chiefs like Birmingham, Alabama's infamous Bill Connor, led the march on Selma, and managed to get long-stalled civil rights and voting rights legislation through Congress onto the books through the signature of then-president Lyndon Johnson . All of his most important speeches are included in their full, unexpurgated form here, including the monumental "I Have A Dream" speech he made during the March on Washington of August 28, 1963, and his final "I've Been To The Mountaintop" speech he made in Memphis on the night of April 3, 1968, the night before he was felled by an assassin's bullet.

We also see how tough the struggle could be, what with the murder of Malcolm X, the formation of militaristic groups like the Black Panthers, the urban rioting, White resistance in the South, and, perhaps most important of all, the war in Vietnam, which would eventually destroy Johnson's achievements as a crusader alongside King for civil rights and also be responsible for sending thousands of poor and working-class young men, white and Negro alike, to their deaths. These are important reminders of where America was during the 1960s, how far it has come since then with the election of our first African-American president in Barack Obama, and how, in many other ways, we still have a long way to go towards full acceptance of difference and diversity in America.

All of this makes KING:A FILMED RECORD an epic film to match any that Hollywood itself ever did, but that is because the real-life story it tells is a true American epic of modern times. Martin Luther King was one of the greatest American citizens who ever lived, and this documentary ensures that his legacy will never be forgotten.

Blunt and moving

[Baroque · 15 January 2001]

Compiled from newsreel footage and interspersed with celebrity commentary, this film has a heavy impact, showing Rev. King, not as a saint, but as a compassionate man of God with great goals for all people. The film quality is rather rough at times, and the racial slurs shouted are harsh, but the film is powerful. Recommended for those who seek an insight to the man behind the dream.

Extraordinary testament to a great man

[barkingechoacrosswaves · 10/10 · 28 August 2013]

This movie consists almost entirely of documentary news footage of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s crusade for racial equality from the 1950s up to the time of his assassination in 1968. It features a wide diversity of gripping footage... interviews, sermons, marches, press conferences and speeches by Dr. King as he gradually secured basic rights and dignity for his people (and thereby for ALL people). As we sit here today, with prejudice remaining far too abundant in American society, it is nonetheless hard to believe that so much struggle and sacrifice was needed to secure what our Constitution and laws had already bestowed on all of our citizens long before Dr. King began his heroic effort.

Dr. King's inspiring oratory is a potent contrast to the hatred, bigotry and unrelenting brutality he and his followers faced time and again. Scenes of police violence and jeering white racists are sprinkled liberally throughout the film and are truly horrifying. The patience and nonviolence of the African-American protesters in the face of their oppressors is remarkable.

The film ends with Dr. King's funeral, an event that is foretold by Dr. King himself time and again in this film as he muses about the possibility of his death at the hands of his racist antagonists. In one such prophetic moment contained in the movie, Dr. King says:

"You know when I say 'Don't be afraid', you know what I really mean - don't even be afraid to die! But I submit to you tonight, no man is free if he fears death. But the minute you conquer the fear of death, at that moment, you are free. You must say, somehow, 'I don't have much money - I don't have much education - I may not able to be able to read or write - but I have the capacity to die!'"

The DVD is available from the distributor, Kino Lorber... don't even hesitate to buy it. This is a must-see film for anyone even remotely concerned about social justice or history.

Moving tribute to Dr. King and worthy of wider distribution

[greg-253 · 10/10 · 18 January 2008]

After watching 103 minute edited version (the only celeb commentary by Harry Belefonte), one has to wonder why this film isn't more available to the general public. It is by far, one of the best documentary efforts to chronicle Martin Luther King Jr. as he helped push the civil rights movement forward into the public consciousness.

What makes this film special (in its condensed version) is the plainly laid out - but thoughtfully edited - chronology of Dr. King's various actions, speeches - and the public response. Other than Belafonte's opening statement, the film has no narration - which gives it an urgency. This is punctuated by King's powerful oratory (including the entire I Have A Dream speech...and segments of many others), along with footage of demonstrations, marches and material that is often hard to watch due to the racially charged violence.

Still, it is a potent reminder of our history - and should be seen by all.

Profiles in Martyrdom

[boblipton · 10/10 · 30 January 2019]

More than half a century after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered, I finally looked at this movie. It is a collection of Dr. King's appearances and the events around him, interspersed with celebrities of the day speaking in admiration, edited by two of the leading film makers of the day with the assistance of two editors, attempting to make coherent sense of what, half a century later, is a senseless and evil situation and the effort to remedy it.

It's a huge effort, and brilliantly produced. "How Did We Get Here?" is a question that needs to be examined, if only for its cautionary value.

I looked at this off a TV presentation, skipping the commercial interruptions. I did notice the note "Viewer Discretion Warranted." I suppose people think truth is something people need to be discreet about. Recent events indicate that people have let the lessons I learned as a child drop out out their thoughts, and thereby permitted these hateful actions return. Yes, discretion is required. Otherwise people might remember, and remain silent about them.

the struggle continues

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 17 January 2019]

We just passed what would've been Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 90th birthday, so I decided to watch this documentary. You've heard about Martin Luther King, Jr. You've probably seen footage of some of his speeches. But to truly understand him, you have to see Sidney Lumet's Academy Award-nominated "King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis". Originally screened as a one-night event, it's now available for home viewing. The documentary consists of footage of King starting with the bus boycott in Montgomery until his funeral, emphasizing how he called upon the United States to live up to the ideals that it professed. Whether addressing racial and class issues or coming out against the Vietnam War, he was on the front lines of justice every step of the way.

The documentary includes footage of people (Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, etc) quoting King. It emphasizes the diversity of people who stood on the side of morality. In an era when we see racism coming back to the fore - pushed by the current demagogue-in-chief - it's more important than ever to understand King's legacy. Definitely see this documentary.

Monumental Record of King and the Civil Rights Movement

[Cineanalyst · 10/10 · 19 January 2021]

What an impressive, monumental document. "King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis" must be the definitive documentary on Martin Luther King Jr.'s involvement in the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s. Editing together grainy archival footage--then-recent newsreel and TV reports, for the most part, it seems--in chronological order makes for a great mostly observational approach, covering the marches and protests, unabridged speeches, as well as some interviews conducted within the archival footage. This three-hours-plus monument is all the more amazing given the contemporary nature of the events covered. It hadn't quite been two years since King's murder when it was released for one day only in theatres. Going into relative obscurity thereafter, how wonderful that it has now become more widely available than ever. It's fully deserving of its Oscar nomination and inclusion on the U.S. National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

I also recently viewed the shorter government film "The March" (1964) about the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom that took a similar approach in its primary documentation, and it seems the best way to me to approach such subjects. Light on exposition and no talking heads--just putting the camera in the action. Sure, it may be a bit confusing at times--some mayhem from rioting white supremacists trying to get through police protection of King and marchers in Chicago is especially chaotic (the only time here, by the way, one sees police arresting or fighting racists instead of civil rights activists), but as the film is allowed to develop unimpeded, one is allowed to make sense of the scenes almost as though they were experiencing them live.

I also appreciate how violence is handled here. There's no shying away from police brutality and the attacks from the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists, but neither does the picture aestheticize any of it with slow-motion of some other tacky effect as seen in many dramas. The quick montages, often including a few frames of Klansmen to indicate the perpetrators, to transition to photographs and footage of such attacks and bombings as of freedom riders, churches and King's home, are effective.

The film follows some of the more significant events involving King from the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott to his assassination in Memphis (hence the "Montgomery to Memphis" subtitle). In between, there's the Birmingham campaign that includes King reading his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" over a montage of images illustrating his argument, his challenging call to "love your enemy" after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing by the Klan that killed four girls, while his "I Have a Dream" speech naturally takes the picture to intermission, followed by his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, voter registration efforts in Selma and the march, including Bloody Sunday, from there to Montgomery that led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Also commendable is that the film doesn't ignore features that some critics might (as they evidently did at the time) consider unrelated to the struggle against Jim Crow in the South: King's religious convictions and tolerance, the demonstrations for housing equality in Chicago, his protests against the Vietnam War, or that he was supporting the union of striking sanitation workers in Memphis. Detailed, too, is the importance of tactics, of King's nonviolent direct action or civil disobedience, as contrasted to more militant calls to action by civil rights leaders or that despite King's best efforts sometimes there was fighting back against the police and destruction of private property. The images from Memphis here of broken windows followed by Army tanks rolling down the street remains an all too familiar sight, as are those of police brutality and violent white supremacy.

Even the staged scenes directed by Sidney Lumet and Joseph L. Mankiewicz (both of whom had nothing to do with directing the documentary overall, as misstated elsewhere--the archival footage being assembled by Ely Landau and Richard Kaplan) of celebrities reading poems and other passages works rather well to pace the picture, besides featuring stars the likes of Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Charlton Heston, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, Anthony Quinn and Joanne Woodward being intended as a draw for audiences. Plus, they and other famous people can be spotted in some of the documentary footage. After a conversation on a plane during his travels across the country and his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech prophesizing his own premature demise, ending with images of the funeral procession mixed with Nina Simone singing "Why (The King of Love Is Dead)" is an appropriately moving sendoff, too. A great tribute to one of the most important and admirable figures in American history as well as a valuable document of his involvement in the civil rights movement.

A Documentary Mixed with Short Monologues

[kgprophet · 6/10 · 30 January 2014]

I was able to catch about the 2nd half of this on cable recently. The remnants of the divide between the North and South dating back to the civil war were played out as MLK continued his crusade in Alabama. This was a gripping account of the small victories that he rallied the public to empower themselves. I found it more engrossing than other MLK documentaries because it examined the battles more closely. But then, interspersed within this footage presented without narration, the film breaks to a stage with minimal theatrical backdrops. Periodically, a famous actor will give a 2 -3 minute famous speech from a notable source. These quotes are not given any introduction or provided any titles to inform the audience. The pieces I saw in the last part were Charlton Heston, James Earl Jones, and a few others I didn't recognise. After reading the trivia notes about this film on IMDb, I understand this was a fund raising film for a charitable organisation. That explains the appearances by the big name stars to get people to pay to see the film. On the other hand, it extends the film running time. I found myself impatient, waiting for the film to return to the shocking footage of churches being bombed, killing children. But on the other hand, seeing James Earl Jones give a powerful performance complimented the film.

Production wise, there were moments of choppy editing, but letting the footage and MLK's words speak for them-self is very compelling.

A different version...

[torbi-2 · 29 September 2000]

The version of this documentary I saw did not contain any of the celebrity "bridges" that Maltin mentioned in his review. The version I saw, ran only 103 minutes (as to the 185 of Maltin's version) and contained only archival footage of Dr. King's career from 1955 to 1968. This version is a pure video diary of King's speeches and marches. It contains amazingly powerful footage of the nonviolent protests and the final moments of King's life.

No one was more effective when talking about "a dream"

[bettycjung · 15 November 2017]

11/18/17. A bit on the long side, but at least you get the chance to listen to the entire "I have a dream." No denying that King was a force to be reckoned with. His oratory style is reminiscent of the fiery preacher of past, and still quite effective in inspiring its listeners to bigger and better things.