All Movie Guide - Tom Wiener
Thanks to a magnetic lead performance by Jeffrey Wright as Martin Luther King Jr. and inventive direction by Clark Johnson, Boycott is both an informative and hugely entertaining look at a crucial chapter in the history of the modern civil rights struggle. Wright embodies many facets of King's personality: his personal charisma, his faith in the power of nonviolence, and (at this moment in his life) his uncertainty about what the struggle would mean to his career and to his family. Johnson adroitly mixes in vintage footage and black-and-white cinematography (mainly in meetings between the African-American activists and the white power structure in Montgomery), using handheld cameras in many scenes to create a sense of urgency and immediacy. Though the white characters come off as rather one-dimensional, this is a film about the varying attitudes of the black characters to the burgeoning movement. At the beginning of the film, Rosa Parks has to talk her husband into endorsing the boycott, as does King with his wife Coretta. Even as the boycott picks up steam, the film continues to explore its internal politics, revealing that King's own father wanted him to withdraw from Montgomery. There's some witty and touching use of source music, including Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama," Dizzy Gillespie's "Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac," and Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody." A standout in the supporting actors is Erik Todd Dellums in the key role of Bayard Rustin, whose encouragement of King was crucial to keeping the boycott nonviolent. Sharp-eyed viewers may also spot the director as a journalist and singer Aaron Neville in the crowd of citizens who gather outside King's home after it is bombed.
Boycott
Director: Clark JohnsonCast: Clark Johnson, Jeffrey Wright, Terrence Howard, CCH Pounder
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Clark Johnson's docudrama Boycott, about the Montgomery, AL, bus boycott, comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that produces an image with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. A closed-captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Surround, while a Spanish soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital Stereo. English, Spanish, and French
- Overview
- Editorial Reviews
- Product Details
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- Related Subjects
- Cast & Crew
- Scene Index
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Overview
Clark Johnson's docudrama Boycott, about the Montgomery, AL, bus boycott, comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that produces an image with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. A closed-captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Surround, while a Spanish soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital Stereo. English, Spanish, and French subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by Johnson, cast and crew biographies, and some historical background information about the time period portrayed in the film. This is a very good disc from HBO/Rysher.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
- Release Date:
- 01/08/2002
- UPC:
- 0026359177927
- Original Release:
- 2001
- Rating:
- PG
- Source:
- Hbo Home Video
- Region Code:
- 1
- Presentation:
- [Wide Screen]
- Sound:
- [stereo]
- Time:
- 1:52:00
Special Features
Cast & Crew
| Jeffrey Wright | Martin Luther King Jr. |
| Terrence Howard | Ralph Abernathy |
| CCH Pounder | Jo Ann Robinson |
| Carmen Ejogo | Coretta King |
| Reg E. Cathey | E. D. Nixon |
| Brent Jennings | Rufus Lewis |
| Shawn Michael Howard | Fred Gray |
| Walter Franks | Rev. Fields |
| Whitman Mayo | Rev. Banyon |
| E. Roger Mitchell | Bob Phillips |
| Clark Johnson | Emory Jackson |
| Mike Hodge | Daddy King |
| Jack Martin | Actor |
| Mert Hatfield | Actor |
| Danny Nelson | Actor |
| Thomas Byrd | Actor |
| Eric Dellums | Bayard Rustin |
Technical Credits
| Clark Johnson | Director |
| Charles C. Bennett | Production Designer |
| James Bigwood | Co-producer |
| Jaki Brown-Karman | Casting |
| David Hennings | Cinematographer |
| Preston Holmes | Producer |
| Timothy J. Sexton | Screenwriter |
| Stephen James Taylor | Score Composer |
| Norman Twain | Executive Producer |
Scene Index
0. Chapters
1. Introduction/The Ride [4:40]
2. Plan of Action [7:04]
3. "A Good Day for Walking" [2:45]
4. Guilty as Charged? [3:32]
5. The Husband, the Preacher, the Outsider [10:22]
6. "A More Humane System" [7:12]
7. Car Pool [7:59]
8. Reactions and Opinions [8:35]
9. False Arrest [11:32]
10. Dangerous Limbs [9:36]
11. When Hate Meets Love [4:46]
12. Family and Liberty [9:20]
13. A Spiritual Movement [3:15]
14. Time for a Message [4:45]
15. Understanding the Consequences [8:52]
16. March of Freedom/Epilogue [2:52]
17. Today/Credits [5:24]
Menu
Play Movie
Special Features
Featurette
Cast & Director Bios
Jeffrey Wright (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Terrence Howard (Reverend Ralph Abernathy)
Carmen Ejogo (Coretta Scott King)
Clark Johnson (Director)
Historical Background
Milestones in Civil Rights History
Verbatim - Spreading the Word
Boycott by the Numbers
Time Capsule - Back With Humility
Q & A With Stewart Burns and Henry Gates, Jr.
Who's Who - The Leaders
Rosa Parks
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Coretta Scott King
Reverend Ralph Abernathy
Jo Ann Robinson
Bayard Rustin
References
Books
Video/Multimedia
Web Links
Audio
English Dolby Surround
Director's Commentary
Spanish Stereo
Subtitles
English
Français
Español
Subtitles: None
Videos
-
Preview
Customer Reviews
Average Review: