I would not even begin to downplay this powerful drama about an amazing man who changed the face of history for Black America. I don't mean to take anything from the man or the message and I did thoroughly enjoy this film. That being said I do think there were some minor things that made the film slightly less enjoyable for me and stopped it from being truly a classic film. Anyone nowadays let alone back in 1978 who wished to tackle such a remarkable man and concept is brave and to do it complete justice might be near impossible so what first and only time director Abby Mann did was probably as close to perfection as could possibly be done.
Infamous character actor, the late Paul Winfield tackled the role of the revered Martin Luther King Jr. He looks the role, and gives a very deeply emotional role and puts so much person to this idol like never before seen. I didn't think his voice really fit the part but I definitely noticed that when Winfield did King's speeches, he held your attention in much the same way that King himself did. He had a powerful aura about him and he did a terrific job. Never before has King been shown in such a real manner covering his fears, and drawbacks, strengths and victories and losses as well. For all the rave reviews I didn't think Cicely Tyson's performance as Coretta Scott King was all that terrific, she did an adequate job and had her moments but I did find that at times her acting seemed almost campy, overdone but she wasn't the only one. There were several times when I felt the acting was very forced and campy and it just didn't fit into the story or the passion behind it. Sometimes scenes of intense emotion were over acted to the point where it broke the mood. William Jordan who portrayed John F Kennedy looked like the most boring human being on the face of the planet. In any scenes featuring him, he slouched in his chair and in a monotone low voice delivered lines that would imply he was bored to absolute tears.
Now I admit I am an avid Kennedy fanatic. I do think that the portrayal of the Kennedy brothers was incorrect and harsh but that is just my opinion of course. Robert Kennedy played by Cliff De Young was portrayed as a raving lunatic. I don't think he ever had a scene where he wasn't literally screaming about something. And as stated JFK was portrayed as a complete dud. Their involvement with the integration movement was heavily downplayed and actually made them out to be more of a burden to the movement than a help and I think both Kennedy's worked very hard to push forward and support that movement to the best of their ability. Nonetheless this is about the movie and not about the characters I suppose.
I also thought there were two very, very important and defining moments that were severely underplayed in this film. The "I Have A Dream" Speech and King's Assassination. Both events were covered so quickly with little emotion and felt very anti climatic. I realize that this was the seventies and there was only certain things they could show when it comes to the assassination but even the Washington March I waited eagerly for them to show and they blew through it like it was nothing. It was one of Winfield's less powerful speeches as King. Despite these criticisms I had this film was brutally powerful, very moving and unlike no other film about that time in American history. It opens your eyes to the harsh times the African American people went through. Any fan of history or the sixties or the Black movement MUST see this film because it is stunning and a great achievement. Please see this movie!! 8/10
Infamous character actor, the late Paul Winfield tackled the role of the revered Martin Luther King Jr. He looks the role, and gives a very deeply emotional role and puts so much person to this idol like never before seen. I didn't think his voice really fit the part but I definitely noticed that when Winfield did King's speeches, he held your attention in much the same way that King himself did. He had a powerful aura about him and he did a terrific job. Never before has King been shown in such a real manner covering his fears, and drawbacks, strengths and victories and losses as well. For all the rave reviews I didn't think Cicely Tyson's performance as Coretta Scott King was all that terrific, she did an adequate job and had her moments but I did find that at times her acting seemed almost campy, overdone but she wasn't the only one. There were several times when I felt the acting was very forced and campy and it just didn't fit into the story or the passion behind it. Sometimes scenes of intense emotion were over acted to the point where it broke the mood. William Jordan who portrayed John F Kennedy looked like the most boring human being on the face of the planet. In any scenes featuring him, he slouched in his chair and in a monotone low voice delivered lines that would imply he was bored to absolute tears.
Now I admit I am an avid Kennedy fanatic. I do think that the portrayal of the Kennedy brothers was incorrect and harsh but that is just my opinion of course. Robert Kennedy played by Cliff De Young was portrayed as a raving lunatic. I don't think he ever had a scene where he wasn't literally screaming about something. And as stated JFK was portrayed as a complete dud. Their involvement with the integration movement was heavily downplayed and actually made them out to be more of a burden to the movement than a help and I think both Kennedy's worked very hard to push forward and support that movement to the best of their ability. Nonetheless this is about the movie and not about the characters I suppose.
I also thought there were two very, very important and defining moments that were severely underplayed in this film. The "I Have A Dream" Speech and King's Assassination. Both events were covered so quickly with little emotion and felt very anti climatic. I realize that this was the seventies and there was only certain things they could show when it comes to the assassination but even the Washington March I waited eagerly for them to show and they blew through it like it was nothing. It was one of Winfield's less powerful speeches as King. Despite these criticisms I had this film was brutally powerful, very moving and unlike no other film about that time in American history. It opens your eyes to the harsh times the African American people went through. Any fan of history or the sixties or the Black movement MUST see this film because it is stunning and a great achievement. Please see this movie!! 8/10