Eyes on the Prize 

A documentary about the American Civil Rights Movement from 1952 to 1965.

Stars:

Julian Bond, Unita Blackwell, James Hicks

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Julian Bond	...	Narrator 14 episodes, 1987-1990

Storyline

This is a documentary series about the glory years of the American Civil Rights Movement, starting in 1952 with the murder of Emmit Till and the subsequent trial and ending with the civil rights march to Selma in 1965. Along the way, the series touches on the major figures of the movement such as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks and major incidents such as the Little Rock school riots and Montgomery, Alabama Transit Boycott.

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Plot Keywords:

american history | black history | civil rights | civil rights movement | boycott | 

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The segment about the murder of Medger Evers states that Evers' killer has never been brought to justice. In 1989, a few years after this documentary was made, attorney Bobby DeLaughter reopened the murder case and brought Evers' killer Byron de la Beckwith (who had been tried twice resulting in a hung jury) to trial for the murder. Beckwith was convicted and sentence to life in prison. He died in prison of heart failure in 2001. (These events were dramatized in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996).)

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Connections

Referenced in Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat (2002)

User Reviews

A great mini-series.

"Eyes on the Prize" is an amazingly good and very thorough series about the civil rights movement in America from 1954-1965. While lots of shows have been made about this over the years, this one is the one to watch because of its length and breadth. Now I am not saying it's perfect--it could use an updating and doesn't really talk about the treatment of Black Americans before the mid-1950s and probably would have been better had it covered the late 60s...but it's still terrific. The shows are filled with lots of archival footage, interviews and nice narration. The shows are also very compelling--and well worth your time--and very educational. Great for kids and those not old enough to remember this turbulent time--a time we should all try to remember. See this one.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 January 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eyes on the Prize II

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blackside

Technical Specs

Runtime:

360 min

Color:

Black and White Color