Boycott (2001)

Black Americans boycott the public buses during the 1950s civil rights movement.

Director:

Clark Johnson

Writers:

Stewart Burns (book), Herman Daniel Farrell (teleplay) (as Herman Daniel Farrell III)

Stars:

Jeffrey Wright, Terrence Howard, CCH Pounder

5 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeffrey Wright	...	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Terrence Howard	...	Ralph Abernathy
CCH Pounder	...	Jo Ann Robinson
Carmen Ejogo	...	Coretta Scott King
Reg E. Cathey	...	E.D. Nixon
Brent Jennings	...	Rufus Lewis
Iris Little Thomas	...	Rosa Parks (as Iris Little-Thomas)
Shawn Michael Howard	...	Fred Gray
Erik Dellums	...	Bayard Rustin (as Erik Todd Dellums)
Mike Hodge	...	Daddy King
Whitman Mayo	...	Reverend Banyon
Walter Franks	...	Reverend Fields
Mert Hatfield	...	Mayor Gayle
Tom Nowicki	...	Commissioner Sellars
Danny Nelson	...	Commissioner Parks

Storyline

Black Americans boycott the public buses during the 1950s civil rights movement.

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Plot Keywords:

civil rights | civil rights movement | racist | race relations | racial discrimination | 

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Taglines:

Start walkin'.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic material and some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 February 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Daybreak of Freedom

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Norman Twain Productions, Shelby Stone Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

16 : 9

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carmen Ejogo and Jeffrey Wright, who play married couple Coretta Scott King and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in this film, met on the set of Boycott and were married in 2000. They had two children and divorced in 2014.

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Goofs

At 1:23 into the film, the Bayard Rustin character leaves his hotel and is walking down the street where he passes an establishment titled Posley Electric Appliances TV, Stereo, Radio. This takes place in December 1955, about 3 years before stereo sets were released to the public.

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Soundtracks

Gotta Serve Somebody
Produced by Sanchez G. Harley

User Reviews

Powerful film, moving experience

This film, following other classics of histo-drama such as Malcolm X or Cry Freedom, is not a biography of Martin Luther King. Instead, it shows in detail the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the beginnings of Dr. King's philosophy and motivation.

It is somewhat dis-orienting at first, as it is shot both in a documentary style, with references to the camera and a raw, un-cut feel, and in a more traditional style. However, as the movie progresses, you find both styles equally powerful in their methods.'

I found this film particularly moving because I was not alive during the events depicted, and the personification or the real-ization of the characters, people I grew up near worshiping, brought home just how different today's world is from 1950's Alabama.