Selma (2014)

A chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.

Director:

Ava DuVernay

Writer:

Paul Webb

Stars:

David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth

Won 1 Oscar. Another 59 wins & 89 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Oyelowo	...	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Carmen Ejogo	...	Coretta Scott King
Jim France	...	Gunnar Jahn
Trinity Simone	...	Girl #1
Mikeria Howard	...	Girl #2
Jordan Rice	...	Girl #3
Ebony Billups	...	Girl #4
Nadej K. Bailey	...	Girl #5 (as Nadej Bailey)
Elijah Oliver	...	Boy #1
Oprah Winfrey	...	Annie Lee Cooper
Clay Chappell	...	Registrar
Tom Wilkinson	...	President Lyndon B. Johnson
Giovanni Ribisi	...	Lee White
Haviland Stillwell	...	President's Secretary
André Holland	...	Andrew Young

Storyline

The unforgettable true story chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernay's "Selma" tells the story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history.

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Plot Keywords:

civil rights | protest | selma alabama | courage | u.s. politics | 

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Taglines:

One dream can change the world.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for disturbing thematic material including violence, a suggestive moment, and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site Official site [France]

Country:

UK USA France

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Selma: El poder de un sueño

Filming Locations:

Marietta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$633,173, 2 January 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$52,076,908

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$66,787,908

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pathé, Harpo Films, Plan B Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1 Datasat Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It's not mentioned in the film, but Diane Nash and James Bevel were married during the time period covered. They married in 1961, had 2 children, and divorced in 1968 (the same year King was assassinated).

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Goofs

The FBI data shown on the screen says that Martin Luther King arrived in a Selma hotel at 10:24 AM. A few seconds later he walks in and says "Good afternoon."

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Quotes

Martin Luther King Jr.: Our lives are not fully lived if we're not willing to die for those we love, for what we believe.

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Crazy Credits

The initial credits are shown over stills from the film and from promotional materials.

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Connections

Referenced in Wrecked: Always Meant to See That (2016)

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Soundtracks

Easy Street
Written by Allan Rankin Jones
Performed by Sarah Vaughan
Courtesy of Parlophone Records Ltd
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

A good MLK biopic that could have been great.

Selma tells the story of Martin Luther King as he organizes the infamous marches during the height of the civil rights movement. To be fair, Selma is a good film. It isn't a great film, but it is good. David Oyelowo gives a great performance as MLK despite feeling like a bit of a miscast but it isn't enough to sustain interest in his character, which is shameful considering the great and brilliant man that he is portraying. All in all, Oyelowo doesn't pack the punch that we all want to see out of a MLK based film. At 122 minutes, this film wallows in cheap drama surrounded by some serious heavyweight performances, it creates an uneven balance between what is great and what is mediocre. Actor Tim Roth does great work here in portraying the ruthless and racist George Wallace. Roth delivers an evil performance that will turn your stomach with every syllable that spews out of his mouth. Roth does a great, outstanding job in making you hate him and I definitely give him high praise in this film. Another stand out performance is Carmen Ejogo, who portrays Coretta Scott King with such honesty and velocity that she's hard to ignore. Ejogo's performance is one that I continuously am thinking about even as I'm writing this. The supporting cast is huge in this film, featuring Tom Wilkinson, Cuba Gooding Jr, Giovanni Ribisi, Common and Oprah Winfrey. But just because the star power is here, doesn't mean they're all good. Honestly, the supporting cast outside of Tim Roth and Common are mediocre at best. Oprah Winfrey delivers a performance that we've seen multiple times over the course of her acting career. It is nothing new, especially because it feels she is just rehashing the same performance from last year's The Butler or from the much superior The Color Purple. Winfrey serves as more of a distraction than anything else. Common is awesome in this film in a small but crucial role to what Oyelowo's King wants to achieve. Common proved before that he can act, but here, he proves that he isn't just another rapper turned actor, he really delivers force to this film with blunt and swift justice. The screenplay here is Selma's downfall. Written by first time screenwriter, Paul Webb, it really feels like Webb's first rodeo, making classic first time mistakes between cheesy dialog and long drawn out scenes that, in retrospect, serve little purpose to the film as a whole. Despite these issues with the screenplay, it was in the most capable hands possible for this film...Ava DuVernay. While there are major pacing issues with the film, DuVernay directs this with a determined efficiency that oozes out of every second of the film. While this can't save Selma from falling casualty to a lot of cliché scenes and cheesy dialog, she does make up for all of what's wrong with the film with a handful of great performances and awesome cinematography. Overall, Selma is nowhere near the Oscar contender that I wanted it to be nor is it the biopic that a man as great as Martin Luther King, Jr deserves but Selma is a decent film that reminds me more of Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" or Lee Daniels' "The Butler" rather than last year's instant classic "12 Years a Slave". It's a good movie, nothing more, nothing less.