Detroit (2017)

Fact-based drama set during the 1967 Detroit riots in which a group of rogue police officers respond to a complaint with retribution rather than justice on their minds.

Director:

Kathryn Bigelow

Writer:

Mark Boal

Stars:

John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, Algee Smith

5 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Chalk	...	Officer Frank
Mason Alban	...	Police Sergeant James
Bennett Deady	...	Police Officer Bill
Andrea Eversley	...	Dancer
Michael Jibrin	...	Vietnam Vet
Khris Davis	...	Blind Pig Patron
Tokunbo Joshua Olumide	...	Dave
Daniel Washington	...	Blind Pig Bouncer
Amari Cheatom	...	Undercover Cop
Tyler James Williams	...	Leon
Laz Alonso	...	Congressman Conyers
Benz Veal	...	Nate Conyers
Angel Blaise	...	Young Kid #1
Lance Law	...	Young Kid #2
Jaleel Sanders	...	Young Kid #3

Storyline

A police raid in Detroit in 1967 results in one of the largest RACE riots in United States history. The story is centred around the Algiers Motel incident, which occurred in Detroit, Michigan on July 25, 1967, during the racially charged 12th Street Riot. It involves the death of three black men and the brutal beatings of nine other people: seven black men and two white women.

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Plot Keywords:

racism | police | singing | motel | fear | 

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Taglines:

Now More Than Ever.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | History | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 August 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Detroit: Zona de conflicto

Filming Locations:

Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$34,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$350,190, 30 July 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$16,790,139, 12 October 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Annapurna Pictures, First Light Production, Isobel Griffiths Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Once a Polish community, Hamtramck is now a Muslim one. The Poles have been replaced with Yemenis and Bangladeshis. Hamtramck now has the first Muslim-majority city council in the U.S.

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Goofs

There is a shot in he first half of the movie where the back of a parked Volkswagen Beetle fills most of the frame for a few seconds. The rear deck lid on the VW has four large vertical cooling vent slots, a design that was not introduced until 1972.

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Quotes

Krauss: I'm just gonna assume you're all criminals.

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Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: James Franco/Lawrence O'Donnell/The Roots feat. Bilal (2018)

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Soundtracks

Grow
Written by Algee Smith
Performed by Algee Smith and Larry Reed

User Reviews

Apocalypse Now in Detroit

It's a nazi prison guard film about race relations? It comes off sensationalist to the point of parody. I was going with it until they let the 'already murdered a guy' cop lead the charge for the second killing. Then he becomes this vile and evil caricature while everyone including military personnel just stand around letting this teenager go on a power trip. I have far more faith in the military and police and don't believe a thing on screen. I suspect they wanted Bigelow's war film background but with an 'in Detroit' hook, and all her attention to detail, cinematic mastery of space, image, and immersion, is used in full effect to terrorize the audience. She is a director's director, and one of the finest we have; some may not know how difficult and how much attention such a work would require to pull off so effortlessly. You could say Detroit presents a distortion of the cinema gift, a masterful thriller and film craft used to ensure its political message. The film presents it as a true story, and so it plays almost as if the Nazi war criminals were let off after Nuremberg, it's really enraging stuff. Then you understand why they preceded that with the most evil rendition of events. Flashes of Boyega's expressions of conscience and humanity resonate the most. The film is extreme in tone, hopeless, the villains win and you feel awful by the end of it, but I'm mixed on it, I admire Bigelow's great power of filmmaking, but I question its authenticity and tone.