I very much enjoyed Spike Lee's first foray into the documentary style. He did a great job of giving each of the participants the time to discuss the background of each of the subjects, of the politics of the time, and the overall state of affairs for everyone involved.
I think his best work within this feature, aside from securing the trust of the kin of the 4 girls murdered, which is tough in itself, was the interview with George Wallace. It took me a second to believe that that was actually him, and that he agreed to the interview. The features on the disc I watched gave the full interview, and you realized that this man was near the end of his life and quite ill, and probably trying to save some face for his earlier actions. It was both tough and fascinating to watch the former governor make excuses for his earlier actions, and doing so by talking about what he did for black students while he was governor. He frequently called over his "black friend" to be in the camera shot with him. You find out later that the same man who has "traveled all over the world" with the governor is also working for him as his nurse. Plus, the same person gave no indication, spoken or unspoken, of his friendship with the governor. He simply looked nervous, not someone who looked in full support of the governor's friendship.
I highly recommend this documentary (and accompanying "making of"). I look forward to your comments.
I think his best work within this feature, aside from securing the trust of the kin of the 4 girls murdered, which is tough in itself, was the interview with George Wallace. It took me a second to believe that that was actually him, and that he agreed to the interview. The features on the disc I watched gave the full interview, and you realized that this man was near the end of his life and quite ill, and probably trying to save some face for his earlier actions. It was both tough and fascinating to watch the former governor make excuses for his earlier actions, and doing so by talking about what he did for black students while he was governor. He frequently called over his "black friend" to be in the camera shot with him. You find out later that the same man who has "traveled all over the world" with the governor is also working for him as his nurse. Plus, the same person gave no indication, spoken or unspoken, of his friendship with the governor. He simply looked nervous, not someone who looked in full support of the governor's friendship.
I highly recommend this documentary (and accompanying "making of"). I look forward to your comments.