Product Description

One woman refuses to give up her seat in a "whites only" section of a public bus. The bus stops. The city stops. The world stops. December 1 1955 Montgomery Alabama. A time when resentment gives birth to rebellion; when a gesture has the power to bring about change. This single act by Rosa Parks inspires an uprising that will make history and make a leader of Martin Luther King Jr. BOYCOTT is the explosive telling of this story.Running Time: 113 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 026359177927 Manufacturer No: 91779

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31160 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2002-01-08
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 118 minutes

Amazon.com
When Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man, the Reverend Martin Luther King was but a modest young Baptist minister suddenly thrust into the leadership of local bus boycott. What started as a one-day protest of unfair bus laws turned into the 381-day boycott that gave birth to the civil rights movement. This riveting, rousing made-for-cable drama meticulously recounts the challenges the protest faced. Jeffrey Wright (Basquiat) is excellent as King, capturing his charisma and rousing speeches while grounding his heroism in human vulnerability and fear, but Boycott reminds us that he was only one of the thousands of ordinary people roused into extraordinary action in the name of equality and social justice. That portrait of everyday heroes changing the course of history remains the film's most rousing message. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Jeffery Wright- Scene Stealer
In a good way. Here, the man who brought us "Peoples Hernandez" gets to play a character whose charisma actually equals his own. I speak of none other than the legendary Martin Luther King, Jr. Seriously, it may be impossible to emmulate a man so great, but Wright gives a great effort, full of Passion and Polish, that makes you feel the events surrounding the Montgomery Bus Boycott. For people, like myself, too young to remember the civil rights era, this movie is as educational as it is entertaining. And vice versa.

Pleasantly surprised
I decided to watch this film and screen it for an undergraduate class on representations of black leadership in American culture, and I expected it to be, like many filmic accounts of the African American freedom struggle, tired and flawed. Everything about this film is wonderful! Aside from Jeffrey Wright's brilliant performance, the use of color, various film grains, and other cinematographic techinques make this film superb. I loved it. I watched it twice in one sitting.

A King for all time
I am a late arrival to the career of Jeffrey Wright. The first time I saw him was in Angels in America. He caught my attention and I was riveted to every scene he was in. Wright as Dr. King was a strike of genius. He nails the performance with conviction and compassion. Wright steals every scene he appears in. The project as a whole is very impressive and I commend HBO for investing in this and other projects in which the lives and interests of African Americans are the focus. Terrence Howard is also a figure to watch out for in the future. Howard's performance is powerful especially with his facial expressions. Carmen Ejogo's performance is warm and supportive to the Dr. King character. In playing her part though, she was able to emote what she feels for her husband as she and Wright are real life husband and wife.

There is one moment in this film where Dr. King is overcome with fear and prays to God for strength and it is one of Wright's strongest scenes. It shows exaclty the fear that one might feel if suddenly realizing that you might not live to long just because of standing forwhat was right. Wright's speeches are very King like and in delivering his lines, Wright takes on a slowness of speech that was characteristic of the way Dr. King spoke. He spoke slowly as to give thought first to every word before before it was uttered.

I do find at times that the handheld camera is a bit much and can be a distraction but it can be easily overlooked.

I urge you to buy this film and watch it with your children. It is simply brilliant.