Product Description

"I have a dream today." On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King spoke these words as he addressed a crowd of more than 200,000 civil rights protesters gathered at The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Two months earlier, President John Kennedy had sent a civil rights bill to Congress, but it was struck down. Although Kennedy was concerned about the possibility of widespread violence during this protest, he realized he was powerless to stop it and embraced the movement instead. Known as the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom," the country expected to hear King deliver strong words to his opponents. Instead, his "I Have a Dream" speech was one of heartfelt passion and poetic eloquence that still echoes in our memory.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16847 in DVD
• Brand: MPI
• Released on: 2005-01-11
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 60 minutes

Amazon.com
One of the greatest and most memorable moments in the civil rights movement occurred when 200,000 people marched on Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. Not only was the gathering of so many united people extraordinary, but that day Martin Luther King Jr. stood before the marchers and delivered his most eloquent and inspiring speech. This video offers the "I Have a Dream" speech in its entirety, as well as footage of the opposition the protesters faced, such as the fire hoses the police in Alabama used to disperse the crowds. The narrator explains that the hoses shot 700 pounds of pressure, enough to strip the bark off a tree. However, the grimness of this era is not the only focus in this video. Dr. King had so much hope and faith in the success of the civil rights movement, and the greatest demonstration of this is in the famous speech. He uses modern metaphors and poetry to get his message out clearly, as when he describes the capitol as having given blacks a check marked "insufficient funds," but he reminds us that they will refuse to believe the bank of justice is bankrupt, that they will cash their check for riches of freedom and security of justice. Throughout the speech he emphasizes his mission: nonviolence as a method of overcoming ("Soul force against militant force") and the importance of walking together as a unified group, and never walking alone. Although the video ends with his death, it still leaves the viewer feeling uplifted with Robert Kennedy's memorial address, pleading with Americans to hold on to Dr. King's views and adopt them as their own. A concise video with one of the greatest speeches of our time. --Samantha Allen Storey

Customer Reviews

Outstanding Archival Look at The Dream Speech
The video begins with a brief look at various 1960's era civil rights protests and the violence that often followed such demonstrations. Using footage (much of it somewhat raw) shot during the marches and demonstrations and narrated by Peter Jennings, the montage of video "highlights" of the 1960's civil unrest provides a strong setting for the showing of MLK's "I have a dream" speech at the foot of the Lincoln Monument.

The video does not show the entire speech, but it does present enough to gain a good understanding of its content. Perhaps the single most important reason to watch the video (as opposed to reading a text version of the speech) is to witness King's change in tone, demeanor and style as he reaches the end of the speech. As he begins to call for "letting freedom ring" he abandons his notes and begins to seemingly speak extemporaneously, and the passion in his voice begins to rise. It is a powerful visual, lost in any textual version.

The video concludes with a brief explanation of the assassination and memorial service.

Most effective speech ever
I have heard reference to this famous speech many times over the years but I had never seen the entire speech. After seeing the entire speech for the first time it was easy for me to conclude that this is the best speech ever given by any public speaker with respect to: -sense of urgency created -references for all stakeholders -appropriate emotion and sincerity -skillful use of voice (tone, inflection)

I recommend this speech to anyone who is interested in seeing a very skilfull speaker. In addition, the subject matter of the speech is moving and relevant to many of the issues facing America today.

A Wonderful Presentation.
I found this presentation of King's speech to be excellently portrayed. After a brief introduction, about 5 minutes about the civil right's movement and circumstances leading up to the famous march on Washington, the speech is presented in its entirety. Some of the footage leading up to the speech is emotionally graphic - high pressure fire houses being used on peaceful demonstrators and footage from the aftermath of the Church bombing.

I replaced an old VHS copy of, "I Have a Dream" to watch during the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and enjoy the speech in its entirety whereas other versions merely show clips or portions of it. The only reason I have not given this DVD five stars is because of the brevity of materials. The inclusion of other memorable civil rights speeches, including President Kennedy and/or other speakers at the march would have made this DVD even better. Definately still a good purchase.