don2507 The 15th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing all Americans the right to vote was ratified in 1870, and yet almost a century later (1965) when the events of "Selma" transpired, no more than 2% of African-American citizens were registered to vote in many deep-South counties. And as we see in the beginning of Selma, you practically had to memorize the U.S. Constitution to satisfy the county registrars, but that still might not be good enough. So, as depicted in this dramatically stirring film, Martin Luther King has to mobilize his marchers in Alabama and incur horrendous beatings from the Alabama troopers, and thereby dramatize the injustice of the voting impediments that are brought to bear on black Alabamans. This elicits the nation's political attention and white sympathy. All of this culminates in the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965.The British actor, David Oyelowo, seems to be the reincarnation of ML King. He looks remarkably like him, and even sounds like him, even when he's portraying King's masterful oratory. In Selma, King's tactical shrewdness is depicted to great effect. He protected the safety of his followers, to the extent he could, but he realized that the Bull Connor's (Birmingham) and Sheriff Clark's (Selma) were, in a macabre sort of way, the best arguments for the 1960s civil rights movement. I wonder how long segregation would have persisted in the south with national television.There's a debate in all historically-themed films on how much scope to give to artistic / dramatic license and how much faithfulness a film should give to the historical record. I'm not a strict pedant on historical accuracy, and thus I acknowledge that films can appropriately push their dramatic momentum by slight or modest revisions in the historical record. But Selma goes too far in its unfairness to President Johnson. Sure, it makes for more dramatic tension to have an quasi-adversarial relationship between LBJ and King, but they were far more partners than adversaries. LBJ wanted a voting rights act as soon as the Democrats piled up huge Congressional majorities in the 1964 Goldwater election. Not a lot of things went right for LBJ in his 2nd term; let's at least give him some credit for working with King to get the voting rights law enacted.A final delicious moment that Selma reminds me of: in the special Alabama senatorial election in December of 2017, Doug Jones defeated the noxious Roy Moore largely with the votes of black Alabamans, especially black women, who had the voting power they sorely lacked in 1965.

ashbuff Only reason I gave it 9 rather than 10 was that the filmography didn't allow ANY boring bits where you could pee or refresh your glass. Actually I give it a 10, should have been quicker on the pause between speech. Reminds me of all the civil rights movies I love Like "Fried green tomatoes, (at the Whistle stop cafe," and The help. I only cry out of anger and frustration, (it is my fight or flee response), This one did not disappoint, and I'm not a weepy person. (also checkout Leon,the bit giving the plant roots WILL BREAK YOU). Ash x x x

Miguel Neto Selma tells the biopic of Martin Luther King in the historic marches held by him and peaceful demonstrators in 1965 between the city of Selma , inside the Alabama, to the state capital , Montgomery , seeking equal voting rights for the African community American , most unfortunately was another film that criticizes and much of the public liked , but I do not like the cast at least sends fine , David Oyelowo was snubbed by the academy , too deserved a nomination for the best actor Oscar, the cast has Tom Wilikinson , Carmen Ejogo , Giovanni Ribisi and etc., most are properly , either this evil in this film , the script is good, more is lost to mind some thing, the direction of Ava Duvernay is good in much of the film , Selma is an OK movie , I expected more, disappointed me a bit , has a good cast , and excellent performance of David Oyelowo . Note 5.8

alindsay-al I have heard allot of good things about Selma and I have finally seen it and it is a fantastic film. The film documents an important part of Dr martin Luther king jnrs life as he tries to get the vote for all black people. David oyelowo plays king and he was absolutely amazing in this film. He was so good that I truly believed that king was on the screen in front of my eyes and that is huge credit to this incredibly talented actor. Tom Wilkinson plays the president and he also did a great job in this film. I actually felt like his character had development and was an interesting character. Tim Roth plays a villain in this film and he did a good job in coming across as a bad guy. Everybody around the civil rights movement was great as well and connected with MLK. The story had a great development with mlk and how he was just a normal guy and that he had problems. Also seeing some bad things in this film really makes you want to root for the movement. However, there are some side plots that aren't developed that much and thus leave you asking a few questions. The script was really good with the drama involved making sense for the time. It is one of those films where the lack of humour works. The style was really good, the brutality shown feels real and it really makes you root for mlk. Overall this is a fantastic film that if your interested in the subject matter is worth a watch.