Customer Reviews

4 Little Girls

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Spike Lee's 4 Little Girls was briefly released to theaters in 1997 to qualify for Oscar contention as Best Documentary. It was first broadcast nationwide on Home Box Office. It is a remarkably clear-eyed telling of an incendiary tale--how four young black girls, ages 11 to 14, were killed in a 1963 bombing in Birmingham, Alabama.

I hesitate to compare 4 Little Girls to Schindler's List, and yet it has that same quality of being a restrained, dignified recounting of an emotional incident. Spike Lee had been wanting to tell this story since before he became a noted filmmaker, and Lee brings all of his remarkable talents to bear. The movie is not flashy, just quietly gripping.

Lee frames the incident within the bigger picture of the Southern civil rights movement, particularly as it took place within an inflamed Birmingham. We see the town's police commissioner, Bull Connor--described by one interviewee as "the dark spirit of Birmingham"--keeping order in town while driving a tank painted white, an image that is sure to bring gasps to those who aren't familiar with the full story (which, I humbly admit, included me). And we see a repentant Gov. George Wallace, dragging a reluctant black colleague on camera so that Wallace can introduce him as "my best friend in the world." (Notably, the "friend" looks quite unconvinced.)

It is that Wallace footage that might seem the most showy in a documentary otherwise bereft of editorializing. But it seems right to include the footage after seeing how the segregationist tactics of Wallace and others led indirectly to the deaths of Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, and Cynthia Wesley. Using little more than home movies and interviews with surviving family members, Lee brings the dead girls back to life and shows us that, when racial stereotypes are accepted and even honored, individual tragedies are the result.

Mostly, the story is told through simple, heartbreaking facts. Chris McNair tells us of the day he had to explain to his daughter Denise how she was taken by the aroma of a cooking hamburger at a lunch counter but could not eat there because she was black. And the film comes full circle by pointing out the inexplicable resurgence of black church bombings in the 1990's.

Most of the victims' relatives, understandably, become quite emotional on-camera. It can't have been easy to reopen these old wounds, but 4 Little Girls makes you grateful that they endured their pain to do it. I only wish the movie had been up for Best Picture, as it is worth a dozen L.A. Confidential's.

4 Little Girls is rated TV-14 for violence, brief nudity, and racial epithets.

I've just watched this powerful film for the second time, and was just as devestated as on first viewing. I'm an avid viewer of good documentaries, and this is one of the most moving, disturbing I've ever seen. Spike Lee's film of the 1963 bombing of The 16th Street Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which took the lives of four little girls, and became a symbol of the civil rights movement, is not a film that will make you feel comfortable, and it shouldn't. Told through the recollections of their family members and friends, the sense of loss is overwhelming. The fact that all those interviewed, especially the little girls parents, display such eloquent dignity only makes it all the more moving. Though I have none of the "attributes" of the hateful leaders of prejudice shown in this film, such as George Wallace and the repulsive "Bull", as a caucasian male, my sense of shame, and, my outrage, only increased as the story forebodingly unfolds to the inevitable event itself. The segment where a modern day, supposedly repentant Wallace fumbles witlessly and unconvincingly is especially poignant. Spike Lee has not only crafted a work of art, but allowed the tragic story to tell itself. An unbelievably moving film that will leave you deeply saddened at the irrational, hateful taking of the lives of four beautiful little girls, whose futures, if they can be compared to any one of their family members or friends, held such undoubted promise. An un-flinching look at these not so long ago shameful events, that everyone should see.

Having read the reviews on this site before viewing this documentary I was prepared for a powerful viewing experience. But, because I already had an inkling of what I would see I won't say I was stunned by anything I saw. I was left with a slow, lingering, disturbing, gnawing feeling--perhaps like a hole. This is the type of movie whose scenes will replay in your mind when you can't sleep at night. I think Spike Lee produced in me just the feelings he was trying to evoke. I found the interview with former governor of Alabama, George Wallace, particularly chilling and masterfully crafted by Mr. Lee. The interviews with the parents and siblings of the victims were heart-wrenching without being melodramatic or sensationalistic. This movie is not only about the girls but the Civil Rights struggle in Birmingham. As a history teacher, I can hardly imagine a movie which would be more effective in covering the issues, the sacrifices and the legacy of the Civil Rights movement.

Having been to Birmingham numerous occasions and having met Mr. Chris McNair (who is now a county commissioner) as well as Carolyn McKinstrey, who also appears in this film (she was a survivor of the church bombing), I pretty much knew the story, but was pleased with the way it was told. A really fascinating segment for me was seeing the actual home movie of Denise Mc Nair and a couple of the other girls. Good job Spike. This is by far his best film.

The DVD extras are very good, particularly the pathetic interview with the notorious George Wallace uncut. Poor Ed (see the film and you'll understand that last statement).

Only minor complaint is that there isn't a scene selection on the DVD. You'll have to watch it all the way through. Also, it would be nice if some mention was made of Johnny Robinson and Virgil Ware (the two little boys who were also killed on that fateful Sunday, which is another story waiting to be told).

But that aside, it's great that Spike did this while so many of those who were around to remember all this are still alive. This is history that needs to be seen.

In my college writing classes, I cover issues of diversity, and I'm amazed at my students' ignorance of the civil rights movement. All they know is that they get Dr. King's birthday off. This film leaves them shattered, opens their eyes like nothing else I have tried. I would highly recommend it to teachers at the high school and college level if you want to expand your students' appreciation of how we got where we are today and the heroes (and monsters) who lived through it all. Lee's film, which should have won the Oscar, will leave you changed. I recommend it to anyone.

Spike Lee has struck a cord in this classic work. Poignant portrayals of racism in 1964 as 4 Little Girls are brutally murdered in the Birmingham church bombing by the KKK. I was 4 years old living in an all white community in rural Ohio. I didn't even know these things were happening and I am embarrassed and outraged at the ignorance and stupidity of those involved. The scars the community and a nation carried from that moment on will last a lifetime for those who lived and relived the beautiful memories and the horror of the deadly event in the interviews provided in this documentary. The pain, sorrow and powerful message will affect the lives of anyone who views this picture. This should be required viewing for all school aged children so we can work to eliminate hatred and encourage a celebration of diversity in America.

I was born in 1964 and I knew little about the bombing that killed the four little girls as they prepared to usher at their church for the church's annual youth day. Spike Lee did an exceptional job making us understand the time period and the pain and anger that the families still feel. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, this documentary is not an Oscar winner, but it should be. Regardless, every family should see this video to truly get an understanding of the civil rights struggle from loved ones point of view. For the families left behind are the ones who made the real sacrafices so that African Americans might enjoy more liberty today. Each and every day we should remember those four little girls, Martin Luther King and Medgar Evers (among many, many others) as we go to our jobs and say our prayers every night. Thank God they lived.

This movie was just as chilling and gripping as other reviewers said it would be.. I was recently at the 16th Street Baptist Church where Addie Mae, Cynthia, Carole and Denise died. I also spent time across the street in Kelly Ingram Park which is a memorial to the battle for freedom the schoolchildren and adults of Birmingham fought through. In the middle of that park are four reflecting pools that I think symbolize the lives of the four girls depicted in Spike Lee's documentary. There are also four pillars with broken tops - one for each of those young lives. I saw parts of Birmingham that I visited in this movie and it was chilling knowing I'd stood there weeks earlier, and that those girls must have walked through that same park on their way to church. The only consolation in the face of such tragedy is that those girls have long been happy in the presence of God while we're still here trying to make sense of hatred so strong it would celebrate killing children... I think Spike Lee presented a tasteful account of history that also makes someone like me appreciate the freedoms so many lost their lives to secure for me..

Spike Lee's _Four Little Girls_ is a masterpiece of continuous stream interview documentary of a period that Birmingham would like to forget, but with which it has yet to come to terms. No holds are barred in the recounting of the 1963 Sixteenth Street Church bombing, which forever changed the face of the Civil Rights struggle in the U. S. By interviewing the remaining family members, Lee brought home not only the human suffering of the surviving families, but made the world wonder what universal loss we all experienced in the deaths of these 4 little girls.

I had the honor of attending the world premiere of this film in 1997 at the invitation of the McNair family at the historical Carver Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama. Seeing the historical film footage of places I knew myself as a child in that city, seeing the anguish again on the face of dear friends as they recount identifying their dead daughter, and knowing the effects this tragedy has had in Birmingham and elsewhere in the 40 years since it occurred made this much more than a historical documentary for me.

Its effect will be the same for you as well, I think, and well worth having this film as part of an American non-fiction collection.

September 15, 1963 is a date that remains imprinted in the minds of many--particularly, those from Birmingham, Alabama. This was the day that four innocent young girls died in a racially motivated bombing at an African American Baptist church. Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Addie Mae Collins were innocent casualties in a race war that raged on in the Southern United States, as well as the rest of the country. This was a time when people of all ages were getting involved in the civil rights movement. This included young children as young as twelve years old (the same age, relatively as the four young girls who were murdered). This horrific crime motivated people to become more involved in activism, out of a sense of obligation, also to speak out against racially motivated violence, such as the bombing. Director Spike Lee does a beautiful job of integrating film reel footage from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, along with segments featuring family, friends, and religious leaders connected with the victims, recalling the events that lead up to the tragedy. What's more, Coretta Scott King (late widow of Martin Luther King, Jr.), Rev. Jesse Jackson and Bill Cosby add their perspective to the mix. One of the most chilling parts of the film, for me, was an unsettling clip of the late Governor George Wallace, a notorious advocate for segregation. When the elderly politician presents his African American "right hand man" as his best friend, a chill ran up my spine.

This is a really important documentary to see for several reasons. For starters, I believe everyone should be aware of what took place on that fateful day in Birmingham. Secondly, the film presents this tragic event in a very beautiful and respectful way. Spike Lee is a tremendous storyteller and this piece is very understated, and, yet profound. It's great to see that Lee knows how to make a great statement without resulting in exploitative tactics or manipulation of his audience. The story speaks for itself and this is not an ego trip on the part of the filmmaker in any way. It is a tribute to a tragedy that became a catalyst in the Civil Rights Movement, as well as the eventual prosecution of Robert Chambliss, one of three racists responsible for the bombing. Don't miss out on this film.