Customer Reviews

Blood Done Sign My Name

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Blood Done Sign My NameI ordered this DVD since I know about this historical incident in Oxford, North Carolina. A little known killing in 1970 became the spark that set this town on fire literally and emotionally in pushing the white people of this community to start to accept the civil rights of blacks in that area. Ben Chavis,cousin of the black murdered man, went on to lead the NAACP and other causes for blacks nationally after leading protests in his home town of Oxford. Even though not as well known as Birmingham, Selma, and the like, it was a very important part of the civil rights movement in the 1970's. I recommend it highly and hope others buy it and watch it as well.

This movie which tells the story from the book of the same name concisely and with great emotion is an important historically accurate account of the struggle for equality in 1970's eastern North Carolina.

As an English teacher, I found it very helpful in bringing the themes of To Kill a Mockingbird closer to home for my students.

Jeb Stuart's "Blood Done Sign My Name," based on the book of the same name by Timothy Tyson, is better for the story it tells than for its filmmaking craft. The story--about a racially motivated murder and the resulting civil rights activism in a small North Carolina town circa 1970--is so moving and vital that all Americans should know it. However, Stuart's direction--though solid and competent--is unexciting, and the performances are good but not outstanding. There are so many characters and plotlines that none of the actors or characters has a chance to stand out. In the end, the film seems too diffuse. The photography and music are notable. I would give this film three and a half stars if I could; it's a cut above the mediocrity implied in a three-star rating, but not quite good enough to merit the endorsement implied by four.

I have read the book and seen the movie. The book involves more than the movie. As happens with a lot of books,in order to have a regular length movie,some of the book is not told. I do think Jeb Stuart did an excellent version in his movie. I think the paralells that are presented to the veiwers of small town politics, and black and white responses are very accurate. I live in a very similar area not far from the town in which all this occurred. My father was the District Attorney in this case. This is a true representaion and should be a lesson to all in civil rights and justice(or injustice). I highly reccommend both the book and the movie.

The reason i say, "beautiful, stirring, and unsettling" is because it is indeed the first two because of how humbly yet powerfully the story is told, but haunting because i think we have to look at ourselves and how we are still doing the exact same thing...just turning our backs to other oppressed people, like human trafficking victims, or survivors of maniacal genocide as in Sudan. Kimberly L. Smith Passport through Darkness: A True Story of Danger and Second Chances

I watched this movie for the first time a couple of weeks ago and I was very deeply moved. When I tuned in, I expected to see another "Mississippi Burning" or similar story, where the African-American experience is secondary to the flick serving as a vehicle for mainstream stars. Well, I was surprised - this is NOT that film! While Tim Tyson understandably shares his father's experience and valor, he does so in a very sensitive manner that does not white-wash the true story on which this film is based. Rather, he clearly brings to our faces the HORROR of racism and bigotry in modern-day America (this heinous murder and miscarriage of justice occurred in 1970). If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend that you do. I also plan to go back and read the book as well.

I heard about this movie on the Monique show and had to see it. I was not disappointed. Very well done. A must see for those interested in Black hisory.

The story was true and I worked in Biloxi Mississippi during the 1960's. And it was a turbulent time. The ignorance at that time was wide spread but NOT as total as some would have you believe. The story should have at least covered the FEAR whites had of "telling the true", I was beaten for being a Northerner and for sitting on the wrong "colored only" bench at a Greyhound bus depot, I know a degree of fear that has stayed with me. The white minister was not portrayed doing enough to be mentioned in the movie nor was the "SHAKER" or whatever he was called. The story line was something that all should remember by both parties but also they should have a grasp on why "they won" besides it being something that MUST be done. Martin Luther King and Gandhi knew that getting people on your side and using financial pressure on the oppressors created the social pressure to make it work and stick, not using two wrongs to make a right. The actors performance, for what they were given, was very good, but the Author/playwright and director lacked the emotions to get that gut wrenching feeling in the audience to make them willing to give their all to support the movement. Instead, they chose to portray tarnishing the movement by highlighting the looting and violence. The movie lacked focus and direction and never had the clear drive to success, and what about the charges for the other two white men? I had to Google to find out.

This movie won't win any oscars, or be raved about by Robert Ebert, but it's worth a watch. It's a nice honest look at a moment in our country's past and an event that even I as a resident of NC never knew had happened. I highly recommend it.

One has to give a person like Tim Tyson credit for perseverance. Like the old saying goes: "If you throw enough mud against a fence some is bound to stick."

All people of good will can stand behind and support the idea of people working together for a better world, but the key is to work for a better world for ALL people.

Tim Tyson reminds me of those relics of long ago who preach and shout and make no sense. The movie seems to draw too many assumptions without facts and is a cheap copy of narratives we've read for decades. It's an old story already told better by others many times over.

I could even give poor Tim Tyson a tip of the hat if so many of us hadn't already gotten a dose of his real character. His awful behavior during the Duke lacrosse fiasco showed the man's true objectives. After witnessing that embarrassment, few put any weight into his ability to do anything but tease the race issue in order to have a career among the ignorant.

Hence, this backward little movie makes all the points worth making. Like Tyson and such people, this unsuccessful effort was obsolete and phony before it even got picked up off the cutting room floor---where it should have remained.