Search - American Experience - The Murder of Emmett Till on DVD

Great documentary on a pivotal historical event

keviny01 | 04/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In its 16-year run, the weekly prime-time TV series AMERICAN EXPERIENCE has been airing high-quality documentaries on wide-ranging subjects concerning American history. Notable shows include "The Battle over Citizen Kane," "The Donner Party," "The Quiz Show Scandal," "America and the Holocaust," the Oscar-nominated "Daughter from Danang," and the many great shows on American presidents and politics. "The Murder of Emmett Till", first aired in January 2003, is one of the series' best. With film footage, photographs, interviews, and an effective narration by actor Andre Braugher, the 50-minute program tells a harrowing event that, without question, symbolizes the greatest victimization of African Americans during the 1950s. Often unmentioned in history books, the Emmett Till murder took place in an obscure town in Mississippi shortly before the Civil Rights movement gained full momentum. A black teenager from Chicago allegedly whistled at a white woman and ended up beaten and shot to death by local bigots. A trial with an all-white jury ensued, and the acquittal of the murderers was a foregone conclusion. Till's mother courageously asked for her son's mutilated corpse to be displayed in public in order to reveal the depth of racism to the world. The murder gained world-wide notoriety, prompting one French journalist to write, "The death of young black man in America isn't worth a whistle."The film includes newly conducted interviews with Till's mother, Mamie, shortly before her death in January 2003. She and some of Emmett's relatives eloquently recall the fateful events and the social climate at the time. We see contemporary news footage of the murderers, their supporters, and the atmosphere of the trial at that time. We also see the infamous postmortem photo of Till's mutilated face, which is surely one of the most powerful photos from the era of the Civil Rights movement. His face was so badly deformed that Mamie could identify him only from the ring on his finger. There is also the harrowing footage of Till's body being displayed per Mamie's request, and several viewers simply breaks down in great despair.PBS has set up web pages dedicated to many of the episodes in the series. After viewing the program, be sure to visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/till/ and check out more articles and photos on the Emmett Till murder. There is an extraordinary article that details the notorious confession from the killers. The feedbacks from contemporary readers to that article are also enlightening. The DVD version was released on February 2004. It is in non-anamorphic widescreen format and stereo sound, and is encoded for Region 1 only. It includes a few minutes of intros and outros before and after the program."

Disturbing..

Superwoman | San Diego, CA United States | 04/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I wasn't born when Emmett Till was murdered, yet this story has always troubled me. Watching this PBS documentary just mesmerized me. I don't understand this kind of hate, that grown men would drag a young boy from his bed and literally beat him to death. And how a legal system or the community could support the white men because they were white and the victim was black. One witness said he heard "beating" and the boy "screaming." I get goose bumps when I think of that... This movie is not for the squeamish, because it deals with the facts without sugarcoating them. I could watch it because I know it really happened. Turning away and burying my head in the sand because its too horrible to accept is why slavery and the brutal treatment of blacks in the long history of this country lasted so long. God-fearing people have got to face history, learn from it, and vow never to allow the bad parts of it to be repeated... Watching this movie with an open heart and mind will convict you to that end."

Powerful film!

Superwoman | 02/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This films shows the events around the lynching of Emmett Till, a Black teenager from Chicago. Emmett was visiting relatives in Mississippi in 1955 when he was tortured and murdered by racists.
This film talks about real history, not the sanitized versions we get in high school and on t.v."

The Murder of Emmett Till: An Education Worth Viewing

Ramona L. Hyman | Huntsville, AL | 10/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Murder... provides a thoughtful and soul stirring view of how racial hate destroys individuals and social institutions. At the same time, it is a reminder of the historical nightmares pregnant in America as a result of segregation. Indeed, this film renewed my commitment to be an individual who teaches students about the way African Americans have thrived in the midst of living within and in the blues existence known as racial hate. This is a movie all people need to experience."