Four Little Girls: Maxine McNair, Walter Cronkite, Chris McNair, Fred Shuttlesworth, Wyatt Tee Walker, Wamo Reed Robertson, Bill Cosby, Howell Raines, Bill Baxley, Helen Pegues, Queen Nunn, Arthur Hanes Jr., Ellen Kuras, Spike Lee, Daphne McWilliams, Jacqueline Glover, Michele Forman, Samuel D. Pollard, Sheila Nevins: Amazon.ca: Video

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There are many remarkable things about the documentary 4 Little Girls. Spike Lee's striking, beautifully realized film is a cinematic lesson of what kind of material is better suited to the documentary format. In his first documentary, Lee shares an attribute of Ken Burns: the major event in his documentary is not seen on camera. Except for four quick glimpses of black-and-white autopsy photos, the picture stays clear from the bombing. Lee remains with the faces, the girls' friends, families, and the historic figures of the era. They've all grown up since the bombing but their memories haven't faded. The vital facts of the case are certainly here: the troubled history of Birmingham, the court proceedings, friends' last run-ins with the girls. What touches us deeper though are those witnesses telling us of living through the core era of segregation and bigotry: a father explaining to his child why she can't have a sandwich in a cafeteria and a woman offering up tears of past events. There's even an interview with George Wallace, the prince of segregation, that belongs in a David Lynch feature. Lee's film asserts the bombing energized the civil rights movement and when the voice of America, Walter Cronkite, echoes those sentiments, you believe he may have it right. --Doug Thomas

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21 Reviews

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4.9 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, but....., Jan 30 2004

By

Andre M. "brnn64" (Mt. Pleasant, SC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 4 Little Girls (DVD)

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.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a great documentary, Dec 11 2003

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Sarah Stumpf (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: 4 Little Girls (DVD)

I'm actually watching the special features on this disc right now, and the "making of" special is as well done as the film. This is a powerful and moving film about people before, during, and after a great tradedy. The stars of this film are the parents and friends of these children.

One of the most startling things is an interview with violent segregationist George Wallace. Much like Micheal Moore handing the mike to Charleton Heston, the rope is handed over, and Wallace just hangs himself with it. Like Heston, he is old and outdated, illogical and mostly just old. You look at this old old man and you feel a strange pity, because he is so old and small and insignificant.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing and heart-rendering..., Aug 24 2003

By

Katherine M. Griffis (Greenberg) (Oxford, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Little Girls (VHS Tape)

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.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT
This is a powerful documentary on the 4 little girls who died just because of the colour of their skin. Read more

Published on April 9 2010 by C Knightly

5.0 out of 5 stars A different view of the Civil Rights Movement...
It is one thing to learn about a historical event, but quite another to see the impact that event had on the lives of people who lost loved ones. Read more