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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    I Am Not Your Negro

    Featured In Issue 217, June 2017

    Picture3.5
    Sound3.5
    WSR Score5
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    Magnolia Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    1549
    (MPAA Rating):
    PG
    (Rating Reason):
    Disturbing violent images, thematic material, language, and brief nudity.
    (Retail Price):
    $$29.98
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    94
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    (Disc Release Date):
    5/2/2017
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    (Director):
    Raoul Peck
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    DTS HD Lossless 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (Subtitles):

    I Am Not Your Negro is a compelling documentary that examines race in America. In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, “Remember This House.” The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends—Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin's death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of his manuscript. Now, in his incendiary new documentary, filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book Baldwin never finished.
    The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin's original words and a flood of rich archival material. This is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for. (Gary Reber)

    The 1.85:1 1080p AVC picture is stitched together with power imagery, all archival and thus, of generally poor to excellent quality, but nonetheless gripping throughout. The imagery is comprised of nicely saturated color and black-and-white. The visual structure of this documentary is compelling and a MUST SEE! (Gary Reber)

    The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is well produced with a strong, intelligible narrative by Samuel L. Jackson that cuts through to dominate the experience. The music score also is well recorded with a wonderful spatial presence that often extends aggressively to the surrounds. Atmospherics are associated with the archival footage, some of which is quite good. Overall, this is a powerfully communicative sonic experience that superbly complements this powerful documentary. (Gary Reber)

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