Selma

Overview

David Oyelowo stars as Martin Luther King Jr. in this historical drama set during the height of the American civil-rights movement, and depicting the marches from Selma, AL, to the state capital of Montgomery to secure voting rights for black people. Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey produce and Ava DuVernay (I Will Follow, Middle of Nowhere) directs.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/24/2017
UPC:	0032429258052
Original Release:	2014
Source:	PARAMOUNT
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Sales rank:	6,467

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

David Oyelowo	Wielebny Martin Luther King Jr
Carmen Ejogo	Coretta Scott King
Tom Wilkinson	Prezydent Lyndon B. Johnson
Cuba Gooding Jr.	Fred Gray
Alessandro Nivola	John Doar
Giovanni Ribisi	Lee C. White
Common	James Bevel
Wendell Pierce	Reverend Hosea Williams
Lorraine Toussaint	Amelia Boynton
Tim Roth	George Wallace
Oprah Winfrey	Annie Lee Cooper
Andre Holland	Andrew Young
Omar J. Dorsey	James Orange
Tessa Thompson	Diane Nash,Actor
Colman Domingo	Ralph Abernathy
Martin Sheen	Frank Minis Johnson
Dylan Baker	J. Edgar Hoover,Hotel Patron/Selma Citizen
Niecy Nash	Richie Jean Jackson
Keith Stanfield	Actor
Stephan James	John Lewis
Haviland Stillwell	President's Secretary
Nigel Thatch	Malcolm X
Jeremy Strong	James Reeb
Yamanee Coleman	Church/Funeral Attendant
Corey Reynolds	CT Vivian
Trai Byers	James Forman
John Archer Lundgren	Deputized Klansman
E. Roger Mitchell	Reverend Frederick Reese
Tara Ochs	Viola Liuzzo
Henry G. Sanders	Cager Lee
Kent Faulcon	Dr. Sullivan Jackson
Charity Jordan	Viola Lee
Christine Horn	Female Marcher
John Lavelle	Roy Reed
Stan Houston	Sheriff Jim Clark
Dane Davenport	Klansman #1
Clay Chappell	Registrar
Greg Chandler Maness	LBJ's Aide
Ledisi Young	Mahalia Jackson
Elizabeth Diane Wells	Marie Reeb (as Elizabeth Wells Berkes)
Fred Galle	Alabama State Attorney
Amahre Palmer	Civil Rights Activist
Brandon Carroll	Actor
Nadej Bailey	Actor,Girl #5
Montrel Miller	Young Marcher
Merriwether Stormy	Daughter
Trinity Simone	Girl #1
Walter Hendrix III	AA eFx Marcher
Joseph Oliveira	National Guardsman
Charlandra L. Jacobs	Funeral Attendee
David Marshall Silverman	Anthony Liuzzo
Michael Shikany	Archbishop Iakovos
Jordan Christina Rice	Girl,Girl #3
Clint Crane	National Guardsman
Kenny Cooper	Black Marcher
Mikeria Howard	Girl #2
Aaron Brewstar	Alabama State Trooper/Selma Alabama Police
Dexter Tillis	Angry Marcher
Jeffery James Bucchino	Congressman
Mark Cabus	State Attorney
Shannon Edwards	Senator
Andrew Bleidner	LBJ's Marine Guard/White House Aide
Brandon O'Dell	Reeb's Companion
Samuel Lee Fudge	Young Marcher
Kyle McMahon	Senator John J. Williams
Tim Battle	Actor
Raven Ferguson	Female Marcher
Ronan Brookes	Montgomery Police Officer
Thom McGlon	Sheriff Posseman
Ryan Fontaine	National Guardsman
Jim France	Gunnar Jahn
Ebony Billups	Girl #4
Elijah Oliver	Boy #1
Ruben Santiago-Hudson	Bayard Rustin
David Dwyer	Chief Wilson Baker
Brian Kurlander	Voices
Stephen Root	Actor
Paul Webb	Actor
Roger A. Harrison	Senator
Ashlei Chestnut	Church/Funeral Attendant
John Merical	Reporter
Charles Black	Elderly Marcher
Gordon Meyer	Deputy Sheriff
J.J. Green	Marcher
Patti Schellhaas	Congressional Aide
Travis Turner	Press/Reporter
Qualen Bradley	Male Marcher
Kathy Alderman	Angry White Woman
John Collier	Montgomery Police Officer
Mike Taylor	Man on Street
Jasmine Taylor	Female Marcher
Carol Anne Taylor	White Supporter
Scotty Bishop	Racist Spectator
Rachelle Wicker	Funeral Attendee
Christopher Anthony Carr	Racist Spectator/White Marcher/Press Background
Thomas Hughes	Deputized Klansman
Amy Elizabeth Jones	Marcher
AngelAnn Green-Orr	Church Attendant
Todd Sassano	National Guardsman
Donald Horner	Court Room Attendant
Jason Moran	Composer

Technical Credits

Paul Webb

Ava DuVernay	Director,Executive Producer
Christian Colson	Producer
Oprah Winfrey	Producer
Jeremy Kleiner	Producer
Brad Pitt	Producer,Executive Producer
Dede Gardner	Producer
Paul Webb	Screenwriter
Nik Bower	Executive Producer,Producer
Diarmuid McKeown	Executive Producer,Producer
Paul Garnes	Executive Producer,Producer
Nan Morales	Executive Producer,Producer
Cameron McCracken	Executive Producer,Producer
Aisha Coley	Casting
Willie D. Burton	Sound Mixer,Sound Effects
Jeremy Sample	Stunts
Christopher Assells	Sound Effects
Bobbi Banks	Sound Effects,Stunts
Charlie Campagna	Sound Effects
Aaron 'Cujo' Cooley	Sound Effects
Shellita Boxie	Stunts
Donny Carrington	Stunts
Nicholas Hayner	Stunts
Damita Jane Howard	Stunts
Courtney Julien	Stunts
Josh Lakatos	Stunts
Scott Loeser	Stunts
Keith Meriweather	Stunts
Greg Sproles	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

More often than not, cradle-to-the-grave biopics are sprawling movies that lack focus and end up doing a disservice to the importance of their subjects. Ava DuVernay's Selma avoids that pitfall altogether by focusing on just a few crucial months in the life of Martin Luther King Jr. In so doing, she's created both an excellent history lesson and a fully realized psychological portrait of a transformative 20th century crusader. David Oyelowo stars as King, who, as the film opens in 1965, is pushing President Lyndon Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) to address the voting-rights problems blacks are experiencing throughout the South. He details how systematic efforts to keep black people from the polls result in continued poverty, and represent a failure to live up to the country's standards. Johnson is sympathetic, but he has other political battles to fight and refuses to help to the degree King would like. In response, King and his fellow civil-rights leaders plan a peaceful march from Selma, AL, to the state capital of Montgomery in order to take their demands to Governor George Wallace (Tim Roth), knowing full well that if the news cameras see people being abused by officials, Johnson will be goaded into taking action. The first thing that will jump out at anyone who sees Selma is Oyelowo, a talented actor who gets his biggest role to date here. He gives a marvelous performance that doesn't so much impersonate the Nobel Peace Prize winner as embody his public resolve and steadfast righteousness. All the while, the actor makes sure we realize that King understands the toll his actions are taking on his marriage and his family. He's inspirational not because of the odds he overcomes, but because of the sacrifices he makes to succeed. DuVernay shows a talent for both large-scale scenes and intimate conversations. The centerpiece of the movie, the march to Montgomery that is violently broken up by local law enforcement, is brutal without being sensationalistic. The sequence is violent and epic, but much of its power is derived from the fact that so many of the people we see suffer are individuals we've come to know and care about. The film smartly personalizes the civil-rights battle for the audience. Additionally, the scenes in which we see King away from the cameras and the crowds, including a memorable conversation with one of his closest collaborators while they sit in a jail cell, help humanize the man. He's shown to be a savvy speaker who could move others with his fiery oratory, but just as importantly, we see how he could inspire people in one-on-one interactions, earning loyalty with his truthfulness, intelligence, and fierce sense of right and wrong. Selma is the kind of movie that will be shown by smart high-school teachers, and that's not meant to sound like a dismissal. For all of the weight of history it carries, it's the rare biopic that actually works as both a personal story and an exploration of America's past.