Decades after the release of The Emancipation Proclamation, the United States was still dominated by racial discrimination and prejudice. As the racism went rampant, a man stood out calling for justice and fairness and fighting against racism with his words. However, as his voice began to be heard and his work "I Have a Dream" began to be praised around the world, he was murdered by racist in a motel in Memphis. He was Martin Luther King, the winner of Nobel Peace Prize and the killer of American racism. To commemorate his great doings, Martin Luther King Day was created as a federal festival celebrated on his birthday. Now with Martin Luther King Day 2013 approaches, various commemorations for Dr King are in preparation.
Generally speaking, Hollywood tends to spread no efforts to publicizing the legendary live of a celebrity with various movies. However, Martin Luther King seems to be an exception. Even though his life is no less legendary than any other celebrities, only a few Martin Luther King movies were made in the past century. As a consequence, the absence of adequate Martin Luther King movies had made the great man only recognizable in books or documents. Therefore, to celebrate the coming of Martin Luther King Day 2013, 6 Martin Luther King movies will be covered here. Some of those Martin Luther King movies had been released and some were in preparation.
1. King: The Martin Luther King Story
As a three-part miniseries, King: The Martin Luther King Story has covered the lifetime journey of Martin Luther King. The first movie mainly focuses on the career of Dr. King as a southern minister, the second movie about his fighting and the third one about his murder. Even though there were made in 1970s, they are still the best Martin Luther King movie one can get.
2. People I Know
As one of the best movie ever starred by Al Pacino, People I Know mainly tells about the story of how a press agent falls into a scandal and loses himself. When Eli is asked to take care of a woman, he witnessed the evil and luxury lives of New York leaders. After Eli witnessed a murder case, his life totally messes up. This is a movie criticizing the darkness and injustice of American society. It is called Martin Luther King movie because Eli is designed as a partner and follower of Martin Luther King. The whole story begins when Eli tries to raise funds to continue the undone career of Dr. King.
3. Legacy of a Dream
As a documentary movie about Martin Luther King, Legacy of a Dream is exclusively created to show the world Dr. King's fight for freedom. From bus boycott to Memphis assassination, the movie has covered almost all the important issues about Martin Luther King. Moreover, created on the basis of those original newsreels and footages, the movie is actually starred by Dr. King. Of course, in this 29-minute movie, Dr. King mainly publicizes the importance of racial equality with his magic words.
4. Memphis
Since Memphis is a Martin Luther King movie under preparation, audiences have to wait sometime before the documentary movie is available in the market. It is said that many companies have the intentions to shoot movies like Memphis for Martin Luther King, but none have put the thoughts into practice. Universal Pictures had invested on the movie last year, but quitted for unknown reasons. Now this movie, directed by Paul Greengrass is prepared by Veritas and Wild Bunch. In this Martin Luther King movie, the director mainly focuses on the last few years of Dr. King in Memphis.
5. Selma
Selma is another rumored Martin Luther King movie directed by Lee Daniels. The movie is said to be about the stories of how Luther King tries to help blacks in Selma win the rights to vote. It is said that the movie will be starred by Hugh Jackman, Liam Neeson and Robert De Niro. If it is true, Selma will be one of the most expected movies about racism.
6. Martin Luther King Biopic
Years after Steven Spielberg expressing his desire to direct a movie about Lincoln, Lincoln gains great successes in the movie market. Steven also stated that shooting movies to honor Martin Luther King was his lifelong wish. This time, he is given another chance by DreamWorks. Even though no many details about this Martin Luther King movie have been released, it is still known as a movie that focusing on the lifetime fighting of Dr. King. As the first Luther King movie with the admission from the King estate, the movie will put much focuses on the famous speech of Dr. King, I Have a Dream.
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