4 Little Girls

This is a great documentary which speaks to the central battles of the civil rights movement and the still present racism in America. Wide range of interview subjects from family members, politicians and those who covered the story when it happened. Spike Lee's work elicits strong emotions at times but also leaves you to provide your own conclusions as well. Recommended along with dramatized movies such as Ghosts of Mississippi, Mississippi Burning and the little watched A Long Walk Home. Watch these to learn something of the darker side of American history and decide for yourself how far we have come in the last forty years.

Spike Lee did an excellent job with this documentary. I too, was extremely shocked that it did not win the Oscar the year it was nominated. One of the victims was my cousin, my fathers favorite niece at that. Growing up and learning about this tragedy first hand was very enlightening and yet tragic all at the same time. This film definitely captures the pain and suffering of my family and of the entire black community that lived through such racially biased times in Birmingham, Alabama. I think that this film should be seen by all, and not just during Black History month. In my opinion, there is no justification for the actions of those involved and it took some time and patience but they too had to pay for their crimes.

Thanks to Spike Lee for telling this story in such a compelling manner. However, the use of the autopsy photos was so unnecessary. The horror of the event is evoked clearly by the lines on the faces of the survivors, and in their voices. I know the intent was to nail the point home, but for me, as a parent, seeing and hearing the story told by the family was almost too much to take in all at once.

I was not born when the Birmingham church bombing occurred. I first read about it when I was 10 or 11 in a Reader's Digest story and for some reason the names of the girls stuck in my mind all these years. I saw this on HBO and it is one of the only films that continued to leave an emotional impression on me long after it was over. Especially the haunting last image of Denise McNair happily holding her beloved (white) doll, and the overwhelming sense that someone who should be in the world today, is not with us. The interviews with family and friends of the girls are what makes this documentary special. Also it does a great job of educating people about Birmingham's civil rights history up to the bombing and just how it took an appalling act of violence to wake up white America. Let's hope it never takes this sort of crime again to make us wake up to other simmering injustices.

Spike Lee's documentary about the horrible 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church that claimed the lives of four young girls. As a documentary, it achieves everything it should: it informs us, it moves us, and it reminds us of the evil that we Americans have in our past, and still have today. "Never forget", indeed. It goes without saying that this was an awful act of hatred and bigotry, its impact still sharply felt by friends and family of the victims. There is one amusing moment: a clip of George Wallace, years after the fact, trotting out his black "best friend" for the world to see, and the man clearly has contempt for Wallace. Speaking of trotting out, however, I question the need for Bill Cosby to chime in, or Jesse Jackson for that matter. There are plenty of articulate and interesting interviewees already involved without pulling in a couple of celebrity pals. It pulled me out of the film for a moment. Other than that, however, a strong and memorable film.