Oklahoma City

The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in April 1995 is the worst act of domestic terrorism in American history; this documentary explores how a series of deadly encounters between American citizens and federal law enforcement - including the standoffs at Ruby Ridge and Waco - led to it.

There is the matter of what this film is and what it isn't. If you want a broad view of Ruby Ridge, Waco and Oklahoma City in under two hours, this is the perfect primer or refresher. However, if you want to learn more, and were around in the 1990s, there is very little here you did not already read in the news at the time.

I suppose if nothing else, this would be great for catching the younger generation up on what happened just twenty years ago, when "terrorism" and 9/11 were not yet synonymous.

"Oklahoma City" (2017 release; 115 min,) is a documentary about Timothy McVeigh's bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, and the wider background as to what roe him to do this. As the movie opens, it is "April 19, 1995, 9:02 am" and we her voices at the Water Resource Board Meeting, when an enormous explosion takes place. We get various historical footage as to the damage caused by the bombing, as well as first account interviews of first aid helpers, survivors, and family members of the perished, We then go back in time to the early 1980s, in northern Idaho, where white supremacists are gathering steam. As this point we're 10 min, into the movie, but to tell you more of the story would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is, to say the least, a sobering documentary, Built in three major chapters, "The Spark" (referring to Ruby Ridge), "The Flame" (referring to Waco) and "The Inferno" (referring to Oklahoma City), the documentary makers examine how right wing white supremacists were able to build a small but fierce resistance cell that becomes convinced that the federal government is "the enemy". The link between Ruby Ridge/Oklahoma City on the one hand, and Waco on the other hand, is less obvious (the Waco incident does not involve white supremacists), but nevertheless essential for the McVeigh narrative, as the documentary makes clear. McVeigh's personal background, fairly well known at this point, is examined as well. In the end, the lasting images of this documentary remain those of the Oklahoma City bombing itself, to this date still the largest domestic terrorist attack in this country's history, and with it the resolve of the survivors and the family of the perished. "Love is stronger than a terrorist attack", comments a survivor who has forgiven McVeigh. Wow.

This documentary played in a few theaters, but opened wide when it was shown on PBS' "The American Experience" last night. As it most often the case with programs on "The American Experience", the documentary was well researched, restrained and very sobering. A must-see for anyone interested in the history of this country.

Until they quoted the Southern Poverty Law Center the end. Next time, try quoting a legitimate organization. And, much of the footage was rehashed from other documentaries.

I've seen all parts of this documentary before in other documentaries. But this was a nice retelling, having everything as straight as possible.

A lot of the other documentaries focused on him building the bomb and the evidence that it was him.

Such as the rental van being caught on camera etc.

They've kind of missed those bits out, which is fine because we all know he was guilty!

He admitted to it and was found guilty in court.

So it's no shock he was going to be found guilty.

His one misguided thought is that he assumed that his death would start another civil war... and it didn't!

The only thing that came out of all of this was Mcveigh being sentenced to death for targeting a building which housed an FBI office.

The guy was unhinged, but not enough so he didn't know what he was doing.

Let's hope he's nice and hot wherever he might be.

I loved this documentary; it got straight to the point, though I wish it were more detailed. Certain clips did seem out of place, and I feel like the story was told out of order. Some topics weren't talked about enough, and I wish more detail had been put in. Even though it was simple, it still managed to grab my attention constantly.