Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment
Watch TrailerDuring a two-day period before and after the University of Alabama integration crisis, the film uses five camera crews to follow President John F. Kennedy, attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, Alabama governor George Wallace, deputy attorney general Nicholas Katzenbach and the students Vivian Malone and James Hood. As Wallace has promised to personally block the two black students from enrolling in the university, the JFK administration discusses the best way to react to it, without rousing the crowd or making Wallace a martyr for the segregationist cause. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1999.
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📋 Film Details
| Year | 1963 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Director | Robert Drew |
| Runtime | 52 min. |
| Rating | TMDB: 6.9/10 (22 votes) |
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🎬 MovieFinder's Take
The film constructs a tense, real-time narrative by deploying five camera crews to parallel-edit between the Kennedys, Governor Wallace, and the students. It relies on direct cinema techniques to explore the high-stakes decision-making process, capturing the weight of history as it unfolds.
What lingers after viewing is the raw, unfiltered access to a pivotal moment in the civil rights struggle, presented without narration or overt commentary. It feels less like a retrospective and more like a live transmission from inside the crisis. — MovieFinder Editorial
Director: Robert Drew
Best Watched
Watch attentively, as a primary historical source. Best viewed for its procedural tension.
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