The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
Sundance Selects | Release Date: September 9, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisSep 29, 2011
It's an imperfect but ambitious film willing to confront an enormous, complex period in this country. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanSep 5, 2011
A tangy raw stew of history, even if it never begins to confront the contradictions that bedeviled black militancy. Read full review
80
Village VoiceJ. HobermanSep 6, 2011
Black nationalism lives and breathes in this remarkably fresh documentary - a standout in last spring's New Directors/New Films - assembled by Göran Hugo Olsson. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfSep 6, 2011
The pieces here are wonderful, even if the documentary fails to make any kind of overall analytical point. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovOct 19, 2011
It plays very much like it advertises itself: a mixtape – Fear of a Black Planet, then and now. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn LevyOct 27, 2011
It may not add up to a narrative, but it's a fascinating compilation -- a mixtape you may want to hear more than once. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisSep 22, 2011
Sometimes the film, even if it's a "mixtape," bites off more than it can chew, delving into the Attica Prison uprising, heroin addiction and the Vietnam War. But all in all, this film will give you a new perspective on the past - and the present. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNoel MurraySep 7, 2011
Illustrates how the rhetoric of civil rights changed after the breakthroughs of Martin Luther King. With the world's media finally paying attention, critical thinkers like Carmichael, Davis, and Malcolm X were able to push back against the fretful questions about violence, and redefine the story of blacks in America over the centuries as one defined by violence. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranSep 22, 2011
Black Power Mixtape's contemporary audio, though it tries hard to involve us, can't hold a candle to this kind of footage. But if having these current voices on board helped get the luminous glimpses of the past back on the screen, we owe them a vote of thanks. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottSep 8, 2011
The fact that the speakers' faces are never seen produces a feeling of estrangement that is crucial to the film's effectiveness. You become acutely aware of gaps and discontinuities: between slogans and realities, between political ideals and stubborn social problems, between then and now. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJames GreenbergSep 5, 2011
This is a film that should be seen by anyone who wants to learn where we've come from as a nation. Read full review
70
VarietyAndrew BarkerSep 5, 2011
Like any mixtape, it offers some truly transcendent moments alongside a smattering of filler, and never quite assembles its pieces into a cohesive whole. Read full review
60
EmpireLiz BeardsworthOct 17, 2011
While it assumes a fair bit of knowledge of the social changes exploding in sixties America, there's a wealth of fascinating material and punchy insights into an earth shaking movement. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierSep 9, 2011
Lengthy clips of leaders including Angela Davis and Stokely Carmichael bring us back to emotional moments in this country's history. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineLauren WissotSep 4, 2011
Simply put, the documentary is full of cool talking heads pontificating rather than taking physical action. Read full review
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