The Pruitt-Igoe Myth
First Run Features | Release Date: January 20, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
VarietyRobert KoehlerFeb 7, 2012
Detailing the birth, life and death of America's first major urban housing project in St. Louis, Chad Freidrichs' The Pruitt-Igoe Myth combines concise but thoroughgoing sociological-historical analysis and elegant cinematic resources in service of an uncommonly artful example of film journalism. Read full review
80
The New York TimesRachel SaltzFeb 7, 2012
This history is too recent to seem dry, and the film gets an added emotional punch from interviews with former tenants, whose memories mix fondness with anger and loss. Read full review
80
Time OutEric HynesFeb 7, 2012
Armed with archival footage and wrenching interviews, filmmaker Chad Freidrichs revisits one of our nation's darkest hours - and emerges with a scrupulous, revelatory consideration of the varied factors that turned a worthy plan into a horrific, state-sanctioned nightmare for a generation of working-class African-Americans. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartFeb 7, 2012
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth doesn't offer easy conclusions. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineJoseph Jon LanthierFeb 7, 2012
The film ends on a note of courage, and a call-to-action that we "remember," naturally, but we can't completely buy it: What Freidrichs has accomplished is a portrait of unknowability. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranApr 26, 2012
A well-researched and iconoclastic documentary that is both thoughtful and troubling, The Pruitt-Igoe Myth is indeed a cautionary tale, but what it cautions against is the lure of easy judgments derived from prejudices and ignorance of the facts. Read full review
70
Village VoiceErnest HardyFeb 7, 2012
What gives the film its human dimension are the conflicting memories of former residents. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyApr 5, 2012
Under a different set of circumstances - in a different society - the development might have flourished. But The Pruitt-Igoe Myth is a documentary, not fantasy. Read full review
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