With All Deliberate Speed
Discovery Docs | Release Date: May 14, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
6
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The film is at its most quietly powerful, though, when telling the story of a group of African-American high school kids who took their discontent to the highest court in the land. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
Rather than merely chronicling the events leading up to the May 17, 1954, Supreme Court decision that ordered the desegregation of public schools in the U.S., the film explores both its effect and ways in which it has fallen short in creating true equality. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Straightforward and informative, but overlong and repetitious. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The most valuable task of the film is to re-create the historic legal struggles that led to Brown, and to remember heroes who have been almost forgotten by history. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
At once inspirational and deeply depressing, With All Deliberate Speed, directed by "Hoop Dreams" producer Peter Gilbert, is too candid and forthright about the current state of race relations to allow for the sort of cheery, unambiguous uplift favored by civil-rights documentaries. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn Dumpert
By cinematic standards, not exactly scintillating stuff: The mix of archival materials, talking heads and dramatic readings is strictly PBS 101. Filmmaker Peter Gilbert's great achievement lies in his integration of disparate historical threads and voices into one steadily paced, riveting tale. Read full review
70
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Gets most of its juice from listening to groups of people who were students and activists in segregated Clarendon County, S.C., and Prince Edward County, Va., during the years leading up to the case. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Sober and honorable, yet it's far from searching. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Feeling very much like it is meant to educate students who don't understand the ruling's relevance, "Speed" doesn't boast much in the way of innovative storytelling. What it does offer is a story that still badly needs to be told. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
As a document of his history, it's breathtaking, inspiring stuff. As an overlong documentary, it still manages to be inspiring, but also an uphill viewing experience. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The film's saddest contention is that five decades later American public schools remain economically segregated by economics, which too often produces classrooms whose complexions have changed little since the pre-Brown era. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Gilbert would have done well to stick with these witnesses; instead his History Channel-type video presents a dutiful overview of the Brown case. Read full review
50
VarietyRonnie Scheib
In choosing to cover the smaller picture of what has been little publicized, alongside the larger picture of what is generally known, pic loses momentum but gains depth. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDave Kehr
Mr. Gilbert wants a movie with both a golden glow and a corrosive center, something he has not quite achieved here. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
All too ironically titled as it details in lethargic and sometimes convoluted fashion the stories of the many heroic and often unsung figures involved. Read full review
40
Village VoiceThulani Davis
While the filmmaker avoids a conventional episodic format driven by central characters in conflict, he hasn't created one that could keep a complex story clear. Read full review
38
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Something high schoolers might yawn through in history class, but they have no choice. You do. Read full review
30
Washington PostKen Ringle
Misses almost every opportunity to break new ground on the issue. Read full review
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