The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015). 1h 55m | Not Rated

“This is a heroic attempt at a one-film history of the Panthers. It suffers only from its own ambition- this is too complex a subject to offer a u0026quot;history ofu0026quot; in the length of a single feature film. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe best parts of the film are the stirring, emotional recounts of battles with agents of the state by revolutionaries who were on the front lines, heroes most of us have never before heard of. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe portraits offered of the iconic Party leaders were a bit more problematic, or simply lacking. The presentation of Huey Newton is far too simplistic. One comes away with a sketch of a sociopath who the Party naively turned into an icon. While there is credible documentation of Newtonu0026#39;s erratic behavior and drug abuse after spending many years in prison on likely trumped up charges, watching this film you would not know of Newtonu0026#39;s extensive and influential writings on revolutionary theory, including his ground-breaking advocacy of the Gay- Equality struggle. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOther important strands of Panther history were simply lacking. There is, for instance, no mention of George Jackson or the Angola Three. Still, a fine attempt to do a lot with too little space and time.”