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dex14 01-28-21 05:56 PM

Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
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Inspired by true events, Judas and the Black Messiah tells the story of the betrayal of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party. Coming to theaters and streaming exclusively on HBO Max February 12.

Available on HBO Max in the US only at no extra cost to subscribers, for 31 days from its theatrical release.

Chairman Fred Hampton was 21 years old when he was assassinated by the FBI, who coerced a petty criminal named William O’Neal to help them silence him and the Black Panther Party. But they could not kill Fred Hampton’s legacy and, 50 years later, his words still echo…louder than ever.

I am a revolutionary!

In 1968, a young, charismatic activist named Fred Hampton became Chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, who were fighting for freedom, the power to determine the destiny of the Black community, and an end to police brutality and the slaughter of Black people.

Chairman Fred was inspiring a generation to rise up and not back down to oppression, which put him directly in the line of fire of the government, the FBI and the Chicago Police. But to destroy the revolution, they had to do it from both the outside…and the inside. Facing prison, William O’Neal is offered a deal by the FBI: if he will infiltrate the Black Panthers and provide intel on Hampton, he will walk free. O’Neal takes the deal.

Now a comrade in arms in the Black Panther Party, O’Neal lives in fear that his treachery will be discovered even as he rises in the ranks. But as Hampton’s fiery message draws him in, O’Neal cannot escape the deadly trajectory of his ultimate betrayal.

Though his life was cut short, Fred Hampton’s impact has continued to reverberate. The government saw the Black Panthers as a militant threat to the status quo and sold that lie to a frightened public in a time of growing civil unrest. But the perception of the Panthers was not reality. In inner cities across America, they were providing free breakfasts for children, legal services, medical clinics and research into sickle cell anemia, and political education. And it was Chairman Fred in Chicago, who, recognizing the power of multicultural unity for a common cause, created the Rainbow Coalition—joining forces with other oppressed peoples in the city to fight for equality and political empowerment.

“Judas and the Black Messiah” stars Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out,” “Widows,” “Black Panther”) as Fred Hampton and LaKeith Stanfield (“Atlanta,” “The Girl in the Spider’s Web”) as William O’Neal. The film also stars Jesse Plemons (“Vice,” “Game Night,” “The Post”), Dominique Fishback (“The Hate U Give,” “The Deuce”), Ashton Sanders (“The Equalizer 2,” “Moonlight”) and Martin Sheen (“The Departed,” TV’s “The West Wing,” TV’s “Grace & Frankie”).

“Judas and the Black Messiah” is directed by Shaka King, marking his studio feature film directorial debut. The project originated with King and his writing partner, Will Berson, who co-wrote the screenplay, and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas, who co-wrote the story with Berson & King. King, who has a long relationship with filmmaker Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther,” “Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”), pitched the film to Coogler and Charles D. King (“Just Mercy,” “Fences”), who are producing the film. The executive producers are Sev Ohanian, Zinzi Coogler, Kim Roth, Poppy Hanks, Ravi Mehta, Jeff Skoll, Anikah McLaren, Aaron L. Gilbert, Jason Cloth, Ted Gidlow, and Niija Kuykendall.

The ensemble cast also includes Algee Smith (“The Hate U Give,” “Detroit”), Darrell Britt-Gibson (“Just Mercy,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”), Dominique Thorne (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), Amari Cheatom (“Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” “Django Unchained”), Caleb Eberhardt (“The Post”), and Lil Rel Howery (“Get Out”).

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Sean Bobbitt (“12 Years a Slave,” “Widows”), production designer Sam Lisenco (“Shades of Blue”), editor Kristan Sprague (“Random Acts of Flyness”) and costume designer Charlese Antoinette Jones (“Raising Dion”).

The film is a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with MACRO Films, Participant and BRON Creative, and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9784798

DJariya 02-10-21 04:50 PM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
Bump

This is the next theatrical and HBO Max WB movie. It comes out Friday. I’m sure this won’t have the same kind of interest as WW 1984 and a Denzel Washington movie. But just putting it on your radars.

PerryD 02-10-21 04:59 PM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 

Originally Posted by DJariya (Post 13888909)
Bump

This is the next theatrical and HBO Max WB movie. It comes out Friday. I’m sure this won’t have the same kind of interest as WW 1984 and a Denzel Washington movie. But just putting it on your radars.

98% Rotten Tomato score should mean it will be the best direct to HBO Max film so far.

Dr. DVD 02-14-21 09:47 AM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
Saw this last night. Very well made and the ending was eerily reminiscent of recent events. I'm surprised it's only received 2 Golden Globe noms with one being just for the song. I also don't see how Kaluuya is only considered a supporting actor. To me he was clearly the lead character.

davidh777 02-14-21 09:48 AM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
Definitely the best HBO Max theatrical so far, but it’s a downer. I didn’t know the history going in, but I assumed from the title that it wasn’t going to end well.

Baron Of Hell 02-14-21 06:11 PM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
Really liked the movie but did think it could be cut by a half hour.. The dude from Atlanta the tv show was very good in this and showed his range going beyond quirky character.

PerryD 02-14-21 10:08 PM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
I really enjoyed it, but I'm not familiar enough with the history to know how much was white washed for story telling purposes. But I suppose they didn't really hide the fact that many cops were brutally murdered by the Black Panthers, so it was good filmmaking that you were still rooting for the main character to the end

Giantrobo 02-15-21 12:32 PM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 

Originally Posted by PerryD (Post 13891043)
I really enjoyed it, but I'm not familiar enough with the history to know how much was white washed for story telling purposes. But I suppose they didn't really hide the fact that many cops were brutally murdered by the Black Panthers, so it was good filmmaking that you were still rooting for the main character to the end


I haven't seen it yet. But people are saying it wasn't "whitewashed" too much as those involved in getting this made worked hard to "not let Hollywood take over the story". I was expecting a huge Social Media backlash to this film because frankly, that's what happens when Black Historically based films are made and "Hollywood fucks around with them". You see people shit on them after the fact...so we'll see.

EddieMoney 02-18-21 03:29 PM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
This was fantastic.

Decker 02-21-21 10:07 AM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
I really liked this film. Both leads were great in it. Really interesting and well done. I liked how it played out more like a political thriller than a typical biopic. Martin Sheen looked weird under all that make-up. All the FBI stuff, including Plemons, seemed “off”, but since they were the bad guys, I just kind of rolled with it.


Originally Posted by Baron Of Hell (Post 13890958)
Really liked the movie but did think it could be cut by a half hour.. The dude from Atlanta the tv show was very good in this and showed his range going beyond quirky character.

It’s a 122 minute movie. It would not have worked as a ninety minute film. The length felt just right to me.

dex14 02-21-21 10:13 AM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 

Originally Posted by Baron Of Hell (Post 13890958)
Really liked the movie but did think it could be cut by a half hour.. The dude from Atlanta the tv show was very good in this and showed his range going beyond quirky character.

If all you’ve seen of Lakeith Stanfield is from Atlanta then you are missing out. He’s been in plenty, done good work, and has already shown plenty range before this. His performance Short Term 12 is an incredible debut.

PerryD 02-21-21 10:20 AM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 

Originally Posted by Decker (Post 13894686)
I really liked this film. Both leads were great in it. Really interesting and well done. I liked how it played out more like a political thriller than a typical biopic. Martin Sheen looked weird under all that make-up.

hmm, I didn't realize that was him. Matt Damon was easier to spot under all that make up as that main FBI guy Roy Mitchell.

DJariya 03-02-21 12:42 AM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
Just starting to watch this tonight on HBO Max.

Did anyone notice on the extras section, there is like 8 1/2 hours of bonus features. Yes I kid you not. It’s pretty much interviews, but who’s going to have the time to watch it all? -eek- The interview segments average around 30 to 35 minutes and there’s a lot of them.

clckworang 03-02-21 08:18 AM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
I finally watched this over the weekend and really liked it. As was already stated, I think Kaluuya is a stretch as a supporting actor; it really felt like a co-lead to me. Regardless, the performances were pretty much uniformly excellent.


Originally Posted by PerryD (Post 13894693)
hmm, I didn't realize that was him. Matt Damon was easier to spot under all that make up as that main FBI guy Roy Mitchell.

You are joking, right? Because Damon wasn't in the movie. I just have to ask to be sure. You never know around here. 😂

PerryD 03-02-21 09:23 AM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 

Originally Posted by clckworang (Post 13899106)
You are joking, right? Because Damon wasn't in the movie. I just have to ask to be sure. You never know around here. 😂

;)

DJariya 03-04-21 03:04 AM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
I just finished this tonight. Really well done movie. I was not familiar with the real story, so I found this story very captivating. Kaluuya was memorizing as Hampton. The fact that he won a Golden Globe for "supporting" actor is a stretch. I think he almost carried the movie. I know the Bill O'Neal character was technically the protagonist, but there's no way he overshadowed Kaluuya's portrayal of Hampton.

I'd love to watch the bonus material on HBO Max to learn more about the story, but I don't know if I have the time to watch 8 1/2 hours of interviews. That's a huge time sink.

It was interesting reading at the end that the real Bill O'Neal committed suicide. I guess he must have felt long-term guilt that he betrayed the Panthers and Hampton, which led to his death.

and yeah Martin Sheen looked really bizarre with all that make up and the prosthetics. I did recognize the voice, but the face looked so weird that I wasn't sure.

dex14 03-04-21 06:24 AM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
If you liked this and haven't watch The Trial of the Chicago 7 on Netflix, also worth checking since some of it covers portions of Hampton's life in that.

TomOpus 03-04-21 07:27 AM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 

Originally Posted by DJariya (Post 13900210)
I'd love to watch the bonus material on HBO Max to learn more about the story, but I don't know if I have the time to watch 8 1/2 hours of interviews. That's a huge time sink.

It's broken up into many segments, some are as short as 2 mins, others around 20-30 mins. Just pick the ones that look interesting.

davidh777 03-04-21 12:40 PM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 

Originally Posted by TomOpus (Post 13900232)
It's broken up into many segments, some are as short as 2 mins, others around 20-30 mins. Just pick the ones that look interesting.

Yeah, I didn’t actually watch any of the bonus stuff for this movie, but I like it when it’s seals rated and clearly labeled. I do like when history-based movies offer bonus background stuff.

Hokeyboy 03-04-21 01:27 PM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
Excellent movie. Excellent. Someone should just hand Daniel Kaluuya the Oscar right now. He was completely magnetic in this role.

LaKeith Stanfield also put in a powerful performance, but as a much more conflicted character. At first I wasn't sure about where he was going with the character, but about halfway through everything clicked. It's not the flashy role, but he sells it.

It's a shame this never got a proper theater run.

Decker 05-06-21 12:09 PM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 

Originally Posted by DJariya (Post 13900210)
I'd love to watch the bonus material on HBO Max to learn more about the story, but I don't know if I have the time to watch 8 1/2 hours of interviews. That's a huge time sink.

I bought a digital copy of this movie. It only has two brief bonus features, which I thought was weird since the HBO Max version had so much material.
I wonder if they're holding some of the digital bonus features back since it's in the "Early Access" period? I don't know why you would make all those bonus features for HBO Max and then not make them available digitally to own.

DJariya 05-06-21 12:16 PM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
I noticed that the other day when I saw the digital copy on sale that it was only 2 featurettes. Same with the BD.

That’s very disappointing that WB didn’t keep all that material. It was 8 1/2 hours of interviews with the stars, creative team and activists.

Granted it was all Zoom calls, but I would have watched more of them in the HBO Max period if I had more time.

DJariya 07-01-21 11:11 PM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
FYI
This is now back on HBO Max.

And if you have any interest in the subject matter, there is now about 9 hours and 45 minutes of bonus material. They put back all the previous material plus more.

This bonus material is not going to interest most of you here. I’m watching the interview with Daniel Kaluuya and Fred Hampton Jr and it’s really deep subject matter.

E Unit 07-02-21 09:48 AM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 
I watched most of the extras last time, so it’s good that they added more. I’ll check all of them out. This is an outstanding movie that I hope continues to get watched and talked about.

asianxcore 12-28-21 11:29 PM

Re: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021, D: King) S: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield
 

Originally Posted by DJariya (Post 13900210)
It was interesting reading at the end that the real Bill O'Neal committed suicide. I guess he must have felt long-term guilt that he betrayed the Panthers and Hampton, which led to his death.

He (obviously) didn't give interviews, but the one he did give was on April 13th, 1989, as a part of PBS' Documentary "Eyes on The Prize II".

The night it aired (on January 15, 1990, Martin Luther King's birthday), while drunk he tried to jump out of a second story window at his uncle's house. When failed, he ran into traffic on the nearby freeway, taking his own life. I read that about a year or previous, O'Neal had attempted to do the same thing on the same freeway but survived getting hit by a car.

Finally got a chance to watch this a few hours ago. Fantastic film with great performances from Daniel Kaluuya & Lakeith Stanfield, who I love in just about everything that they've been in.

Full PBS interview with William O'Neal (Starts around the 0:10 mark):



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