MLK: The Assassination Tapes (2012)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Taking a cue from the documentary film JFK: 3 SHOTS THAT CHANGED America, this film tells the story of Martin Luther King's assassination through TV clips, radio broadcasts, recorded police communications and other items from the actually time of the events. Instead of interviewing historians on the event, the film is presented through the news items and edited together to give one a complete idea of what was going on in America during this period and the events leading up to the assassination and the eventual aftermath. We start off hearing about why King originally went to Memphis and then we get to hear chilling broadcasts of his assassination including some police reports that happens minutes after the shots. From here we see the aftermath of what would happen including a march that King's widow would attend a short time later. There's no question that this is an excellent documentary that history buffs are going to enjoy. As with the JFK documentary, the most fascinating stuff is just being able to see these original news items that were used to tell people what happened back in the day. Even hearing them after all of these years sends a cold chill up your spine and I think these are important documents for future generations so that they can see what was going on in the country during this era. At just under a hour the film does a very good job at delivering all of this information and comes highly recommended.