W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause

Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.

Runtime

2h 2m

Director

Edward Zwick

Cast

Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes

Documentarian Ross McElwee originally set out to make a travelogue of sorts tracing General William T. Sherman's infamous scorched-earth march through the Confederacy in the latter stages of the Civil War. Instead, haunted by a recent breakup with a girlfriend, McElwee ends up documenting his progress -- or lack thereof -- in starting ...

Runtime

2h 38m

Director

Ross McElwee

Cast

Dede McElwee, Patricia Rendleman

In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian a...

Runtime

2h 14m

Director

Steve McQueen

Cast

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o

Aboard a giant slave ship in an abandoned Citroën factory, the history of the West Indies is traced through several centuries of French oppression. The ship becomes a stage for the people to tell stories via song and dance—from their enslavement to their displacement in Metropolitan France.

Runtime

1h 56m

Director

Med Hondo

Cast

Robert Liensol, Roland Bertin, Cyril Aventurin

"Selma," as in Alabama, the place where segregation in the South was at its worst, leading to a march that ended in violence, forcing a famous statement by President Lyndon B. Johnson that ultimately led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act.

Runtime

2h 8m

Director

Ava DuVernay

Cast

David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson