Riotsville, USA

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Riotsville, USA

2022

1h 31m

Documentary

History

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

52%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Welcome to RIOTSVILLE, USA, a turning point in American history where the protest movements of the late 1960s came into conflict with increasingly militarized police departments. Focusing on unearthed military training footage of Army-built model towns called "Riotsvilles," where military and police were trained to respond to civil disorder in the aftermath of the Kerner Commission created by President Lyndon B. Johnson, director Sierra Pettengill's kaleidoscopic all-archival documentary reconstructs the formation of a national consciousness obsessed with maintaining law and order by any means necessary. Drawing insight from a time similar to our own, RIOTSVILLE, USA pulls focus on American institutional control and offers a compelling case that if the history of race in America rhymes, it is by design.

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Critics Consensus

Impressively researched and persuasively argued, Riotsville, USA tears at the roots of modern American law enforcement.

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Caitlin Quinlan

Little White Lies

Mar 29, 2023

4/5

A defiant critique of how political narratives are crafted to hurt communities.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Mar 29, 2023

4/5

A shiver of disquiet runs right through it.

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Sarah Jane

Austin Chronicle

Oct 13, 2022

4/5

Riotsville, USA is a definitely worth your time and attention.

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Edward Porter

Sunday Times (UK)

Apr 3, 2023

3/5

The narration is slow, but the film gives you a vivid trip back in time with its array of archive visual material — not only from TV news but also from army sources.

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Helen Hawkins

The Arts Desk

Mar 30, 2023

4/5

This is a polemic, but one that burns steadily under the surface and asks the viewer to take a measured approach to its material.

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Amy Smith

InSession Film

Feb 10, 2023

B-

The film does not need to be flashy or abstract in the editing style as there is plenty to keep you engaged purely on the information and archival footage.

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Dave

Oct 9, 2022

I liked that it showed after 56-years (1966–2022) that nothing much has changed in the USA for non-whites. That the subtitles were more lengthy than most films where they are used. I liked how stupid it made the US government response to the problems of the60s look to this viewer who was around in the60s. All said the documentary was quite boring and rather disjointed. This brief glimpse of the nutty 1960s was like the period, nutty.

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Joshua S

@RT07649303 Jul 15, 2026

It pulls you in with interesting subject matter just for it to not deliver at all. Very disappointing. The narrator's lines are written like a high schooler's poetry assignment.

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dave d

@RT34924333 Feb 10, 2023

Sierra Pettengill has once again dug deep into history and put together a fascinating feature film that explores the origins of police being used as a military force. Using mainly archival footage shot by the media and U.S. government (like her last film 'The Reagan Show') the documentary examines fictional towns to combat rioters that were created by military officials during the civil unrest of 1960s America. It is just another in the long line of examples of how racist a country we have been. Ignore films like this at your peril. While it is a necessary film, it is sometimes a bit of a slog. Perhaps it's necessary to pound similar ideas that are good for society over and over again into our collective psyches, because whatever we have been doing isn't working quite right. Final Score: 6.8/10

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Sierra Pettengill

Director

Tobi Haslett

Screenwriter

Sara Archambault

Producer

Jamila Wignot

Producer

Charlotte Cook

Executive Producer

Laura Poitras

Executive Producer

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Synopsis

Welcome to RIOTSVILLE, USA, a turning point in American history where the protest movements of the late 1960s came into conflict with increasingly militarized police departments. Focusing on unearthed military training footage of Army-built model towns called "Riotsvilles," where military and police were trained to respond to civil disorder in the aftermath of the Kerner Commission created by President Lyndon B. Johnson, director Sierra Pettengill's kaleidoscopic all-archival documentary reconstructs the formation of a national consciousness obsessed with maintaining law and order by any means necessary. Drawing insight from a time similar to our own, RIOTSVILLE, USA pulls focus on American institutional control and offers a compelling case that if the history of race in America rhymes, it is by design.

Director: Sierra Pettengill
Producer: Sara Archambault, Jamila Wignot
Screenwriter: Tobi Haslett
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Canal & the Gallery, LinLay Productions, Haos Film, Field of Vision (II), Trailer 9, XRM Media, Arch + Bow Films
Genre: Documentary, History
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 16, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2022
Box Office (Gross USA): $40.8K
Runtime: 1h 31m

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