Stamped From the Beginning

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Stamped From the Beginning

R

2023

1h 31m

Documentary

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100%

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29 Reviews

65%

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100+ Ratings

Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams brings Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's New York Times bestseller to the screen with Stamped From the Beginning. Published in 2016, Dr. Kendi's National Book Award winner chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history.

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Critics Consensus

Looking pointedly to the past in an effort to help illuminate the present, Stamped from the Beginning is an outstanding documentary achievement.

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Murtada Elfadl

Variety

11/25/2023

The film does not pretend to be presenting radical or new beliefs. Yet by the end, it reveals the myths, the distortions and the made-up fallacies that have been presented as truth for centuries. And that is the most radical thing it could have done.

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Lisa Kennedy

New York Times

11/20/2023

In addition to interviews and archival images, film clips and news footage, Williams (“Cassandro” “Life, Animated”) leans into animation.

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Eric Deggans

NPR

11/20/2023

Won't necessarily surprise those who already know this history, but may still be tough to watch for those sensitive to stories about the exploitation of marginalized people.

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David Bax

Battleship Pretension

May 13

Stamped from the Beginning may be chock full of examples and evidence of racism and stereotypes from history but this is not a film about the past.

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Edward Frumkin

The Film Stage

04/05/2024

B

Unlike most racism-occupied documentaries that often conclude on a dark note, Williams uplifts his end with an honest, enlightened meaning of unity and an anti-racist society. There’s so much improvement and hope for a better nation.

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Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

01/11/2024

B

'Black people know what they want. They know what freedom and liberation will look like. And it doesn't look like this radical utopia. It looks a lot like the world that white people live in. The world that white people living in never question.'

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Jay B

@RT00029413 01/13/2024

"interesting. but it would be nice if we could stop living in a past that doesn't affect us" That is not a review as much as a statement about themselves. It has nothing to do with the quality of the film and should be ignored when looking at the audience score.

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dave d

@RT34924333 12/25/2023

A documentary feature that us heavy-handed at times, but with a purpose to open eyes and give a different perspective. There is no doubt certain shades of people have been given a disadvantage and this film makes that case very well. It might be hard for some majorities to hear that they may have been given more money for passing GO than their neighbor. What will be more difficult for those same people: to accept it. It's a very necessary documentary feature for the flaws on being very one-note. Final Score: 7/10

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Jonathan B

@RT15203670 11/26/2023

Let's elevate each other, not divide.

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Mark T

@RT09059161 11/23/2023

Don't know why people are giving it a bad rating, people would watch a documentary about a serial killer and give it a 5 star rating but give this a 1 star.

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David W

@Sternhammer 11/23/2023

It's undeniably very well made in its genre but I can't help thinking we've heard much of this many times before and wonder if this constant looking back (to what was a very different time) is now just stirring up resentment in the present, whilst simulaneously providing an excuse and reason to fail for some. I again wonder if it is really societally healthy for this kind of strident, very specific emphasis to be taught in schools in 2023? Time will tell I suppose, as with all things and it is true that one must remember the past to improve the future...

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Erika R

@RT75424845 11/23/2023

A lot of trolls rating this film. Definitely worth watching!

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Roger Ross Williams

Director

Ibram X. Kendi

Self

Angela Davis

Self

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Self

Brittany Packnett

Self

David Teague

Writer

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Synopsis

Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams brings Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's New York Times bestseller to the screen with Stamped From the Beginning. Published in 2016, Dr. Kendi's National Book Award winner chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history.

Director: Roger Ross Williams
Producer: Alisa Payne, David Teague, Roger Ross Williams
Screenwriter: David Teague
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Netflix, One Story Up Productions
Rating: R (Nude Images|Language|Drug Content|Racism|Some Violent Content)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 10, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 20, 2023
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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