4 Little Girls
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| 4 Little Girls | |
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| Directed by | Spike Lee |
| Produced by | Spike Lee Samuel D. Pollard |
| Music by | Terence Blanchard |
| Cinematography | Ellen Kuras |
| Editing by | Samuel D. Pollard |
| Distributed by | HBO Documentary |
| Release date(s) | July 9, 1997 (U.S.) September 6, 1997 (Canada) |
| Running time | 102 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $130,146 (U.S. sub-total) |
4 Little Girls is a 1997 American historical documentary film about the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. It was directed by Spike Lee and nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Documentary".[1]
The incident is the subject of the 1964 song "Birmingham Sunday" by Richard and Mimi Fariña. The song was used in the opening sequence of the film, performed by Mimi's sister, Joan Baez.
4 Little Girls premiered Wednesday, June 25, 1997 at the Guild 50th Street Theatre in New York City. It was produced by 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, Lee’s production company, and Home Box Office (HBO).[2]
Lee first became interested in making a film about the Birmingham bombing as a student at New York University in 1983. He read a New York Times Magazine article about the incident and was so moved, he wrote to Chris McNair, the father of victim Denise, asking for permission to tell her story on film. McNair politely turned down the young, aspiring filmmaker’s offer.[3] “I was entering my first semester at N.Y.U. So my skills as a filmmaker were nonexistent, and at that time, Chris McNair was still hesitant to talk about it,” Lee said in a 1997 interview with Industry Central’s The Director’s Chair. “I believe timing is everything. So it took ten years of Chris thinking about this and ten years of myself making movies for this to come together.”
According to McNair, one reason he changed his mind about supporting Lee’s film idea ten years later was the depth and precision of Lee’s research, saying on the eve of the film’s release that “[i]t’s very important that this be done accurately and correctly. In all his research he showed that he was objective and seeking a broad section of opinion. I’m a stickler for the facts.”[4]
Lee also said his original plan was for the film to be a dramatic reproduction of the incident, but he later decided that format would not be the best way to tell this important story.[5]
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[edit] Reception
[edit] Box office
Originally, the film was to air first on HBO, but after seeing the final product, the production team decided it was important to release the film in theatres before running it on television.[6] 4 Little Girls opened in American theaters on July 9, 1997 and closed on October 2, 1997. It grossed $130,146 from a total of 4 theaters. In its opening weekend it earned $13,528 from a single theater, which was 10.4% of its total gross.[7] It cost approximately $1 million to make, funded by Home Box Office (HBO).[8]
[edit] See also
- American Civil Rights Movement (1896-1954)
- American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
- Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement
[edit] References
- ^ "NY Times: 4 Little Girls". NY Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/156949/4-Little-Girls/details. Retrieved November 21, 2008.
- ^ Thomas, Chandra R. “McNair will see Lee film on bomb.” Birmingham Post-Herald. June 23, 1997. USeekUFind.com. Oct. 18, 2008 <http://www.useekufind.com/peace/4littlegirls.htm>.
- ^ Susman, Gary. “Spike Lee – The Director’s Chair.” Industry Central. Nov. 16, 2008. Simon & Associates. Oct. 18, 2008 <http://www.industrycentral.net/director_interviews/SL01.HTM>.
- ^ Thomas, Chandra R. “McNair will see Lee film on bomb.” Birmingham Post-Herald. June 23, 1997. USeekUFind.com. Oct. 18, 2008 <http://www.useekufind.com/peace/4littlegirls.htm>.
- ^ Susman, Gary. “Spike Lee – The Director’s Chair.” Industry Central. Nov. 16, 2008. Simon & Associates. Oct. 18, 2008 <http://www.industrycentral.net/director_interviews/SL01.HTM>.
- ^ Thomas, Chandra R. “McNair will see Lee film on bomb.” Birmingham Post-Herald. June 23, 1997. USeekUFind.com. Oct. 18, 2008 <http://www.useekufind.com/peace/4littlegirls.htm>.
- ^ "4 Little Girls". BoxOfficeMojo.com. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=4littlegirls.htm. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
- ^ Susman, Gary. “Spike Lee – The Director’s Chair.” Industry Central. Nov. 16, 2008. Simon & Associates. Oct. 18, 2008 <http://www.industrycentral.net/director_interviews/SL01.HTM>.
[edit] External links
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