Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

[Jake Lipson]

Title: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

Tagline: You can kill a revolutionary but you can't kill the revolution.

Genre: Drama, History

Director: Shaka King

Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Algee Smith, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Dominique Thorne, Martin Sheen, Amari Cheatom, Ian Duff, Caleb Eberhardt, Robert Longstreet, Nick Fink, Nicholas Velez, Terayle Hill, Graham Lutes, Khris Davis, Amber Chardae Robinson, Ikechukwu Ufomadu, James Udom, John West Jr., Jermaine Fowler

Release: 2021-02-12

Runtime: 125

Plot: Bill O'Neal infiltrates the Black Panthers per FBI Agent Mitchell and J. Edgar Hoover. As Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton ascends, falling for a fellow revolutionary en route, a battle wages for O’Neal’s soul.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I was surprised that there is no thread for this yet since it has been out for about a month now.

Has anyone else seen it yet?

I watched it last night before it cycled off of HBO Max. Per Warner's agreement with theaters to allow them to break the theatrical window, its second month is a theatrical exclusive. It also happens to be entering its exclusivity period as a Best Picture nominee, and I'm sure the theaters will be pleased about that.

I liked the movie, but I found it to be oddly quiet. I'm not sure if this is about the sound mix or not. I usually keep my TV somewhere in the volume range of 30-40, but on this one, I kept having to increase the volume to unusual heights in order to understand it, from the 50s to the 70s. The characters seemed like they were talking very quietly. Then of course there are scenes with gunshots and such, so I had to turn the volume back way down in those areas of the film. I had to keep the remote on my lap the entire time the film was running and adjusted it more often than I have on any other film in recent memory. So that felt odd to me. I am not hard of hearing in any way and usually don't have to adjust the volume to that degree.

That being said, the movie was really good.

Lakeith Stanfield is really good in the lead role, despite where the Academy decided to place him this morning. Daniel Kaluuya, who actually is giving a supporting performance, is really good too and both of their nominations are well deserved. This is an important story and it is very well put together by director Shaka King. It pulls you in and is paced really well so it tells the story effectively without overstaying its welcome.

That being said, it is also rather grim and I don't envision myself wanting to revisit this that much. I don't think I'll need the Blu-ray. But I was glad I saw it and would recommend it to those interested. It deserves the Best Picture nomination it received this morning.

 

[bujaki]

I watched it, but I forgot to go back and watch the extensive extras.
It's very good. Excellent performances.
Our government as executioner without due process.
Hail Hoover!

 

[Mark-P]

Ha! It cycled off of HBOMax 6 hours prior to the Oscar announcements in which it got a Best Picture nomination? Good timing! Now that I’m aware of it there’s no way to see it. Sorry, I’m not going back to the theaters yet...

 

[Robert Crawford]

Ha! It cycled off of HBOMax 6 hours prior to the Oscar announcements in which it got a Best Picture nomination? Good timing! Now that I’m aware of it there’s no way to see it. Sorry, I’m not going back to the theaters yet...

It's not like they didn't post it was leaving March 14th which they clearly did state on their site as the 31 day window came to an end.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I was surprised that there is no thread for this yet since it has been out for about a month now.

Has anyone else seen it yet?

I watched it last night before it cycled off of HBO Max. Per Warner's agreement with theaters to allow them to break the theatrical window, its second month is a theatrical exclusive. It also happens to be entering its exclusivity period as a Best Picture nominee, and I'm sure the theaters will be pleased about that.

I liked the movie, but I found it to be oddly quiet. I'm not sure if this is about the sound mix or not. I usually keep my TV somewhere in the volume range of 30-40, but on this one, I kept having to increase the volume to unusual heights in order to understand it, from the 50s to the 70s. The characters seemed like they were talking very quietly. Then of course there are scenes with gunshots and such, so I had to turn the volume back way down in those areas of the film. I had to keep the remote on my lap the entire time the film was running and adjusted it more often than I have on any other film in recent memory. So that felt odd to me. I am not hard of hearing in any way and usually don't have to adjust the volume to that degree.

That being said, the movie was really good.

Lakeith Stanfield is really good in the lead role, despite where the Academy decided to place him this morning. Daniel Kaluuya, who actually is giving a supporting performance, is really good too and both of their nominations are well deserved. This is an important story and it is very well put together by director Shaka King. It pulls you in and is paced really well so it tells the story effectively without overstaying its welcome.

That being said, it is also rather grim and I don't envision myself wanting to revisit this that much. I don't think I'll need the Blu-ray. But I was glad I saw it and would recommend it to those interested. It deserves the Best Picture nomination it received this morning.

I watched it and it left me angry as hell which is probably why I didn't post about here.

 

[Mark-P]

It's not like they didn't post it was leaving March 14th which they clearly did state on their site as the 31 day window came to an end.

Yeah, but I didn’t know it was going to be a Best Picture nominee. Honestly, I never even noticed the movie until this morning.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yeah, but I didn’t know it was going to be a Best Picture nominee. Honestly, I never even noticed the movie until this morning.

Who's fault is that?

 

[Mark-P]

Who's fault is that?

Certainly not mine!

 

[Jake Lipson]

Now that I’m aware of it there’s no way to see it.

WB's deal with theaters to allow them to break the window gives the theaters exclusivity for the second month. After that (so about a month from now) it will become available across digital rental platforms for the $19.99 premium rental price. So you can still watch it at home before the Oscars if you want. Just not for about the next month.

I'm sure the theaters love that their exclusive window on this is starting now because it may give them a boost. I agree that I wouldn't go to the theaters right now, but those who are comfortable doing so may well demonstrate increased interest now that it is a Best Picture nominee. That can only help theaters.

I thought WB did a good job promoting it and I saw it featured heavily in the HBO Max app when it debuted. Daniel Kaluuya in particular has been picking up awards nominations from other groups as well before the Oscars. Most of its nominations this morning were not a shock if you follow the awards race.

The big surprise for me was that the Academy chose to nominate Lakeith Stanfield in Best Supporting Actor rather than Best Leading Actor where Warner Bros. campaigned him to go. His performance is spectacular and he absolutely deserves the recognition; it's just the category placement that is a head scratcher. He is objectively the lead of the film and the character through whom the audience sees most of the movie, so their decision to take him out of that category is surprising. It also puts him in the same category as Kaluuya, which introduces the possibility that they could split the vote among people who support the film.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I think they did Stanfield a favor because we already know who's going to win Best Actor.

 

[Jake Lipson]

i think they did Stanfield a favor because we already know who's going to win Best Actor.

We do. But a nomination in Best Actor would have still been a nomination. Bby placing him in supporting, he is competing against his co-star from the same film. Even though there is not a clear lock in Supporting this year, the potential for vote splitting makes it more difficult for either of them to win than if they had been in separate categories.

Here is an interesting article from Variety about the Academy's nomination rules and a pretty good hypothesis about how Stanfield could have ended up in the supporting category.

Why Lakeith Stanfield Was Nominated in Supporting and Not Lead for ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ (Opinion)

Lakeith Stanfield was surprisingly nominated in best supporting actor for "Judas and the Black Messiah" despite a lead campaign. Here's why.

variety.com

 

[Robert Crawford]

We do. But a nomination in Best Actor would have still been a nomination. Bby placing him in supporting, he is competing against his co-star from the same film. Even though there is not a clear lock in Supporting this year, the potential for vote splitting makes it more difficult for either of them to win than if they had been in separate categories.

Here is an interesting article from Variety about the Academy's nomination rules and a pretty good hypothesis about how Stanfield could have ended up in the supporting category.

Why Lakeith Stanfield Was Nominated in Supporting and Not Lead for ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ (Opinion)

Lakeith Stanfield was surprisingly nominated in best supporting actor for "Judas and the Black Messiah" despite a lead campaign. Here's why.

variety.com

At least he has a chance for winning an Oscar, but had no chance if nominated for Best Actor

 

[TravisR]

I think they did Stanfield a favor because we already know who's going to win Best Actor.

I think Lakeith Stanfield is good enough that if he doesn't win this year, he'll get one in the future.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I think Lakeith Stanfield is good enough that if he doesn't win this year, he'll get one in the future.

Yup! I don't think he's 30 yet.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I don't think he's 30 yet.

Born August 12, 1991.

 

[Sam Favate]

It is a bit of a head-scratcher that both actors were nominated as supporting. Nevertheless, they were both excellent, as was the movie. One of my favorites that I have seen this past year.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

This looks great but again the question is where do I see it? It seems like News of the World I might be waiting for a blu.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

It is a bit of a head-scratcher that both actors were nominated as supporting. Nevertheless, they were both excellent, as was the movie. One of my favorites that I have seen this past year.

Seems like the Academy does that a lot when a movie has co-leads - at least when the co-leads are the same gender.

Then there's the weird case of "The Favourite", where you could argue all three women were leads or all three were supporting, but it made no sense to call 1 a lead and the other 2 supporting since all 3 enjoyed similar screentime!

 

[Jake Lipson]

This looks great but again the question is where do I see it?

This is using the same rollout model as other Warner Bros. titles this year.

It was on HBO Max for the first 31 days of its release.

Because those 31 days have now concluded, it is a theatrical exclusive for the second month, per WB's arrangement with theater owners to allow them to break the window.

About a month after that (so sometime in April), it will be available as a PVOD $19.99 rental.

Then after that there will be a Blu-ray around 90 days from its original release date. Rental prices will go down to more normal levels once the Blu-ray is available.