Written by Logan J. Fowler and Justin Matchick
Release Date: October 7th, 2016
Starring: Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Jackie Earle Hayley, Gabrielle Union
Director: Nate Parker
Pre-Trailer Thoughts: I only knew about The Birth of a Nation when I saw the beautiful poster on social media. Other than that, it was never on my radar. I’ve never seen the original as well. -LJF
Pre-Trailer Thoughts: After generating a huge amount of buzz at Sundance earlier this year, The Birth of a Nation was picked up by Fox Searchlight and is now lined up for a major release. The film is garnering a lot of Oscars and award season attention, and expectations are about as high as one can get. Will the trailer reflect the film’s massive potential? – JTM
Rate the Trailer: 4 out of 5. The Birth of a Nation looks gorgeous and very intriguing. It has actors featured that are not too mainstream so that adds a lot to the proceedings. This is definitely going to be a contender for the Oscars, with both lead actor/director Parker most likely getting nominated for those given categories. -LJF
Rate the Trailer: 4 out of 5. What’s shaping up to be a hell of a movie gets a hell of a trailer. Telling the story of the slave rebellions in Virginia started by Nat Turner, the film might be seen as a thematic companion piece to 2013 Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave. The continuous sound of rattling chains in the first half of the trailer is incredibly effective and actually serve a thematic purpose, as they cease as soon as the rebelling begins. Increasingly intense images of violence against slaves pepper throughout the trailer until they build up to the climactic shots of the rebellion itself. With a trailer as great as this one, it’s easy to see why this got the glowing reception earlier this year. – JTM
Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided? Rent. This comes out NYCC 2016 weekend so my mind will be preoccupied with that I’m sure. Along the same lines, I can’t imagine this movie will be widely released. That being said, I try to watch all the Oscar films that are nominated, so I can definitely see this on the future docket. –LJF
Theater, Rent, Undecided, No Thanks? Theater. No word yet on exactly how wide of a release this will get, but any movie with this much excitement around it is surely something that should be sought out. I’ll definitely be searching for which local theaters will be carrying this come early October. – JTM
