Let the Fire Burn
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Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 10 Critics What's this?

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9.0

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  • Summary: On May 13, 1985, a longtime feud between the city of Philadelphia and controversial radical urban group MOVE came to a deadly climax. By order of local authorities, police dropped military-grade explosives onto a MOVE-occupied rowhouse. TV cameras captured the conflagration that quickly escalated—and resulted in the tragic deaths of eleven people (including five children) and the destruction of 61 homes. It was only later discovered that authorities decided to “...let the fire burn.” Using only archival news coverage and interviews, first-time filmmaker Jason Osder has brought to life one of the most tumultuous and largely forgotten clashes between government and citizens in modern American history. [Zeitgeist Films]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Variety
    Reviewed by: Ronnie Scheib
    Oct 2, 2013
    100
    The brilliantly edited tapestry of actions and reactions exposes a pattern of prejudice and fear capable of infinitely repeating itself.
  2. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    Sep 30, 2013
    100
    Osder has made a documentary that’s astonishingly in the present tense.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Nicolas Rapold
    Oct 2, 2013
    90
    Let the Fire Burn relentlessly sustains its tragic momentum.
  4. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: David Fear
    Oct 1, 2013
    80
    A first-rate piece of forensic filmmaking.
  5. The Dissolve
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    Oct 1, 2013
    80
    Let The Fire Burn is a fascinating look at official overreaction, government overreach, and the corrupting effects of prejudice on powerful institutions.
  6. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Farran Smith Nehme
    Oct 4, 2013
    75
    The closing subtitle says that no one was ever prosecuted for this madness. The pure-archive approach leaves a taste of despair; civic governance, it seems, can’t even promise not to kill you.
  7. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Diana Clarke
    Oct 1, 2013
    60
    There's never enough information.

See all 10 Critic Reviews

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