X
  • 2011
  • R
  • Tribeca Films
  • 1 h 46 m
  • 2011
  • R
  • Tribeca Films
  • 1 h 46 m

Summary The Bang Bang Club is the true story of four young combat photographers—Greg Marinovich, Joao Silva, Kevin Carter, and Ken Oosterbroek—bonded by friendship and their sense of purpose to tell the truth. In 1994, they risked their lives to tell the world of the brutality and violence associated with the first free elections in post-Aparthe...

Directed By: Steven Silver

Written By: Greg Marinovich, João Silva, Judith Rascoe, AJ Lovewins

  • 2011
  • R
  • Tribeca Films
  • 1 h 46 m
  • 2011
  • R
  • Tribeca Films
  • 1 h 46 m

The Bang Bang Club

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 15 Critic Reviews
48
User Score Mixed or Average Based on 11 User Ratings
6.0
My Score
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Where to Watch

Summary The Bang Bang Club is the true story of four young combat photographers—Greg Marinovich, Joao Silva, Kevin Carter, and Ken Oosterbroek—bonded by friendship and their sense of purpose to tell the truth. In 1994, they risked their lives to tell the world of the brutality and violence associated with the first free elections in post-Aparthe...

Directed By: Steven Silver

Written By: Greg Marinovich, João Silva, Judith Rascoe, AJ Lovewins

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 15 Critic Reviews
48
13% Positive
2 Reviews
80% Mixed
12 Reviews
7% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 15 Critic Reviews
48
13% Positive
2 Reviews
80% Mixed
12 Reviews
7% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
70
Apr 21, 2011
Writer-director Steven Silver (with an able assist from cinematographer Miroslaw Baszak) captures this brutal time - which led to the country's first free, multiracial elections in 1994 and the end of apartheid - in vivid, often bold, but never overpowering strokes.
By Gary Goldstein FULL REVIEW
60
Apr 22, 2011
Unfortunately, Silver's movie doesn't cut deep enough: It glosses over some thorny questions and hammers too fixedly on others.
By Stephanie Zacharek FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 11 User Ratings
6.0
45% Positive
5 Ratings
36% Mixed
4 Ratings
18% Negative
2 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 11 User Ratings
6.0
45% Positive
5 Ratings
36% Mixed
4 Ratings
18% Negative
2 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

50
Apr 25, 2011
A slideshow of actual photographs by the Bang Bang Club during the end credits packs more emotional punch than anything that precedes them, displaying in their still frames the singular focus that the movie lacks.
By Ian Buckwalter FULL REVIEW
50
Apr 21, 2011
This question, which will instinctively occur to many viewers, is never quite dealt with in the film. The photographers sometimes drive into the middle of violent situations, hold up a camera, and say "press!" - as if that will solve everything.
By Roger Ebert FULL REVIEW
50
Apr 21, 2011
Writer-director Silver, who trained in documentaries, appears flummoxed by the challenges of getting the audience inside the heads of these young men.
By Michael Phillips FULL REVIEW
40
Apr 19, 2011
A single arresting shot of a photographer chasing a man on fire says more about journalistic ethics and the queasy power of the image than all of the speechifying and star-posing combined; if only the rest of this muddled movie had as much insightful Sontagian bang.
By David Fear FULL REVIEW
38
Apr 22, 2011
Seldom does The Bang Bang Club show much interest in the big picture of South Africa. When moral issues do come to the forefront, the big worry seems to be not questionable behavior but bad publicity.
By Kyle Smith FULL REVIEW
See All 15 Critic Reviews

Details

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Production Company Foundry Films, Instinctive Film, Out of Africa Entertainment, The Harold Greenberg Fund
Release Date Apr 22, 2011
Duration 1 h 46 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline Sometimes you get too close
Website http://www.thebangbangclub.senator.de/
View All Details

Awards

Genie Awards
• 7 Nominations
South African Film and Television Awards
• 5 Nominations
Torino Film Festival
• 1 Nomination

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