Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property
Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property
| 16 February 2003 (USA)
Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property Trailers

In 1831, Nat Turner led a slave rebellion in the United States that resulted in the murder of local slave owners and their families, the eventual execution of 55 rebels and the retribution lynching of more than 200 innocent slaves. Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property examines how the story of Turner’s revolt has been interpreted throughout history and how it continues to raise new questions about the nature of terrorism and other forms of violent resistance to oppression. The film adopts an innovative structure by interspersing documentary footage and interviews with dramatizations of these different versions of Turner’s story. A unique collaboration between MacArthur Genius Award feature director Charles Burnett, acclaimed historian of slavery Kenneth S. Greenberg and Academy Award-nominated documentary producer Frank Christopher, Nat Turner is a compelling look at one of history’s most mysterious figures.

Reviews
Organnall

Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

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Teddie Blake

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

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Cody

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

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Cassandra

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

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MartinHafer

I commend this documentary simply because the Nat Turner Rebellion is an event mostly forgotten today and not too many other films have been made about the man and his crusade. Using interviews and recreations, the folks replicate the events of this uprising as well as follow it from the rebellion in 1831 to the Civil War to the Civil Rights era. In other words, it puts it in a chronological context with later events and discusses its impact on them. So where is the controversy? After all, Netflix talks about the 'controversy' concerning the rebellion. The film itself even talks about this. Unfortunately, here is where the documentary lost a bit of its momentum...at least for me. The first portion, about the rebellion and Turner, was great*. However, this was only about a third of the film and the rest was about the various interpretations and depictions of Turner. Since there is little contemporary historical data on the guy, folks have made him into all sorts of people and embellished his tale. This, to me, went on WAY too long and tried to generate controversy when instead I just wanted to hear about the events and their impact on the abolitionist movement.*Oddly one of the interviewees seemed to place the institution of slavery and the murderous rebellion on the same moral plane..so she was apparently nuts and one of the few exceptions to the general consensus about the morality of the events.

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Michael_Elliott

Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property (2003) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Charles Burnett directs this fascinating documentary that discusses the controversial figure Nat Turner. In 1831 Turner led a slave revolt as the men killed their slave owners as well as their wives and children. Turner was eventually hung for the crimes and many others were brutally murdered to make sure something like this never happened again.This documentary makes it very clear that we really don't know what happened to set off this revolt and there's really not too much known about Turner. What makes this documentary so fascinating is that it takes an open and honest look at the subject and we get to hear from various sides as they discuss him and his actions. We have experts who say that Turner would be better respected had he not killed women and children. You have the other side saying that such brutality was needed.The debate on that subject is just one of many as we also hear debates about what actually happened and what was the reason for the revolt. If you're interested in the subject matter then you should really love this documentary because it covers so much ground and best of all is the fact that it's fair and balanced, which is something missing from most films like it.

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