A police raid in Detroit in 1967 results in one of the largest citizens' uprisings in the history of the United States.
Direction
Bigelow's docu-terror style blurs reality and reenactment.
Sound
Gunshots and screams that never let you breathe.
Acting
Will Poulter's villainy will haunt your dreams.
Director
Kathryn Bigelow
John Boyega
Melvin Dismukes
Will Poulter
Philip Krauss
Anthony Mackie
Greene
Algee Smith
Larry Reed
Hannah Murray
Julie Ann
Jason Mitchell
Carl Cooper
Malcolm David Kelley
Michael Clark
Jack Reynor
Demens
Ben O'Toole
Flynn
Jacob Latimore
Fred Temple
Kaitlyn Dever
Karen
John Krasinski
Attorney Auerbach
Joseph David-Jones
Morris
Ephraim Sykes
Jimmy
Leon Thomas III
Darryl
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Algiers Motel incident was so buried that screenwriter Mark Boal first learned of it from a mention in John Hersey's 1968 book — most Detroit natives had never heard the full story.
Bigelow's choice to center white victim Julie Ann sparked controversy; survivors criticized the film for amplifying white trauma in a Black story, while Bigelow argued it exposed how systemic violence consumes everyone.
US
