The Central Park Five
2012 · Movie · NR · 119 min · ★ 7.0 · 86% critics
In late-1980s New York, five teenagers are swept into a high-profile Central Park case and quickly become the focus of intense police pressure, sensational media coverage, and public outrage. Through interviews and archival material, the film follows how their lives and families are changed by a justice system under strain and a city divided by fear and racial tension.
Where to watch
Streaming on PBS Documentaries.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Years
- 2012
- Release date
- 2012-05-24
- Language
- English
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Critic score
- 86/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.0/10 (121 votes)
About
You’ll likely connect with this if you want a sobering, conversation-starting true-crime documentary about justice, media pressure, and race in America; Not for you if you avoid distressing real cases or prefer lighter viewing like Wild Wild Country.
Pros: gripping real-life case; powerful emotional impact; strong social context | Cons: grim and heavy; one-sided perspective; can feel repetitive
Themes
- prison
- police
- rapist
- wrongful arrest
- serial rapist
Cast & crew
Antron McCray
as Self (voice)
Kevin Richardson
as Self
Yusef Salaam
as Self
Raymond Santana
as Self
Kharey Wise
as Self
Matias Reyes
as Self (archive footage)
Jim Dwyer
as Self - New York Times
Angela Black
as Self - Kevin's Sister
Ed Koch
as Self
- CW
Craig Steven Wilder
as Self - Historian
Directed by Ken Burns, David McMahon, Sarah Burns