Free And For Me

All the Way was released on DVD on September 6th.

“Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men’s skins, emancipation will be a proclamation, but not a fact.” — Lyndon B. Johnson.  HBO Home Entertainment proudly presents the July 11th Digital HD and September 6th DVD with Digital HD and Blu-ray with Digital HD release of the critically acclaimed All the Way. Following its critically acclaimed, award-winning Broadway run, All the Way (starring four-time Emmy® winner Bryan Cranston who reprises his Tony Award-winning role, is a riveting behind-the-scenes look at President Lyndon B. Johnson’s (LBJ) tumultuous first year in office in the wake of President Kennedy’s assassination.Bonus material on both sets a Historical Featurette and Bryan Cranston’s Transformative Video becoming LBJ.

Hailed as “dramatically dazzling” (Baltimore Sun) and “powerful” (Chicago Sun-Times), All the Way was nominated for eight 2016 Emmy Awards® including Outstanding Television Movie, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie (Bryan Cranston, who reprises his Tony® Award winning role). The film follows LBJ during his early administration, as he stakes his presidency on what would be an historic, unprecedented Civil Rights Act. Johnson finds himself caught between the moral imperative of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the expectations of the southern Democratic Party leaders who brought Johnson to power. As King battles to press Johnson while controlling more radical elements of the Civil Rights movement, Johnson navigates the bill through Congress, winning a landslide victory against Barry Goldwater, but causing the South to defect from the Democratic Party.

Co-starring with Cranston are Anthony Mackie (Martin Luther King, Jr.), Melissa Leo (Lady Bird Johnson), Bradley Whitford (Hubert Humphrey) and Frank Langella (Sen. Richard Russell). Additional cast members include Joe Morton (Roy Wilkins), Stephen Root (J. Edgar Hoover), Marque Richardson (Bob Moses), Aisha Hinds (Fanny Lou Hamer), Todd Weeks (Walter Jenkins), Mo McRae (Stokely Carmichael) and Spencer Garrett (Walter Reuther).  The film was directed by Jay Roach (Emmy® winner for HBO’s Game Change and Recount) from a screenplay by Robert Schenkkan (Pulitzer Prize winner for “The Kentucky Cycle”; two-time Emmy® nominee and Writers Guild Award winner for HBO’s The Pacific), who has adapted his Tony Award-winning play of the same name.

It was interesting to see what happened behind closed doors during this time.  Many of us know the story but, to see the conversations and mannerisms these people possessed was pretty interesting.  As I watched the film I wondered how this information was obtained. Was some of it from recordings or was some of it based on assumption.  Although, I questioned some things it did allow me to see these people were human as well.  For example: they had foul mouths, drank, committed adultery, etc.  All the while making a huge impact on us all.

All the Way shared some things our history books did not and acts as a reminder for us all.   This movie could not have come at a better time.

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