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Rodney King (film)

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rodney King
Directed by	Spike Lee
Written by	Roger Guenveur Smith
Produced by	Steven AdamsBob L. JohnsonSpike LeeRoger Guenveur Smith
Starring	Roger Guenveur Smith
Edited by	Randy Wilkins
Music by	Marc Anthony Thompson
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	April 28, 2017
Running time	52 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English

Rodney King is one-man show by Roger Guenveur Smith. Smith performs as a multiplicity of voices alternately supporting and opposing Rodney King‘s plight.^[1] It premiered in 2014 at The Public Theater as part of the Under the Radar Festival.^[2] A film version of the monologue was directed by Spike Lee and released in 2017.^[3]^[4] Smith was inspired by King’s death in 2012 and researched, wrote and improvised the play over the course of a few weeks.^[4] It began streaming on April 28, 2017.^[5]

References

Bradshaw, Peter (April 27, 2017). “Rodney King review – Spike Lee’s Netflix special is a bleakly poetic howl of rage”. The Guardian. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
Grode, Eric (January 14, 2014). “A Flawed Man as Lightning Rod and Empathetic Stumbler”. The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
“Rodney King Movie Review & Film Summary (2017)”. Roger Ebert. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
“‘Rodney King’: TV Review”. The Hollywood Reporter. May 4, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
Rodney King. Netflix.

External links

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Filmography Awards and nominations Unrealized projects
Films directed	Feature filmsShe’s Gotta Have It (1986)School Daze (1988)Do the Right Thing (1989)Mo’ Better Blues (1990)Jungle Fever (1991)Malcolm X (1992)Crooklyn (1994)Clockers (1995)Girl 6 (1996)Get on the Bus (1996)He Got Game (1998)Summer of Sam (1999)Bamboozled (2000)25th Hour (2002)She Hate Me (2004)Inside Man (2006)Miracle at St. Anna (2008)Red Hook Summer (2012)Oldboy (2013)Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014)Chi-Raq (2015)BlacKkKlansman (2018)Da 5 Bloods (2020)Highest 2 Lowest (2025)Documentaries and filmed stage productions4 Little Girls (1997)John Leguizamo: Freak (1998)The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)A Huey P. Newton Story (2001)Jim Brown: All-American (2002)When the Levees Broke (2006)Kobe Doin’ Work (2009)Passing Strange (2009)If God Is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise (2010)Bad 25 (2012)Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall (2016)Rodney King (2017)Pass Over (2018)American Utopia (2020)Other filmsJoe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983)Lumière and Company (1995, segment)The Concert for New York City (2001, segment “Come Rain or Come Shine”)Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002, segment “We Wuz Robbed”)All the Invisible Children (2005, segment “Jesus Children of America”)
Films produced	The Best Man (1999)Love & Basketball (2000)3 A.M. (2001)Saint John of Las Vegas (2009)You’re Nobody ’til Somebody Kills You (2011)Amazing Grace (2018)See You Yesterday (2019)
Television	Sucker Free City (2004)She’s Gotta Have It (2017–19)NYC Epicenters 9/11→2021½ (2021)Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (2025)
Related articles	40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks Tonya Lewis Lee (wife)Bill Lee (father)Joie Lee (sister)Cinqué Lee (brother)