King in the Wilderness

2018 American film

Taylor Branch
Trey Ellis
Jacqueline Glover
George Kunhardt
Peter Kunhardt
Teddy Kunhardt

CinematographyClair PopkinEdited by

Steven J. Golliday
Maya Mumma

Music bySaul Simon MacWilliams

Production
company

Kunhardt Films

Distributed byHBO

Release dates

January 22, 2018 (2018-01-22) (Sundance)^[1]

April 2, 2018 (2018-04-02)

CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

King in the Wilderness is an American documentary film about Martin Luther King Jr. that premiered on April 2, 2018 on HBO, focusing on the final two years of his life leading up to his assassination on April 4, 1968.

Summary

The film includes some never-before-seen footage of interviews with some of those closest to King interspersed with historical archives during a period of his life. In addition to upsetting both President Lyndon Johnson and the FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, as well as numerous other opposition groups, and despite King's own self-doubts as he was coming to terms with his possible death, he refused to back away from the civil rights and anti-war challenges of his times.^[2]^[3]^[4]

The film focuses on events in King's life and the civil rights movement such as the Chicago Freedom Movement, the James Meredith march, the anti-Vietnam War protests and King's "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech, the 1967 riots, preparation for the Poor People's Campaign, the Memphis sanitation strike, the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, and King's assassination and funeral. Among King's colleagues and friends interviewed in the documentary are Bernard Lafayette, Andrew Young, Diane Nash, John Lewis, Dorothy Cotton, Joan Baez, Xernona Clayton, Jesse Jackson, Mary Lou Finley, Cleveland Sellers, and C. T. Vivian.

Accolades

King in the Wilderness won an Emmy for Outstanding Historical Documentary at the 40th News and Documentary Emmy Awards.^[5]^[6]

References

^ "King-in-the-wilderness".
^ "Exclusive: Watch the trailer for HBO's MLK documentary 'King in the Wilderness'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
^ "'King in the Wilderness': Film Review | Sundance 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
^ Hale, Andreas. "HBO's Documentary King in the Wilderness Is a Chilling Portrait of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final 18 Months on Earth". The Root. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
^ "NOMINEES FOR THE 40th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS ANNOUNCED – The Emmys". Retrieved 2019-08-10.
^ "Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary - News & Documentary Emmys: 2019 Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-04-17.

External links

King in the Wilderness on HBO
King in the Wilderness at IMDb

HBO documentaries

Former

1990s	Skinheads USA: Soldiers of the Race War (1993) Shock Video (1993) One Survivor Remembers (1995) Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case For Reasonable Doubt? (1996) Paradise Lost (1996) Without Pity: A Film About Abilities (1996) 4 Little Girls (1997) City Dump: The Story of the 1951 CCNY Basketball Scandal (1998) Private Dicks: Men Exposed (1999)
2000s	Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000) The Iceman Confesses (2001) Just, Melvin: Just Evil (2001) Living Dolls: The Making of a Child Beauty Queen (2001) American Standoff (2002) Jim Brown: All-American (2002) Born Rich (2003) Capturing the Friedmans (2003) Thinking XXX (2004) Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team (2005) All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise (2006) When the Levees Broke (2006) Autism: The Musical (2007) Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi (2007) I Am an Animal (2007) Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007) Cat Dancers (2008) The One Percent (2008) Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008) Boy Interrupted (2009) By the People: The Election of Barack Obama (2009) China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (2009) Good Hair (2009) The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (2009) The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (2009) One Minute to Nine (2009) Reporter (2009) The Trials of Ted Haggard (2009) 12th & Delaware (2010) The Battle for Marjah (2010) A Small Act (2010)
2010s	Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011) Citizen USA: A 50 State Road Trip (2011) His Way (2011) Love Crimes of Kabul (2011) The Loving Story (2011) There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane (2011) 41 (2012) Crossfire Hurricane (2012) Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012) Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2012) 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus (2013) An Apology to Elephants (2013) Casting By (2013) Fall to Grace (2013) Gideon's Army (2013) Life According to Sam (2013) Manhunt: The Search for Bin Laden (2013) Six by Sondheim (2013) Valentine Road (2013) Vice (2013–2018) Banksy Does New York (2014) Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart (2014) The Case Against 8 (2014) Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways (2014) Love Child (2014) Private Violence (2014) Saving My Tomorrow (2014) 3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets (2015) Citizenfour (2015) The Diplomat (2015) Everything Is Copy (2015) A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015) Going Clear (2015) How to Dance in Ohio (2015) J. Cole: Road to Homecoming (2015) The Jinx (2015) Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015) Sinatra: All or Nothing at All (2015) Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop (2015) Abortion: Stories Women Tell (2016) Brillo Box (3 ¢ Off) (2016) Class Divide (2016) Mariela Castro's March: Cuba's LGBT Revolution (2016) Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper (2016) The Trans List (2016) Unlocking the Cage (2016) Baltimore Rising (2017) Becoming Warren Buffett (2017) Beware the Slenderman (2017) Bright Lights (2017) Cries from Syria (2017) The Defiant Ones (2017) Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends) (2017) If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast (2017) J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only (2017) Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017) The Newspaperman (2017) Rock and a Hard Place (2017) Solitary: Inside Red Onion State Prison (2017) Spielberg (2017) Traffic Stop (2017) Arthur Miller: Writer (2018) Atomic Homefront (2018) Axios (2018–2021) Believer (2018) The Final Year (2018) King in the Wilderness (2018) May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers (2018) The Number on Great-Grandpa's Arm (2018) The Price of Everything (2018) Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (2018) Swiped: Hooking Up in the Digital Age (2018) The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (2018) At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019) Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists (2019) The Case Against Adnan Syed (2019) I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth V. Michelle Carter (2019) Ice on Fire (2019) The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019) Leaving Neverland (2019) Running with Beto (2019) United Skates (2019) What's My Name: Muhammad Ali (2019) The Apollo (2019) Wig (2019)
2020s	After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News (2020) McMillions (2020) Autism: The Sequel (2020) Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020) Bully. Coward. Victim: The Story of Roy Cohn (2020) How To with John Wilson (2020–2023) I'll Be Gone in the Dark (2020) Welcome to Chechnya (2020) Showbiz Kids (2020) Stockton on My Mind (2020) The Weight of Gold (2020) The Swamp (2020) Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn (2020) Agents of Chaos (2020) Wild Card: The Downfall of a Radio Loudmouth (2020) Siempre, Luis (2020) The Perfect Weapon (2020) 537 Votes (2020) The Soul of America (2020) Burning Ojai: Our Fire Story (2020) Transhood (2020) Crazy, Not Insane (2020) The Mystery Of D.B. Cooper (2020) Baby God (2020) The Vow (2020–2022) 40 Years a Prisoner (2020) Alabama Snake (2020) The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart (2020) The Art of Political Murder (2020) Tiger (2021) Fake Famous (2021) Black Art: In the Absence of Light (2021) Painting with John (2021–2023) The Lady and the Dale (2021) Covid Diaries NYC (2021) Allen v. Farrow (2021) The Day Sports Stood Still (2021) Tina (2021) The Last Cruise (2021) Q: Into the Storm (2021) Exterminate All the Brutes (2021) Our Towns (2021) Pray, Obey, Kill (2021) The Crime of the Century (2021) Revolution Rent (2021) The Legend of the Underground (2021) Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage (2021) Catch and Kill: The Podcast Tapes (2021) Back on the Record with Bob Costas (2021–2022) Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (2021) In the Same Breath (2021) Small Town News: KPVM Pahrump (2021) NYC Epicenters 9/11→2021½ (2021) Level Playing Field (2021) Nuclear Family (2021) Four Hours at the Capitol (2021) Dear Rider: The Jake Burton Story (2021) A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks (2021) Simple as Water (2021) Jagged (2021) Black and Missing (2021) DMX: Don't Try to Understand (2021) Life of Crime 1984-2020 (2021) Adrienne (2021) Listening to Kenny G (2021) The Forever Prisoner (2021) The Slow Hustle (2021) Mr. Saturday Night (2021) Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021) The Murders at Starved Rock (2021) Juice Wrld: Into the Abyss (2021) Reopening Night (2021) Insecure: The End (2021) The Super Bob Einstein Movie (2021) Terry Bradshaw: Going Deep (2022) Icahn: The Restless Billionaire (2022) Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches (2022) Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall (2022) Phoenix Rising (2022) How to Survive a Pandemic (2022) When We Were Bullies (2022) Tony Hawk: Until The Wheels Fall Off (2022) The Invisible Pilot (2022) Spring Awakening: Those You've Known (2022) George Carlin's American Dream (2022) The Janes (2022) Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes (2022) Endangered (2022) Mind Over Murder (2022) We Met in Virtual Reality (2022) Edge of the Earth (2022) The Princess (2022) Katrina Babies (2022) Escape From Kabul (2022) Hostages (2022) 38 at the Garden (2022) Mama's Boy (2022) Year One: A Political Odyssey (2022) A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting (2022) Say Hey, Willie Mays! (2022) Master of Light (2022) Camilo: El Primer Tour De Mi Vida (2022) 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (2022) The Howard Stern Interview: Bruce Springsteen (2022) My So-Called High School Rank (2022) Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo (2022) Pelosi in the House (2022) Shaq (2022) Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo (2022) Branson (2022) Sex Diaries (2022) This Place Rules (2022) Game Theory with Bomani Jones (2022) All That Breathes (2023) All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2023) Jason Isbell: Running with Our Eyes Closed (2023) Moonage Daydream (2023) 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed (2023) Angel City (2023) Love to Love You, Donna Summer (2023) Being Mary Tyler Moore (2023) Burden of Proof (2023) How Do You Measure a Year? (2023) The Stroll (2023) Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music (2023) Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed (2023) The Golden Boy (2023) Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York (2023) After the Bite (2023) BS High (2023) Telemarketers (2023) Savior Complex (2023) The Insurrectionist Next Door (2023) Navajo Police: Class 57 (2023) You Were My First Boyfriend (2023) Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God (2023) Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, and Reckoning (2023) Time Bomb Y2K (2023) Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (2024) God Save Texas (2024) A Revolution on Canvas (2024) The Truth vs. Alex Jones (2024)

Current and upcoming

Current	Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (since 1995) Hard Knocks (since 2001) The Shop (since 2018) 100 Foot Wave (since 2021)
Upcoming	The Larry David Story (TBA) Untitled Paul Reubens documentary (TBA) Stax Records docuseries (TBA) Seen & Heard (TBA) Eyes on the Prize docuseries (TBA) Untitled Ohio State University abuse scandal documentary (TBA)

Martin Luther King Jr.

Speeches, writings, movements, and protests

Speeches	"Give Us the Ballot" (1957) "I Have a Dream" (1963) "How Long, Not Long" (1965) "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" (1967) "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)
Writings	Stride Toward Freedom (1958) "What Is Man?" (1959) "Second Emancipation Proclamation" Strength to Love (1963) "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (1963) Why We Can't Wait (1964) Conscience for Change (1967) Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)
Movements and protests	Montgomery bus boycott (1955–1956) Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom (1957) Albany Movement (1961–1962) Birmingham campaign (1963) March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963) St. Augustine movement (1963–1964) Selma to Montgomery marches (1965) Chicago Freedom Movement (1966) Mississippi March Against Fear (1966) Anti-Vietnam War movement (1967) Memphis sanitation strike (1968) Poor People's Campaign (1968)

People

Family

Coretta Scott King (wife)
Yolanda King (daughter)
Martin Luther King III (son)
Dexter King (son)
Bernice King (daughter)
Martin Luther King Sr. (father)
Alberta Williams King (mother)
Christine King Farris (sister)
A. D. King (brother)
James Albert King (grandfather)
Alveda King (niece)

Other
leaders

Ralph Abernathy (mentor, colleague)
Ella Baker (colleague)
James Bevel (strategist / colleague)
Dorothy Cotton (colleague)
Jesse Jackson (protégé)
Bernard Lafayette (colleague)
James Lawson (colleague)
John Lewis (colleague)
Joseph Lowery (colleague)
Benjamin Mays (mentor)
Diane Nash (colleague)
James Orange (colleague)
Bayard Rustin (advisor)
Fred Shuttlesworth (colleague)
C. T. Vivian (colleague)
Wyatt Walker (colleague)
Hosea Williams (colleague)
Andrew Young (colleague)

Assassination
Lorraine Motel (now National Civil Rights Museum) Riots Funeral James Earl Ray Jack Kershaw U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) Martin Luther King Jr. Records Collection Act Loyd Jowers Trial Conspiracy theories

Media

Film	King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970 documentary) Our Friend, Martin (1999 animated) Boycott (2001 film) The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306 (2008 documentary) Selma (2014 film) All the Way (2016 film) King in the Wilderness (2018 documentary) MLK/FBI (2020 documentary) Rustin (2023 film)
Television	King (1978 miniseries) "The First Store" (The Jeffersons, 1980) "Great X-Pectations" (A Different World, 1993) "The Promised Land" (New York Undercover, 1997) Selma, Lord, Selma (1999) "Return of the King" (The Boondocks, 2006) Alpha Man: The Brotherhood of MLK (2011 documentary) Genius (MLK/X, 2024)
Plays	The Meeting (1987) The Mountaintop (2009) I Dream (2010) All the Way (2012)
Illustrated	Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story (1957 comic book)
Music	"Abraham, Martin and John" (Dion) "March! For Martin Luther King" (John Fahey) "Martin Luther King's Dream" (Strawbs) "Happy Birthday" (Stevie Wonder) "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (U2) "MLK" (U2) "King Holiday" (King Dream Chorus and Holiday Crew) "By the Time I Get to Arizona" (Public Enemy) "Shed a Little Light" (James Taylor) "Up to the Mountain" (Patti Griffin) "Never Alone Martin" (Jason Upton) "Symphony of Brotherhood" (Miri Ben-Ari) Joseph Schwantner: New Morning for the World; Nicolas Flagello: The Passion of Martin Luther King (1995 album) "A Dream" (Common featuring will.i.am) "Glory" (Common and John Legend)
Related	Civil rights movement in popular culture Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc. King v. Trustees of Boston Univ.