The one stars given this movie speak more of those reviewers than the quality of the film. I found it interesting and at times humorous. It's by no means one hundred percent historically accurate, but what film is? Ignore the negative reviews and give it a shot.
41 Reviews
Entertaining, but not accurate
tomtpcarpe13 September 2020
Viewers must know up front that Shields Green was an escaped slave. That is the only historically accurate fact in the first half of the movie. The first half of the movie is the writer's imagination. Please don't take it as history. Green's association with F. Douglas is true, as is his association with J. Brown and the Harper's Ferry raid. And the end of the movie doesn't accurately depict Green's final fate. It's too bad that with so much rich Black history that Hollywood chooses to make stuff up. It's a disservice to history and to a people who deserve better. Much better. This is an entertaining movie, with adequate acting albeit mediocre writing. It would have been better if the critical scenes had been shot on location. Maybe the director was looking for Harper's Ferry in Virginia. Watch it, but don't take it seriously. Shields Green deserves better.
I enjoyed it until....
Tina_jeppesen20 September 2020
I went into this movie knowing nothing about it so of course I looked up the characters afterward. It's not at all historically accurate. Hollywood thinks we are morons & can't appreciate a true story to be inspiring or entertaining as is, or they're idiots & cant make it to be so without elaborating & fictionalizing. Disrespects the actual characters too imo.
I'm already dead
nogodnomasters26 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This is based on a true story of Shields "Emperor" Green who hails from royalty like every Irishman. You don't need evidence if your mother tells you. Shields was an escaped slave who was wanted for murder. He eventually teams up with John Brown. Brown being white got a song created about him and Green being black didn't get a tune, just a poor screenplay. Harper's Ferry was scarcely enacted and it was the center point of the film.
Mark Amin did a quick shoddy job in order to get this feature out quickly. Interesting and timely, but could have been so much better.
Mark Amin did a quick shoddy job in order to get this feature out quickly. Interesting and timely, but could have been so much better.
Not at all historically accurate!
LiveLoveLead15 October 2020
They took quite a lot of liberties with the beginning and end of the story, making up details of Shields Greens life and completely changing the outcome of his fight at the armory. But besides all the historical inaccuracies, if you just wanted to watch it for pure entertainment, the script was a bit weak, which made it hard for the actors to shine. Even though their were some big named actors, their performances were average due to the poor script, direction, and sets. It was enjoyable enough but could have been so much better, IMHO! 6.5
Saturday afternoon action adventure film more than a serious history drama
Horror_Flick_Fanatic14 September 2020
Feels like a Saturday afternoon action adventure revenge tv show instead of a historical drama. The film has pretty good cinematography, location, settings, wardrobe, and a good cast. But the writing is poor. It never digs deep into the main character and the then political situation of the time. All it does it name drops and ads cameos of historical figures. Unfortunately the film is mostly fluff and little substance. It really had a lot of missed potential.
Worst Movie of The Year
Ladybbird-269-94514618 August 2020
A story told, and another story that misses an important point.
jbathie23 August 2020
I've seen my share of Civil War movies, slave-trading, indentured service movies and all of them are consistent with the same themes. African tribes that won wars against other African tribes sold them into slavery, kept the women and children, and that theme repeated.
As slavery grew across Africa, 100's of years ago, it found it's way to Europe. After several decades of slavery growing in Europe it founds it's way to what would become North America, literally the last place slavery got it's foothold, and the place African Americans inaccurately place all of the blame.
In fact, what would become the last place slavery had a foothold, would become the place African Americans place all the blame for centuries of wrongdoing. But, that's not the story directors seem to want to tell.
Slavery was alive and well in 100's of countries many centuries before the US would ever be named or even discovered. Nobody but the US seems to be held responsible for it though, which is totally unwarranted. Convenient though considering the US is the richest nation on the planet though.
Perhaps my white privilege has me not thinking clearly, but I think it's time for all communities to stand up and be proud of who they are and stop blaming current generations for what their ancestors did. If they did, this would be a much better place to live for all of us.
I enjoyed the story, the acting, and the actors selected for this movie though and suggest it would be an entertaining 99 minutes of their time.
As slavery grew across Africa, 100's of years ago, it found it's way to Europe. After several decades of slavery growing in Europe it founds it's way to what would become North America, literally the last place slavery got it's foothold, and the place African Americans inaccurately place all of the blame.
In fact, what would become the last place slavery had a foothold, would become the place African Americans place all the blame for centuries of wrongdoing. But, that's not the story directors seem to want to tell.
Slavery was alive and well in 100's of countries many centuries before the US would ever be named or even discovered. Nobody but the US seems to be held responsible for it though, which is totally unwarranted. Convenient though considering the US is the richest nation on the planet though.
Perhaps my white privilege has me not thinking clearly, but I think it's time for all communities to stand up and be proud of who they are and stop blaming current generations for what their ancestors did. If they did, this would be a much better place to live for all of us.
I enjoyed the story, the acting, and the actors selected for this movie though and suggest it would be an entertaining 99 minutes of their time.
Hardly.
ronlynette5 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Not even close to accurate. Horrible recreation of Harper's Ferry. And the hero rides
off into the sunset with his son long after Harpers Ferry was so moving, except he was hung several days after being captured with John Brown. So...just a minor historical liberty of having him ride off into the sunset instead of being hung with John Brown. What's next, a movie where Lincoln gets a third term?
2 Movies + 1 Show = Emperor
iamyana9725 October 2020
Good story, bad movie
RedRiverWeb20 August 2020
Not bad at all!
LucasFilm996 November 2020
I love Western movies. Watch whatever I can find. This is Absolutely watchable. May be too much political for US watchers, due to the north/south slavery angle? Anyhow this is well worth spending 1,5 hours on a Friday evening.
Bad
tkh-3640722 August 2020
This movie stinks. While I appreciate the historical value, the importance was lost by a poorly produced, executed, directed film with poor performances.
A well produced movie tries, at a minimum, to film in locations that look similar to the locations where the real story took place. That helps make the story more believable. I enjoy historically based films that are shot in locations that try at a minimum to appear to be historically correct. John Brown was captured at Harpers Ferry, then Virginia, at the arsenal not a fort.
Historically inaccurate
wpapac10 October 2020
Great premise, poor history. Seems like another attempt at "Roots" with invented history, famous characters who may have never been involved. The emperor was hanged 2 weeks after Brown. Oops forgot that it of truth. The reality is good enough, no need to embellish. Remember few actually read history and take movies as historical truths. This dream history brings further discredit on true activities muddying the real history with falsehoods. Ok film. Accurate props.Brown fortified The firehouse, not the armory. Let true history speak, and you will get the same effect with the truth!
hypocritical nonsense
gordocooper25 October 2020
Romanticized
fmwongmd9 October 2020
Absolutely terrible
clouseau-651251 September 2021
Historically inaccurate.
tlawrenceshannon-9911224 January 2022
Absolutely brilliant !!
OzMovieWatcher18 August 2020
It's very entertaining like Braveheart or Last Mohicans
filmtravel1014 February 2021
I watched this film with no prior history of Shield Green and loved the film. It's very well written and the acting and direction is top notch. And about time a good Hollywood film is made that puts an action packed theme to a black historical figure- and yes of course it obviously takes lots of liberties with historical accuracy much like Braveheart or Last of the Mohican but the end result is entertaining. It's funny to see bad reviews just because of Harper Ferry and John Brown historical inaccuracy but it's a hollywood film - not a silly documentary so just enjoy the show zand you'll love it. The main actor is phenomenal and could be next Denzel and the supporting actors are excellent esp the bounty hunter.
A solid 8
Another untold story of American and black history
slcasey-433-5861516 September 2020
Surprising good.
keviquin22 August 2020
An outstanding ensemble cast of up and coming actors relate a good story with some skill and a noticeable dedication to the craft. The story could have meandered into the standard videoed-reenactment stuff of YouTube, but it manages to rise above the commonplace in a number of ways. Bruce Dern is a surprise - 'he's still alive for one thing - playing the part of a hokey , antebellum do-gooder and pulls it off professionally. The hunter-killer bounty hunter is a solid nemesis before 'rising to the stars'. Good solid work! There's credible visitation of the 'Gabby Hayes School of Cowboy Actin''
A comely mulatto wench and a sold cast of everything elses.
Great costuming. Only the odd or end to surprise.
I'm watching this again and tracking down the possible movie tune of the pandemic year. "The Other Side" - thought it was Dolly P but this gal might even be better. That alone is worth an audition or three.
Emperor is intriguing
scorpiotay-026609 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I don't really like to watch historical drama movies but I do because it gives me a chance to do further research and learn about the people who are in the movie.
THIS movie was actually something new. Why you ask? Because it is about a former slave who helped start the civil war, who was never mentioned in our history books. He was there at the Raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859. The plan was to take the town's federal armory and, ultimately, ignite a nationwide uprising against slavery. What isn't mentioned is that the leader, John Brown was accompanied by a runaway slave by the name of Shields "Emperor" Green and yes.. that is his name. According to the movie; not sure if it's true: His mother said his grandfather was a king, thus making him a prince, an emperor NOT a slave. So she named him Shields. He managed to escape slavery which he was born into in South Carolina. He traveled the Underground Railroad where he eventually met up with John Brown, Dangerfield Newby and Frederick Douglass.
This movie is a dramatization of what happened from the time just before he escapes and continues on. Of course, non of the movie dramatizations can be really proven as he was the only person who met with the people along the way however the movie itself was quite intriguing. He is depicted as a strong, humble and almost regal slave who helps to run the plantation he worked on until his master loses it to gambling. Again, no knows if that is true or not. However, it shows that not all slave owners were the same. Not all were mean and hateful, not all were nice and friendly they were just human, living in a time that was different.
It also showed that not all slaves were ignorant and passive. Some of the slaves in this movie were shown as smart, some with the sense to learn how to read without being caught. Some knowing how to calculate how much seed is needed per acre in order to complete the work. The women slaves were strong and held their heads high.
I love the different interpretations of the different sides of the coin. Because we are not all the same. Sometimes our personalities burn stronger than ones ability to break us down. That struck me the most in this movie.
The action was awesome a lot of running of course but the horse chases and the gunfights were all just amazing. Costumes and makeup were on point.. Nothing seemed off. There was a scene where Frederick Douglass came on camera and I KNEW RIGHT AWAY... THAT IS FREDERICK DOUGLASS!!! That's how good the costume and makeup department did.
Musical scoring was good but honestly I didn't notice the music until the very end when the credits rolled. The very last song... That voice. It brought tears to my eyes and hit me straight in my heart and I felt it.. all the pain and suffering.
Give this movie a chance.
I gave it 4 stars on Netflix and 8 on IMDb
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