Hold Your Fire

This is a pretty good documentary about a hold up of a sporting goods store in New York City that resulted in a hostage situation, before police forces really had any experience or training, or even a real philosophy of what to do to defuse hostage situations. It's really enriched by interviews with the hostage takers, the hostages, and the police, and the different perspectives are really different. Contemporary archival footage adds to the feeling you get that you are there.

Very powerful, honest, revealing.

Stefan Forbes' 'Hold Your Fire' takes a look at a robbery and the ripples it has caused nearly 30 years later. The approach of different perspectives at the same event and how they looked at things then and now is nuanced and imperative. Incredibly, so many of the people involved are still alive, or at least were at the filming of the interviews. This is an important film, but also one you need to have an open mind. If you don't you'll be doomed. If you're filled with hate you won't like this film. That is really the best barometer. Compassionate and self-aware people will love this and ones who incorrectly surmise they are will despise it. Final Score: 9/10

Stunning cinematography. Key historical perspective and present-day interviews with hostages, the police, and the men who initiated the standoff. The director also produced Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story. In this film, he reprises one of his unique superpowers: getting his subjects (particularly police officers) to confess their deepest feelings and perceptions about race and violence in America. Absolutely essential to understanding the social context of police violence and mass incarceration, both in the 1970s and today. Even when you know the outcome, the suspense builds. The soundtrack is also phenomenal. The copy at the end is shocking, and really points to the ineffectiveness of our carceral system.

Meh. The critics are going a little overboard in the praise for this long documentary, that felt longer than the actual standoff.