Niklas Pivic This film is about how five youths were incarcerated, pressured to admit to a very serious crime which they did not commit, and then attempt to fight their way back to life. It's a plain, matter-of-factly documentary that shows how the American criminal justice system not only is slanted to work against minorities, but how white people almost always - legally speaking - come out on top.This is a simple film that deals with the facts, and it's good at showing things for what they were and are, and how the lives of five kids can be destroyed and how the media displayed the kids as a freak show, as animals on parade, just because they felt like scapegoating them, not because the facts were interesting; talk about small letters when the exonerations came.

Paige Brown The "Central Park Five" documentary by Ken and Sarah Burns, and David McMahon invite viewers to see the side of five once young black men that were falsely accused of a rape that caused them to do thirteen to fifteen years of time in jail. We hear from lawyers, journalist, the men themselves, and more through interviews about their take on this life- changing situation.This documentary was so eye opening and most likely one of my favorites, directors did a great job with the visuals. They didn't lack a thing when it came to helping the viewers get a better image of the time period and event. There were visuals of headlines and old news recordings even visuals of the young men being questioned by detectives. This documentary touched me and I'm sure it touched others especially those of minorities. This gave the five men a chance to finally speak up and be heard. For many years the media and society due to the system giving them an image of who they weren't bashed these men. This documentary holds so much emotion from sadness to anger, as you listen to their experience of how much they lost. One thing I noticed, you will not sense any type of anger from the men themselves but more of sadness. I'd recommend that everyone should take the time to watch this, not just people of color. I will say that I did think this documentary was toward the people of minority. Being a person of color, especially during the past few years, it's been an issue that people of color feel mistreated by the system. But, I feel everyone should see this and take it in that this issue of the system did exist and should know it's still current.

Robyn Nesbitt (nesfilmreviews) "Central Park Five" serves as a warning about legal incompetence, innocent lives destroyed, and a judicial system vulnerable to manipulation. The documentary details a nightmare scenario for five Harlem teenagers facing hard time, and the condemnation of America for a crime they didn't commit. The production sets the situation immediately, introducing the viewer to NYC in the 1980s, where Wall Street is in the process of rebuilding its reputation, while crack ravages the inner city, creating an explosive racial divide.The film examines the infamous 1989 Central Park Jogger case, where a young white woman is brutally beaten and raped in New York's Central Park. At the same time, a group of five young black and Latino teenagers were quickly arrested for the crime and imprisoned. Following swift arrests by law enforcement officials, the prosecutors proudly declared the conviction as a step forward in the reclamation of a the city. Despite the lack of concrete evidence, all five are found guilty on multiple charges. Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, and Kharey Wise each spent between six to 13 years in prison, professing their innocence, while maintaining that it was a coerced confession to the crime. However, a chance encounter between the oldest of them and convicted serial rapist Matias Reyes, who years later yields his free admission of sole responsibility for the crime, and the claim is further substantiated with DNA evidence.The documentary's approach seamlessly blends past and present, re-examines the assault, and walks you through what happened to the teenagers, from their arrest through their exoneration. Burns captures the complexity of history with startling results, yet "The Central Park Five" isn't quite as comprehensive as hoped, and fails to add anything substantively new to the story. Additionally, an element of balance is missing that would have turned a very good documentary into an exceptional one."The Central Park Five" presents the facts of the case with clarity, and it is a courageous, revealing look at the often complex and broken legal system in the United States. Unfortunately, there is no avoiding the conclusion presented by historian Craig Steven Wilder: "Rather than tying (the case) up in a bow and thinking that there was something we can take away from it, and that we'll be better people, I think what we really need to realize is that we're not very good people."

david-byrne A very well made documentary. It chronicles the entire event from the innocent youths being rounded up by the corrupt New York cops or prosecutor, to the mens' exoneration and beyond. It was well put together and the footage and newspaper articles were clearly represented. The victim interviews show them for what they are - innocent kids used as scapegoats and forced into confession for a crime they did not commit. The sense of injustice abounds, especially when the crooks in suits knew they had the wrong people, but went ahead with it anyway. It leaves one feeling angered and somewhat helpless, that you cannot defeat an enemy like the corrupt American justice system - especially when the system is proved wrong but refuses to show remorse or make amends, as so often happens (varies by state). The documentary leaves the city of New York as a city of shame, one where justice is corrupt, especially for blacks and Hispanics. I was left feeling that they could happily put a bullet in the head of the prosecutor and the cops as payment for their services rendered - but these men are more decent human beings than any of the prosecutor and the corrupt police, the media and anyone else who treated them as rapist monsters. Unfortunately, no compensation has been paid to any of the victims as the City of New York does its utmost to ensure justice will not be done. It needs to protect its wallet and the phony reputation of New York's "finest". I doubt I will ever want to visit New York, the city of shame.