Let the Fire Burn

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

1.5K

YOUR RATING

On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police dropped two pounds of military explosives onto a city row house occupied by the radical group MOVE. The resulting fire was not fought for over an hour although firefighters were on the scene with water cannons in place. Five children and six adults were killed and sixty-one homes were destroyed by the six-alarm blaze, one of the largest in the city's history. This dramatic tragedy unfolds through an extraordinary visual record previously withheld from the public. It is a graphic illustration of how prejudice, intolerance and fear can lead to unthinkable acts of violence.

Play trailer2:23

1 Video

3 Photos

Documentary History

A history of the conflict of the City of Philadelphia and the Black Liberation organization, MOVE, that led to the disastrously violent final confrontation in 1985.A history of the conflict of the City of Philadelphia and the Black Liberation organization, MOVE, that led to the disastrously violent final confrontation in 1985.A history of the conflict of the City of Philadelphia and the Black Liberation organization, MOVE, that led to the disastrously violent final confrontation in 1985.

Director
- Jason Osder
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

1.5K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Jason Osder
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 6 wins & 12 nominations

Videos1

Trailer 2:23

Watch Theatrical Trailer

Photos

Top cast46

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Birdie Africa

Self
(archive footage)
(as Michael Moses Ward)

Ramona Africa

Self
(archive footage)

Wilson Goode

Self
(archive footage)

William Brown III

Self
(archive footage)

Delbert Africa

Self
(archive footage)

William B. Lytton

Self
(archive footage)

LaVerne Sims

Self
(archive footage)

Louise James

Self
(archive footage)

Frank Rizzo

Self
(archive footage)

John Africa

Self
(archive footage)

David Shrager

Self
(archive footage)

Sue Africa

Self
(archive footage)

Tomaso Africa

Self
(archive footage)

John Cresse

Self
(archive footage)

Lucien Blackwell

Self
(archive footage)

Bennie Swans

Self
(archive footage)

James Ramp

Self
(archive footage)

Edward Rendell

Self
(archive footage)

Storyline

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Did you know

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Connections
Edited into Independent Lens: Let the Fire Burn (2014)

Soundtracks
Gnossienne No. 5
Written by Erik Satie, 1889
Performed by Emily White

User reviews10

Review

Featured review

7/10

The police as terrorist. The legal system as accomplices

This 95 minute documentary traces the history of the black liberation group MOVE through the two attempts of the philadelphia police to destroy them in 1978 and 1985, during which they put an explosive on the roof of their community house and took the decision to let the fire burn, which later in the day destroyed an entire city block. Most of the footage are taken from the public hearings surrounding the aftermath of the crisis as well as live TV footage of the two assaults, in order to document the terrorist attacks conducted by the philadelphia police. As of last week, the documentary was streaming for free, to remember the day of May 13th, 1985 when the second attack happened.