Panther

Panther is a dramatized account of the early years of the Black Panther Party, tracing the group's formation in Oakland during the mid-1960s and the conflict that followed. Against a backdrop of police violence and racial injustice, a small group of young Black men organizes an armed movement for self-defense and civil rights. The story follows figures including Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale as the organization grows, while internal strains and an aggressive federal campaign against it push the situation toward crisis. The film mixes fictionalized narrative with archival footage to place the Panthers in the wider turmoil of the era.

Mario Van Peebles directed the film, his third feature after New Jack City and Posse. Melvin Van Peebles wrote the screenplay and produced alongside Robert De Niro and Mario Van Peebles. The large cast of 84 credited performers is led by Courtney B. Vance as Bobby Seale, Marcus Chong as Huey P. Newton, Kadeem Hardison, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyrin Turner and Joe Don Baker, with 54 credited crew members.

Released in 1995, the film took about 7 million dollars worldwide, a modest return for a production backed by PolyGram, Working Title, Tribeca Productions and MVP Films. On IMDb it holds 6.4 from around 2,900 votes, and on TMDB 6.3 from a much smaller sample of 48 votes. A critics' rating of 5.2 from 11 reviews sits below both audience scores. Its running time is 124 minutes.