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Licensed to Kill Photos

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Movie Info

In this documentary, homosexual filmmaker Arthur Dong interviews men who were imprisoned for slaying gays. Dong, who was physically attacked because of his own sexuality in the 1970s, tries to ascertain the convicts' motives -- why they would commit such heinous crimes. Some prisoners express remorse for their acts of violence, while others believe the murders they committed were justified. The interviewees include a U.S. military officer, a devout Christian and a petty thief.

Genre:

documentary
Original Language:

English
Director:

Arthur Dong
Producer:

Arthur Dong
Writer:

Arthur Dong
Release Date (Streaming):

Jun 14, 2005
Runtime:

1h 20m

Cast & Crew

Arthur Dong
Producer

Arthur Dong
Director

Arthur Dong
Writer

Critic Reviews for Licensed to Kill

All Critics (12) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (1)

Disturbing, unflinching and brilliant.

June 9, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Nick Charles
New York Daily News
The almost clinical restraint of Dong's Sundance and Berlin Film Festival award-winner only enhances its staggering emotional impact.

June 9, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Russell Smith
Austin Chronicle
Offering a harrowing and disturbing look at homophobia and anti-gay violence, Dong's courageous docu, winner of 2 major awards at the 1997 Sundance Fest, is an intelligent exploration of sexual prejudice and hatred in contemporay American society.

February 14, 2007 | Rating: B+

Emanuel Levy
Variety
A tough and thought-provoking.

May 20, 2003 | Full Review…

Janet Maslin
New York Times
Nothing you've heard about the plague of violence against gay men will lessen the shock value of this chilling look at the real face of evil.

November 13, 2001 | Full Review…

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
The chill and fear it generates are more genuine than the 1989 James Bond film its name evokes.

June 9, 2020 | Full Review…

Andy Klein
New Times
Licensed to Kill is a real achievement, especially since Dong didn't lose his perspective -- he hates the crime, but not the criminals, and he pins the blame where it belongs.

June 9, 2020 | Full Review…

Richard von Busack
MetroActive
It's a simple idea for a film: Do interviews with people in prison who have killed gays and ask them to explain why they did it, but the riveting result is far from simple.

November 13, 2001 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
Documentaries need energy, or they can become as dry as reading a dictionary. Dong's questions too often illicit little interest from the prisoners.

November 13, 2001 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews
There's no need for documentarian Arthur Dong to put words in the mouths of the convicted killers interviewed in Licensed to Kill; each man convicts himself with his own words.

November 13, 2001 | Full Review…

Jeff Vice
Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
The sound recording is occasionally dodgy and the film preaches to the converted, but it's a powerful testament to the price of intolerance.

November 13, 2001 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide
A disturbing documentary about hate crime and the people who commit it.

November 13, 2001 | Full Review…

Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner