Film Review – West of Memphis

We’ve been through this story before, on three separate occasions. Joe
Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s “Paradise Lost” documentary series
(including the 1996 original, “Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills,” a
2000 sequel, “Revelations,” and the 2011 conclusion, “Purgatory”)
triumphantly inspected the gruesome, astonishing details involving the
trial and conviction of the West Memphis Three. The pictures were
incendiary and mournful, blending journalism and outrage masterfully
over six methodical hours, walking through the case one step at a time.
While never intended to be the definitive document of the West Memphis
Three, the “Paradise Lost” movies became a beacon for national interest,
with celebrities, legal minds, and passionate observers manufacturing a
movement to free Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin
from the hell of life in prison for crimes they claim they did not
commit. Despite treading on well-worn cinematic ground, “West of
Memphis” swears it has something fresh to share with the world, taking
145 minutes to file through its theories and interviews. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com