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Poster for The Pruitt-Igoe Myth

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth

2012 · 1h 19m · NOT RATED Documentary
Directed by Chad Freidrichs

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Overview

Destroyed in a dramatic and highly-publicized implosion, the Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex has become a widespread symbol of failure amongst architects, politicians and policy makers. The Pruitt-Igoe Myth explores the social, economic and legislative issues that led to the decline of conventional public housing in America, and the city centers in which they resided, while tracing the personal and poignant narratives of several of the project's residents. In the post-War years, the American city changed in ways that made it unrecognizable from a generation earlier, privileging some and leaving others in its wake. The next time the city changes, remember Pruitt-Igoe.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
89%
Tomatometer
Fresh

The personal stories told by former residents add a poignancy to the broad trends the film examines.

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Rotten

Pruitt-Igoe was the first, and most famous, example of the failure of that sort of public housing.

Mark Feeney, Boston Globe
Fresh

Using archival footage and interviews with former residents, Freidrichs adds human dimension and historical context to what is often viewed in simple terms as a misguided blip.

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post
Fresh

"The Pruitt-Igoe Myth" doesn't offer easy conclusions.

Sara Stewart, New York Post
Fresh

In some ways, The Pruitt-Igoe Myth is more elegy than analysis.

Mark Jenkins, NPR

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