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When the Levees Broke - A Requiem In Four Acts (Documentary)
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Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: LEE,SPIKE
EAN: 0026359397325
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Item Dimensions: 70
Label: HBO Home Video
Languages: English (Original Language),
Manufacturer: HBO Home Video
MPN: 026359397325
Number Of Items: 3
Publisher: HBO Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: December 19, 2006
Running Time: 256 minutes
Studio: HBO Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: August 16, 2006
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Editorial Review:
Examines various perspectives on the integral events that preceded and followed Katrina's passage through New Orleans, with personal accounts from survivors.
Genre: Television: HBO
Rating: NR
Release Date: 19-DEC-2006
Media Type: DVD
Director Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke is the definitive document of the unmitigated disaster that was, and is, Hurricane Katrina. It's also a contemporary manifestation of an ancient tradition: an oral history, told by the people who lived it, with no narration and only the occasional use of archival cable and broadcast news footage in addition to Lee's own film. And a grim tale it is, an "American tragedy" subtitled "a Requiem in Four Acts," each of them about an hour long ("Act V," appearing on the third of the set's three discs, is a lengthy epilogue with new material not included in the original HBO broadcast) and focusing almost exclusively on New Orleans, as opposed to the Gulf Coast region in general.
Act I sets the scene; as the hurricane nears the Crescent City, some residents leave town, while others stay behind, figuring they'll just ride the storm out (Mayor Ray Nagin's "mandatory evacuation" order rings fairly hollow, as there's no public transportation provided for the many who don't own vehicles and thus couldn't get out even if they wanted to). The real problems begin after Katrina makes landfall on August 29, 2005. Displaced New Orleaneans crowd into the Superdome, soon to become a living hell for those stuck there; the incredibly poorly engineered levees break, flooding some 80 percent of the city; and people start dying by the hundreds, victims of drowning, lack of food, water, and medicine, and other causes. And so it goes. Act II finds the survivors struggling to keep it together while the federal, state, and local assistance they've been promised fails to show up; Act III traces the dispersal of these so-called "refugees" (as one man puts it, "Refugees? You mean they took away our citizenship, too?") all over the country, not knowing where their families, friends, and neighbors are, or even if they're still alive; and Act IV deals with the slow rebuilding of the city while insurance companies refuse to pay claims and money keeps going toward the Iraq war effort instead.
Several themes predominate here. One, of course, is the appalling performance of authorities on nearly every level, who ignored specific warnings about the levees and then professed ignorance after the fact; Lee doesn't have to go out of his way to make George W. Bush, FEMA chief Michael Brown, and other members of the Bush administration (not to mention his own mother) look bad, as they do an excellent job of that themselves. Another is the shameful ineptitude of the response; it's hard not to be disgusted when it's pointed out more than once that while we were able to provide supplies and assistance to Indonesians within two days of the 2004 tsunami, American citizens were virtually ignored for five days or more. Most of all, When the Levees Broke (which includes optional commentary by Lee for all four acts) leaves us feeling the sheer rage of the poor and dispossessed of New Orleans, where the population is 70 percent African-American. Confronted with the ignorance, arrogance, and callousness of the people whose job it was to protect them, they can point to just one cause: racism. --Sam Graham
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - The Levees Broke and People Died
Spike Lee struggled a bit before he was motivated to make this film for HBO. His films don't make that much money anymore because he still focuses on people and not special effects. This movie is a documentary that focuses strongly on people but Hurricane Katrina was a horrible catastrophe for the country that this film couldn't be ignored. It is a classic and very well made. If this was the only film Spike Lee ever made, he'd be a great filmmaker but he has more - both fictional films and more ... Read More
Rating: - A must see
After a recent trip to New Orleans (Spring 2008) I came back and felt compelled to learn all I could about Katrina and what all of the New Orleans citizens had to suffer through. This documentary does an incredible job articulating that. It's truly a must see. And if you already hate BUSH, you will hate him more.
Rating: - I still shutter when I watch this movie.
After I watched this on HBO, I had to own it. The powerful story that is told here is not about propoganda, or agenda, it is about the survival of people who were left behind to fend for themselves; American people.
I have watched this with several of our youth groups in an attempt to show them that life can be a fragile gift, and that we should never take for granted that we have more of it to spare. At each watching there is never a dry eye in the room. the kids are riveted to the screen. they ... Read More
Rating: - A necessary addition to my DVD Library!
I feel such pain every time I watch this documentary account of the devastation caused when Katrina stuck. Anyone who watches this DVD will have a hard time turning a blind eye toward the people whose lives have been forever changed by one of the largest catastrophes the US has known -- I know I never will!
Rating: - One pleased customer!
Beautifully packaged and arrived on time. Never have I shopped anywhere online and had my product arrive as timely as from Amazon. I'm vere pleased with the content and customer service.
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