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Title:
When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts: 3-Disc Set
Region:
One
Genre:
Documentary
Director:
Spike Lee
Executive
Producer: Cliff Charles
Executive
Producer For HBO: Sheila Nevins
Feature
length: 346 minutes
Extras:
Audio Commentary By Director Spike Lee For All Four Original Acts, Act V: Next
Movement and Photo Gallery
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Spanish Language Dolby Surround
Sound
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Three-Disc Digipack
Chapter
Stops: Acts I & II – 12/ Acts III & IV – 14/ Act V - 11
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of DVD Release: 2006
Home
Video Distributor: HBO Home Video
TV
Rating: TV-MA
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Spike
Lee’s award winning documentary When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four
Acts was must-see TV and now it is must-see DVD. Absolutely one of the best
documentaries I have seen in a long time, Lee takes the cameras to New Orleans
and wisely removes himself from the film for most of it so that viewers are not
distracted by his presence, his voice as an interviewer, or narration. The
people speak for themselves and this put a human face on the tragedy and allows
multiple points of view to be expressed while the viewer formulates his or her
own opinion. The key point When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts
makes is that it was not the hurricane
that created the disaster, it was the Levees breaking and the poor federal
response in the aftermath that lead to the displacement and in many cases death
of the city’s citizens. Lee’s documentary is also quick to point out that
this was not a matter of racial bigotry as much as it appears to be a case of
economic bigotry since many white Americans were also displaced and abandoned.
More than a year later the areas affected by the floods remain in a state of
devastation with some areas still uninhabitable. The scope of the injustice
forced upon the residents is almost unimaginable. After the flood, many
residents were left stranded even after they were brought to areas that were
above the water level and then packed like sardines in a can; there was no
Federal relief for days. These people, many of whom were left unsheltered in the
hot Louisiana sun, had no utilities and no fresh water or rations. When the army
arrives, they were treated like prisoners of war. Defenseless citizens were
literally held back at gunpoint until an Amy General personally showed up and
demanded the troops to stand down and only then did some form of humanitarian
aid commence as people were gradually rounded up and taken to centers for
medical assistance and so forth.
Unfortunately
the aid came too little too late since the stagnant waters began to take a toll
upon the citizens with disease and infection spreading. In many cases it has
been noted that families were forcefully split apart and flown to different
areas of the country without any knowledge of where they were going. These
people were referred to as refugees and the financial aid for temporary housing
still left many without a home since the insurance companies in New Orleans
either chose to pay premiums that were too low for homeowners to rebuild or in
some cases they found a loophole to not pay at all. Those who are lucky enough
to try and rebuild their homes have discovered human remains on their property
where there should not have been because these places were supposed to have been
checked. Even if you had the resources to build gradually or quickly, if the
government declares the land or dwelling as being uninhabitable, your home will
be torn down and citizens are literally having their lives pulled away from
beneath them since the reality is in many cases these are generations of people
who lived in New Orleans and they don’t know any other place to live. The
amount of compensation they receive, if they can get something at all, is often
too low to start over again in another place.
The
documentary never actually says this point blank, but New Orleans is being
rebuilt for an entirely different economic class and the only area not subject
to possible demolition of course is the tourist friendly French Quarter. The
documentary also gives the viewer a sense of the city’s history and culture,
which is unlike any other city in the United States. These segments prove to be
educational and give the viewer a further understanding of the tragedy that has
fallen upon these people. The response of the government in this matter has been
ineffectual and images from the disaster look like the aftermath of an assault
on a third world country. If this can happen in New Orleans, it can happen
anywhere and some clips featuring President George W. Bush and an insensitive
remark from his mother, the former First Lady to George Bush, Sr. really reveal
the image of an administration that has disdain for it’s own citizens in need.
A few clips that feature Sean Penn as well as Spike Lee’s frequent composer
collaborator Terence Blanchard and recording artist Kanye West show the diverse
effect this event has had on people across the country.
It
feels almost like a sin to discuss a DVD set in terms of the quality of a
product for sale given the nature of the events discussed, but if a DVD can open
some eyes to the travesty that occurred then that’s a good thing because maybe
it will lead to more relief for those in need. The four acts that make up the
documentary feature an audio commentary by Spike Lee that is nothing short of
gold. While Lee lets the people narrate their own story in the documentary, I
applaud Lee for not holding back his point of view and for pulling no punches in
his audio commentary. You may not like what he has to say and you may think he
is wrong, but personally I can’t imagine not feeling empathy for Lee’s point
of view because given the history of this country and it’s treatment of
African Americans, you simply can’t blame others for feeling distrust and
frustration, especially after the depiction of the government’s poor relief
efforts in this film. The mistake everyone should avoid is to think that this is
a black and white issue. The reality is those attitudes do nothing but divide
the people and I think we all need to recognize we have more in common and we
must put aside prejudices from the past since they ultimately only lead to more
pain and suffering.
The
third disc contains nearly two more additional hours of interviews not included
in the original cable broadcast to for a fifth act as well as a photo montage
with music by Terence Blanchard entitled Water Is Rising (7:53). All five
acts are presented in a 16 by 9 widescreen aspect ratio with English Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The original four acts also feature a Spanish
Language Dolby Surround Soundtrack and English Closed Captions for the Deaf and
Hearing Impaired as well as French and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded onto
the first two discs as options.
When
The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts: 3-Disc
Set
will debut on DVD-Video at retailers on and offline on Tuesday, December 19,
2006 courtesy of HBO Home Video.
©
Copyright 2006 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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