Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11223 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-08-27
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 348 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Director Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke is the definitive document of the unmitigated disaster Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. 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 hits 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. 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 neighbours 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 supplies and assistance were given 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 anger 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

Synopsis
Director Spike Lee probes the U.S. government's response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, in this thought-provoking documentary.

Customer Reviews

A masterpiece
A film that had to be made, 'When the Levees Broke' is a demanding, wrenching viewing. Allowing the story of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath to tell itself, Spike Lee weaves interviews with a huge range of New Orleans residents, Hurricane experts and footage of Kanye West amongst others into a devasting, 4 hour narrative that takes your breath away. Where others may have delivered a piece of work heavy on sentimentality and drama, Lee allows the story to speak for itself, and your left with a damning critique of the U.S governemnt that involves race, ignorance, big business, conspiracy theories and the power of the human condition. It may be gruelling, but nothing on celluloid has ever gripped me more. Quite simply a masterpiece, Spike Lee has delivered a fitting tribute to those undeserving whilst pouring venom on those repsponsible for the tragic events. Superb.

SUBTITLE INFO. PLEEEASE!!!
I am not here to make a review but to protest against Amazon's lack/ignorance for the deaf and hard of hearing. I am almost considering setting web site for the purpose of this protest so others can join.

My frustration is caused by this: I am into watching DVDs (films and particularly documentaries). Being hard of hearing, I can only watch DVDs with English subtitles. I have come to this site numerous times in the past months to buy new DVDs (Tribe (BBC documentary), Battlefield series by Dan Snow and this item to name a few). None of these along with thousands of other items say they or they don't have subtitles, therefore, I either have to buy to test them or forget about watchiong them.

Is it too much to ask to put that simple piece of information on the page? At least for BIG Amazon to show respect and understanding for the deaf? Shame on you Amazon! shame on you.

Shocking but essential
This is not a typical Spike Lee joint. Off the back of his success with Inside Man Lee chose to helm a documentary about Hurricane Katrina. I have a longstanding aversion to television news coverage so I went into this knowing embarrassingly little about the events of the disaster.

I was greeted with an engaging talking heads piece with interludes of affecting, disturbing images of the aftermath of the maelstrom. The film comprehensively covers the event in a series of four acts. The length (4 hours) made it a two sitting affair for me but I was rarely bored.

Lee gathers a wide cast of interviewees from residents of New Orleans and the surrounding area up to the Governor of Louisiana herself. The film met well with my own politics and distaste for the Bush administration but I was still aware of a degree of bias. It would have been nice to hear comment from FEMA or someone else involved beyond the state level. I think any viewer would find it hard to support the American governments handling of the evacuation with the information given here.

Lee brings a few elements of his own style to the editing and the practice of shooting his subjects through picture frames is quirky. However, he keeps himself firmly behind the camera and this restraint allows his subjects stories full impact.

As a record of a large scale disaster the film is fantastic. I strongly recommend to anyone who is interested in learning more about Katrina's effects.