Spike Lee

Average customer rating:

"Keep hope alive..."
a great contemporary documentary
Bush's Moscow
A masterpiece from Spike Lee
The truth's spiked - and it hurts

When the Levees Broke
Starring: Spike Lee
Manufacturer: HBO Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000J10F14
Release Date: 2006-12-19

Amazon.com

Director Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke is the definitive document of he 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

Description

One year after Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans, director Spike Lee presents a four-hour, four-part chronicle recounting, through words and images, one of our country?s most profound natural disasters. In addition to revisiting the hours leading up to the arrival of Katrina, a Category 5 hurricane before it hit the coast of Louisiana, When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts tells the personal stories of those who lived to tell about it, at the same time exploring the underbelly of a nation where the divide along race and class lines has never been more pronounced.

Customer Reviews:

"Keep hope alive...".......2007-06-17

As did many, with baited breath, I anticipated the release of Spike Lee's, When the Levees Broke. Unfortunately, this piece focused more on racial injustice than the failed emergency response of the aftermath. As are most issues related to the treatment of African Americans in this country; especially when it involves the south, this piece was heavily immersed in racial finger pointing. While I can give Lee a thumbs up for much of the footage, I'm disheartened that he failed to properly address the economic attitude of the out of step and disenfranchised African American community of New Orleans. Moreover, that no one has grasped the notion that experience rules all is remarkable. For instance, the Israelis' remarkably rapid responses to major castrophies is in direct correlation to the frequency with which they happen. While it's true that the gross lack of coordination on several levels; state, local and federal to name a few, added to the tradegy of Katrina, to place the blame solely at the doorstep of the federal government was grossly unfair. Last time I checked, this country embraced capitalism and democracy, not communism. FEMA is not a rescue organization: "FEMA works in partnership with other organizations that are part of the nation's emergency management system. These partners include state and local emergency management agencies, 27 federal agencies and the American Red Cross." (This quote was found at FEMA's website on the about us page.) And that list includes the local Police department, the local Fire Department, the city planners, the emergency medical professionals and so on. At the end of one of the tapes Mayor Nagen points out the differences between himself and Mayor Rudy Guiliani & Katrina and 9/11. He points out that 9/11 was essentially a contained event; in effect, quarantining the emergency site. And that's true! But what he failed to mention was how quickly New York City's first responders COORDINATED AND EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTED their efforts, completely overlooking the comical and inept nonexistent local cohesion of New Orleans first responders. It doesn't matter whether you like Mayor Guiliani or not; the fact is, he was downtown with his first responders. They all converged on ground zero like hungry locusts and started responding. (To be fair: An in-depth analysis of Mayor Guiliani's contributions reveal several shortcomings; in fact, many people believe he was more of a hindrance than help). In any event, the response seemed measured and methodical, coordinated and rehearsed and above all, professional. Something else that's rarely mentioned is the level of assistance the victims provided one another. It's now evident that in New Orleans that was not the case. BLACK ON BLACK crime soared during the Katrina aftermath. Looters, to include the police department, were caught on film; no less, stealing and looting. Isn't their motto to protect and serve? People were stealing TV's and DVD's, clothes and everything else and to what end? Electricity wasn't restored for months. If not anything else, it was a poor showing of character for some of the city's first responders. I think you would've been hard pressed to find the cops stealing during the 9/11 crisis. Keep in mind this is not condemnation of those who stepped up with intregrity. Nonetheless, this behavior has been famously celebrated by the residents of New Orleans for years. The Superdome population seemed completely paralyzed. Instead of quarantining victims' into categories, ie the sick, the weak, the young, the old, the hurt, etc; which is to be expected during major castrophies in a modern society, the citizens organized a prayer march. Talk about bringing a knife to a gunfight? These are the situations that bore leaders. If the entire population could be convinced that a prayer march was an effective means of addressing the catastrophic situation at hand, then poverty should be listed as the least of New Orleans disenfranchised populations' problems'. Most people set back as if they could do absolutely nothing except wait. Another critical question that needs to be answered is why African Americans seem so reticent about tackling or addressing the development of BLACK ON BLACK crime? And why didn't Spike Lee take the opportunity to address this phenomenon in his piece. I suspect our nation would've witnessed the exact same scenario in any and/or all of the nations major cities. It's well known that most of America's major metropolitian area's are African American strongholds, Detroit, D.C., Baltimore, Atlanta, Miami and several other cities have similiar demographics. What received no coverage was the plight of all the so-called "white-trash" in the country-side who were also seperated from their lives and loved ones. They also received little, if any, timely assistance from the government. On steel horseback and keeping hope alive, Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton made their requisite appearances and speeches. While Jackson didn't make an appearance in the piece, he's recorded as referring to the situation at the Superdome as a "Slavery" type situation. What's most sinister about these two phonies and their ilk is their impeccable sense of timing. These two never pass on an opportunity to address the camera's and effectively innoculate and brainwash a gullable African American audience. Another glaring misappropiation was the constant inference to slavery. OH MY GOD! First a paralyzed population questions the response of the government, but to complain about the lack of sympathy exercised on behalf of the help was infuriating. Soldiers have families too! But to compare the military staging effort to the slave trade took the cake. All military efforts in that situation involve a certain measure of disassociation to accomplish the mission. Soldiers cannot empathize or sympathize with rescuee's and properly accomplish the mission.
For the record, every ethnic group on the planet has suffered atrocities on behalf of another group. China, by way of Japan, The Irish; by way of the British, the Tutsis, by way of the Hutu's. And haven't the Jews been punished by everyone at one point or another? And who was it that coined the phrase, "Hymietown?" In any event, both men have lined their silk pockets by eloquently misleading the poor, disenfranchised masses; mostly African Americans, about the shortcomings of a nation, by focusing on the misgivings of our past with misleading; yet, sympathetic prose. For example, Jackson's famous rallying cry is "Keep hope alive," but the quote in it's entirety reads, "Keep hope alive, but never satisfied." And Lord knows he's been true to form. The inference is satisfaction once delivered, renders the deliverer useless. Translation, no more fancy speaking engagements, civic invitations or special inside the loop priviledges. Jackson has had several opportunities to put his money where his mouth is. To be honest the behind the scenes powerfully elite in D.C. have for years all but begged him to run for Mayor of that city, and he has on every occasion refused! Because, he said, "Being an elected official doesn't give me the room to manuever effectively." Translation, he does not want to be held responsible or accountable for public failures. Which puts into question the legitmacy of his Presidential bids. Not to be outdone, the Rev. Al Sharpton is a master at spinning what others say. Granted; given their tremendous political success, to be so well connected and having had for a long time, access to the world's finest educational institutions, the first family, immediate an otherwise, seem surprisingly aloof in public. It's quite evident that the Bush family has lived among the socially elite for so long, that they are completely disconnected from common class America. Although the first First Lady's comment about the new plight of some of the victims was a bit abrupt. It was delivered without malice and with good intentions. It was poor form of Sharpton to capitalize on the manipulation of that comment in the heat of battle. For the record, I know that our country garners a checkered racial past; especially down south. Hell everyone knows our past, but the fact is, sooner or later you have to learn to do for yourself. Sooner or later you have to implement a personal life strategy to find success. Parties and prayer (the well advertise means of expression in New Orleans) have never and will never suffice as an effective or efficient means of addressing poverty. I'm not a religious scholar but doesn't the inscription read, "God helps those whom help themselves?" And if that's the case, doesn't the translation mean you CANNOT depend on the government or God or anyone else for the matter, in times of need? Case in point Katrina.

Here are some points I think Lee failed to properly address:

1. Why didn't the Mayor set up shop at ground zero and use the media's cameras to communicate directly with FEMA and the White House? Provocative maybe, but given the circumstances, effective!

2. What happen to the city's first responders?

3. How come this piece didn't address the extremely high level of BLACK ON BLACK crime committed during the aftermath?

4. How could they respond without military assistance?

5. How come we didn't hear more about the intense animosity between the Mayor and the Governor?

6. How come the piece didn't delve deeper into the why's and why nots of modern building strategies of civic protection not investigated like that of other nations, ie the Netherlands, Japan and China?

7. How come the decision making City Council members weren't identified, questioned and held to task on camera?

8. Why didn't we see or hear about the shortcomings of the insurance agencies? They completely abandoned the entire Gulf coast. Some of these people paid on there policy for more than 50 years.

9. Why didn't the Coast Guard and other successful agencies receive more attention?

10. What are the ensuing plans for keeping this from ever happening again? Who's involved? How much does it cost? And are other cities following suit?

In the end, New Orleans has become famous for what some have said is their unique way of life (corruption tolerance). From the very beginning politicians have been famously corrupt in that city. And from the beginning the citizens have celebrated and supported renogade behavior. Case in point; Congressman William Jefferson, indicted on federal bribery charges, after the FBI found $90,000 in his freezer. The Speaker, understandably so, wants him out, but the National Black Caucas is protecting him. I submit to you the audience, that if, as an elected congressional representative, you cannot find a better place to hide ill-gotten gain than a freezer, that you may be too stupid to run for office, let alone re-election. And it's episodes like this that are the real drag on African American progress. If the citizens of New Orleans continue to fail to see how these and a history of other highly publicized, yet locally acceptable representative shortcomings affect their tenuous existence, then broken levees are the least of their concerns.

a great contemporary documentary.......2007-06-13

Not a Spike Lee fan I was enthraled at this films scope and insight. It not only changed my view of our government's role in disaster relief it also showed its callus disregard for the poor caught in this kind of situation. A new approach is needed in dealing with disaster relief and "heads should roll" in dealing with the last people in charge!

Bush's Moscow.......2007-06-08

Spike Lee does a brilliant job of exposing the utter lack of planning and rescue on the part of the Bush Administration but also points out the heroes in this debacle as well-from Shawn Penn to the US Coast Guard and military rescurers. The part of telling Cheney to buzz off is magnificient. A truly noble work!

A masterpiece from Spike Lee.......2007-05-21

Spike Lee's monumental six hour WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE is an enthralling account of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which left much of New Orleans under water in late August 2005. Called a Requiem in Four Acts (plus a 105 minute Epilogue), the HBO miniseries is a heartbreaking and angry blend of documentary footage of the flood damage, attack on the federal government for not being in New Orleans in timely fashion, and oral history by proud survivors.

Each act is about an hour long. Act One begins with the hurricane starting on August 28, 2005. I played this hour with Mr. Lee's audio commentary, which seems to blame the federal government in general and President George Bush specifically for not being in New Orleans. "He didn't give a [damn]," replies Spike. We get information on two previous Gulf States hurricanes, one in 1927 and Betsy in 1965. Mr. Lee shows CNN and BBC footage of newspeople and the flood damage, then asks where our own federal government and FEMA were. A black male mayor and a white woman governor hate each other's guts as people die. Sean Penn is one of the heroes of this miniseries, helping rescue dozens of people from filthy water. Spike again (and his commentary is very heavy-handed and angry) wants to know why Bush and no one in his cabinet showed up in New Orleans for a full week? According to Mr. Lee, the Canadian Mounties came down from Vancouver quicker than Bush and company did. When Spike stops talking and ranting against our government, his survivors have powerful and sad tales to tell of fleeing the devastation, then trying to get back to their homes, as we watch the flood devastation. The hour ends with evacuees in the hot and smelly Super Dome.

Act Two has evacuees still in the Super Dome or the Convention Center with no food or water or toilets. The National Guard arrives and threatens to shoot innocent Americans trying to get back to their home ruins. The mayor of New Orleans is ineffectual, and the pit bull governor supports the National Guard. Spike Lee shakes his head aurally on the audio commentary: "Even in the 21st Century, even in America, this is still happening." There is brilliant helicopter footage of the devastation, but it is from the BBC, not our own government. Mr. Lee proves with documentary footage that George Bush knew from the Weather Service of a probable hurricane about to hit New Orleans a day after August 27th, but it took him TWELVE DAYS to get down to the flood site. "He just didn't give a [damn]," comments Spike again. He then adds that if the federal government really did not know what was going on or what to do, maybe they were not qualified to hold their jobs. The National Guard again tried to kill looters and other flood victims, until the Army showed up: "Put those guns down. These are American citizens." Act Two ends with a montage of dead bodies.

I played Acts Three and Four without Spike Lee's unnecessary commentary relentlessly attacking the federal government. The miniseries plays much more effectively with the flood survivors themselves asking where the federal government, particularly FEMA, was. People are migrating to Arkansas, Texas, and Tennessee, but especially Houston, Texas. 150,000 people there were homeless and jobless. Vice President Cheney comes down to New Orleans and is told to go [hang] himself; it takes two full weeks for Bush to get on national TV. Worst of all is Barbara Bush in a Houston homeless shelter; she insensitively suggests that maybe the survivors are better off now than in poverty level New Orleans. She hangs herself verbally with no assistance from Spike Lee. He lets survivors eloquently tell their own stories: "We aren't refugees, we are American citizens." FEMA is a national joke and disgrace. The people are helping themselves without federal government help, so maybe FEMA and other government agencies should be abolished, survivors suggest. As a black woman revisits the ruins of a house she has lived in all her life, there is the theme of rebuilding New Orleans "because it is our home and where everything we love is." Two of those things are music and cultural rituals. A psychiatrist speaks about an increase in suicides and suicidal thoughts among his patients. A woman holds up a photo of a five year old girl. Her sad funeral ends Act Three of WHEN THE LEVEES RISE.

I also played Act Four without Spike Lee's unnecessary and shrill commentary. We open with music--a band and Mardi Gras, the spirit to celebrate is still in New Orleans. Three or four months are going by, and the survivors complain that the federal government is just sitting on their thumbs. A student learns his mom died in a house that was not searched, and the body was not buried for two months. Survivors want to know repeatedly why we can fight a war in Iraq, but not give water or power to our own country. Trailers sit empty in a trailer yard, waiting months for the federal government to give them to homeless people. Worst of all are insurance companies that people have been paying premiums to for years. They argue with survivors--benefits for hurricanes, but none for flooding, and this is flooding. Nasty real estate companies want to buy up the land and bulldoze the ruined homes that owners want to rebuild. The Army Corps of Engineers arrives, but isn't sure what to do. Survivors say to look at what The Netherlands did to prevent a similar flooding. Act 4 ends with sunset over the Mississippi River, then ten minutes of portraits of people alphabetically as a sort of people cast list. "Walking Through New Orleans" plays on the soundtrack. Terence Blanchard did the haunting trumpet and piano score for the whole movie. The film editors are Geeta Ghanbhir and Nancy Novack, supervised by Sam Pollard. They did a mammoth and magnificent job of combining oral history and documentary footage. WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE may be Spike Lee's crowning achievement, though he is too quick to blame the federal government for everything bad; I'd love to hear what Bush and Cheney have to say.

For DVD, Mr. Lee has added a 105 minute Act 5 Epilogue. It is mostly oral history (blessedly without audio commentary) of where everyone was on August 28, 2005 and what they did in the days that followed this terrible New Orleans flood. They range from actor Sean Penn (a real hero) to pastors and authors, lawyers and students, engineers and a medical examiner. They are all backed by Terence Blanchard's trumpet and piano music score. There was rampant police brutality, especially white against black, in the days that followed. Penn talks powerfully of rescuing dozens of people in muddy water because the federal government had not shown up yet. If FEMA could not figure out how to mobilize, the survivors rationalize, then maybe we don't need FEMA. That's a sobering thought, the federal government saying that maybe the survivors are better off without our interference. An engineer tries to explain what happened, why, and how to try and prevent it again in the future. We hear from a chef, a doctor, and musicians. A white trial lawyer sends out 7,000 claims to people he is trying to help, only to realize that a sizeable number of the people cannot read. And through it all, FEMA is an ineffectual joke. The city will survive and rebuild without federal government help. Fade out on a rapper at the gate to a cemetery.

I did not play it, but this enthralling 3-disk DVD of Spike Lee's WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE also features something called WATER IS RISING. It is described as blending a gallery of photos with music by Terence Blanchard. I commend this magnificent HBO miniseries to your rental and sales attention. It will take you three nights, but is well worth that much time.

The truth's spiked - and it hurts.......2007-05-21

Spike Lee is a hugely talented and culturally significant filmmaker. He has a global reputation. His name, like Woody Allen, guarantees his output will find an audience. He is about as secure in terms of artistic reputation as you could ever expect anyone to be - especially in the fickle world of film. So why did he leave the relative safety of fiction films to tackle, very soon after the event, a four hour documentary on the US State response to Hurricane Katrina?

Nothing is harder to reflect on film than our recent and media-saturated past.

Spike Lee, however, handles this emotive and complex subject with great skill. He relies almost completely on 'talking heads', letting those who experienced the gulf coast disaster speak with an eloquence that belies their grief. The images are shocking. Dead body after dead body, juxtaposed with smiling politicians and waffling beaureaucrats. But it is the words of the survivors that bite.

This is must-see documentary filmmaking at its very best. And should be compulsory study in schools, especially for those who believe we in the so-called civilised 'West' have the best system of support and help for the needy! The slow response of FEMA is truly scandalous.

Buy this movie and get a lesson in the history of our recent past you will remember for many, many years to come.

Average customer rating:

Very entertaining, very clever
If you figured it out you're almost as clever as the kid next to me
Appearances Can Be Deceiving...
I expected more...
Hated it...

Inside Man (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Denzel Washington , Clive Owen , Jodie Foster , Christopher Plummer , and Willem Dafoe
Director: Spike Lee
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GFLKF8
Release Date: 2006-08-08

Amazon.com

Spike Lee scored his biggest hit to date with Inside Man, an unconventional thriller with fascinating details in the margins of its convoluted plot. The screenplay (by first-timer Russell Gerwitz) could've used a few more rewrites; it moves at a brisk pace but in hindsight a lot of it doesn't make sense. That makes Inside Man more fun to watch than to think about afterwards (when you discover plot holes big enough to drive a truck through), but it's curiously involving, especially as NYPD Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) struggles to outsmart a high-stakes bank robber (Clive Owen) who, along with a well-trained crew of accomplices, has seized control of a Wall Street bank, turning what initially looks like a hostage crisis into a personal crusade to expose some mysterious evil secrets. As you might expect from the director of Do the Right Thing, Lee seizes several satisfying opportunities to examine post-9/11 issues of racial prejudice and domestic terrorism, and the mysterious "problem solver" Madeline White (Jodie Foster), as eerily sinister as she is vaguely defined, is worthy of her own movie. With the benefit of his most stellar cast to date (including Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe and Chiwetel Ejiofor), Lee seems more interested in character details than well-crafted suspense, but that doesn't stop Inside Man from being engrossing, subtly amusing, and quirky enough to qualify as a welcomed break from the formulaic thrillers that are Hollywood's bread and butter.--Jeff Shannon

Description

Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, Academy Award nominee Clive Owen and Academy Award winner Jodie Foster star in this intense and explosive crime thriller. The perfect bank robbery quickly spirals into an unstable and deadly game of cat-and-mouse between a criminal mastermind (Owen), a determined detective (Washington), and a power broker with a hidden agenda (Foster). As the minutes tick by and the situation becomes increasingly tense, one wrong move could mean disaster for any one of them. From acclaimed director Spike Lee comes the edge-of-your-seat, action-packed thriller that The Wall Street Journal calls "a heist film that's right on the money."

Customer Reviews:

Very entertaining, very clever.......2007-05-22

As others have indicated, if you think you have it figured out, you will be totally surprised before the end. As suspense films go, everything fits together when you get to the end with nothing that suspends belief (unlike another film I recently saw). The acting is very well done.

I gave the film only four stars because of the thoroughly gratuitous use of one very frequent four letter word. Its use is so over the top that it takes away from everything else. I saw the film in a theater. Some months later we were on an overseas flight and "Inside Man" was the in-flight movie. There were small children on the flight. I wondered how that would work, given the ubiquitous use of that word. Well, the word never occurred anywhere in the film! Further, no one's lips were out of synchronization with the dialogue at any point. I have since read that Singapore will not allow films with foul language in them. Apparently, film companies must shoot two versions of the same film. They could give us films with less objectionable material, but choose not to do so. They even have the same films with less objectionable material already available. Can I give Hollywood two stars only?

If you figured it out you're almost as clever as the kid next to me.......2007-05-13

This kind of movie prompts you to take wild guesses, but what is fun is the process and class of the movie. While the kid in the theater next to me figured it out from the start, while having some small mistakes, there was nothing lost in seeing how it all went down and the slight surprise at the end. Inside man is a feel good example of an old and dying art of the con man movie. Technology is getting far too perfect for these kind of brilliant man versus the system type movie. With the need of hacking eye scanners, finger print machines, motion sensors, time locked safes, security systems with off-shore staff that is awake twenty four hours a day, and even more things we can't even imagine but someone else did coming into play you need to be a billionaire to be a thief in the first place. So these movies will become more and more rare, so we should enjoy them while we can.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving..........2007-05-10

I have to start out by saying that as an avid movie watcher I generally try to keep an open mind when approaching a movie. With that being said there are a couple of directors that I find this to be a particularly hard task to succeed in, Quentin Tarentino is one such director and the other is Spike Lee. I have to say that whenever either of these two critically acclaimed directors releases a movie (or a `joint' as Spike Lee prefers to label them), I find it difficult to get too excited about seeing them, and sometimes I don't end up seeing the movie at all, though I try to make an effort because you never know when one might hit you just right. So, when I saw the trailer for the upcoming Spike Lee movie "Inside Man" starring Denzel Washington and Clive Owen, I was somewhat interested in it simply because I enjoy both actors' work; however, Denzel had done a Spike Lee movie before that I didn't like, so that didn't guarantee that I would enjoy him in this one. Over time I saw more trailers for the movie and read what the film was to be about and I have to say that for the first time ever, I was actually excited to see a Spike Lee movie, but whether my anticipation was misplaced or completely justified would remain to be seen.

"Inside Man" presents us with the story of a brilliant criminal mastermind (Clive Owen) who has devised the perfect bank robbery and subsequent escape without being caught by the law. However, when the plan is hatched events quickly begin to spiral out of control and the police are fast on the scene led by a cunningly smart detective (Denzel Washington) who will not rest until the situation is contained. Just when negotiations are beginning to take shape between the criminals and the police, a government power broker (Jodie Foster) interferes throwing this delicate matter into a state of uncertainty where one wrong move could spell disaster for all involved.

After watching this movie I quickly came to the conclusion that even though I generally dislike most Spike Lee movies, even he can surprise me sometimes. "Inside Man" was a wonderfully constructed cat-and-mouse thriller that was completely engrossing and a genuine surprise to me, and was by far the most mainstream Spike Lee movie to date. The story was well paced, full of twists-and-turns that you don't see coming, and the dialogue was so well-written and at times an absolute joy to listen to, especially the many exchanges between Denzel Washington and Clive Owen's characters. The acting was terrific from all actors involved, each actor was given so much to work with, which is often a rarity in an ensemble piece like this one, where there are so many A-list actors gathered in one film, generally one or two of them get shorted on development. A lot of the fun I had in watching this movie was trying to figure out the various motives every character had or which side they were truly on, so many of the characters had hidden agendas you really didn't know what to expect from any of them, which made the experience all the more enjoyable for me.

As I said earlier I'm not by any means a Spike Lee fan and enjoying this movie doesn't change that fact, but for me to have been even remotely entertained by this film is a feat in and of itself. With all that being said, I think it would be nice to see more independent-type directors, such as Spike Lee or Quentin Tarentino, make more mainstream films and maybe, just maybe, I would like their work a whole lot more than simply one movie here and there.

"Inside Man" is rated R for violence and language.

I expected more..........2007-05-07

This is one of those movies that probably would have worked better as a novel than a movie. The slow pacing left a lot to be desired. I was expecting something more brilliant than what was presented here. Dalton Russell's who, what, and when explanation was fine, but he definitely short-changed us on the why. Why the heck did he care how Case made his money? None of the robber's where Jewish. How did he learn of his past if no one else knew? Once Dalton and Ms. White had their little dicussion, hence, telling the audience the real deal, I was bored waiting for Det. Frazier and his crew to catch up. Then I wasn't rewarded well enough for the wait. Why was Dafoe in this movie? have the acting gigs dried up that badly that he's taking parts that could have easily gone to a glorified extra? Foster was good, wouldn't mind having her job. Overall, it's just okay. I like Washington more when he does character pieces compared to his action/thriller/ heist stuff. I can rarely tell those characters apart.

Hated it..........2007-05-04

I know this movie won't be shown at the boys and girls club! It is awful.

Average customer rating:

Great Kinetic Movie Making
Great Documentary about Ali's Fight with Foreman
Great Documentary
One of My Absolute Favorite Films
El amor propio y la grandeza

When We Were Kings
Starring: Muhammad Ali , George Foreman , Don King , James Brown , and B.B. King
Director: Leon Gast
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Muhammad Ali - Through the Eyes of the World
Muhammad Ali - The Greatest Collection
Muhammad Ali - The Whole Story
Champions Forever: World Heavyweight Champs!
45 Fantastic Fights of the Century

ASIN: B00007ELEK
Release Date: 2002-11-05

Amazon.com essential video

Decades ago, documentary filmmaker Leon Gast attempted to complete a feature about the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" championship bout between boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire. Sundry complications, though, held up the project until its release in 1996. It was well worth the delay. From Gast's perspective of modern history, the six weeks Ali and Foreman were forced to spend waiting in Africa for their fight to take place now looks like an important moment in America's cultural understanding of African American roots. In a nutshell, Ali had been stripped of his heavyweight champion title because his opposition to the Vietnam War-era draft had landed him in prison. Reigning champ Foreman agreed to a Don King-promoted match in Kinshasa, but after all parties got there the fight was put off. Gast captures the charismatic Ali, in the ensuing days and weeks, going out among the people and getting to know them while the more reclusive Foreman keeps to his own company. Meanwhile, King brings over black American artists such as James Brown and the Spinners to mix it up with African musicians. The sense of excitement and connection is thrilling, as is the boxing footage of Foreman and Ali finally taking swings at one another in a titanic duel. Writers George Plimpton and Norman Mailer, each of whom was covering the fight as journalists, are on hand to recollect the details. Whether you're a fight fan or not, this is a unique experience and a fascinating insight into America's sense of identity. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Great Kinetic Movie Making.......2007-04-24

Certainly one of the greatest sports movies of all time, and one of my favorites. I can't think of an athlete in public life who has brought me more pleasure than Muhammad Ali. This movie serves as a record of the man and his times, brilliant, funny, charismatic, and athletic.

Great Documentary about Ali's Fight with Foreman.......2007-04-08

I am a huge fan of Muhammad Ali. He had such confidence in himself (at least outwardly) that he taught me how to have confidence in myself. I have been inspired by his strong spirit.

You get a good snapshot of this in When We Were Kings. Ali is heavily favored to be knocked out by George Foreman, who enters this fight against Ali 40-0 with 37 knockouts.

But watch Ali draw strength from the African people in Zaire. Watch him as he focuses on both his training and in the PR for the fight. Watch him mix it up with James Brown in a concert in the days leading up to the fight. Soak in all the eyewitness commentary of Budd Schulberg and George Plimpton and others who were in Zaire.

This is a well made period piece, capturing Ali in the days prior to one of his best nights ever. Excellent!

Great Documentary.......2007-03-27

Great Documentary. It gave us a new perspective about Muhamadd Ali 's personality and all the details behind this fight. Definitely, a collector's item.

One of My Absolute Favorite Films.......2007-03-21

I was going to say that it was my favorite documentary, but it transcends the form and puts its shadow across any type of movie you could think of. "When We Were Kings" is as inspiring as it is educational; the fight between Foreman and Ali will show you a philosophy so profound and so sharp it'll feel as if a glove is making contact with your cheek.
Absolutely stunning, recommended for all - never before has being "up against the ropes" had such awesome effects on my thinking.

El amor propio y la grandeza.......2007-03-08

Este es un clásico. No es acerca de boxeo, aunque puede disfrutarse algunos intercambios. Es acerca del valor, del quererse a sí mismo. De buscar con audacia el propio camino. A diferencia de las especificaciones técnicas del DVD, tiene SUBTITULOS EN ESPAÑOL. Pienso usarlo en mis clases de administración para ejecutivos de empresas. Un ejemplo, extremo y NECESARIO. EMOCIONANTE ¡¡¡¡¡¡

Spike Lee Joint Collection (Clockers/ Jungle Fever/ Do the Right Thing/ Mo` Better Blues/ Crooklyn)

Average customer rating:

Spike Lee - The Man
You really get ur money's worth
Good selection!
YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!
A Fantastic Collection That Is Very Affordable

Spike Lee Joint Collection (Clockers/ Jungle Fever/ Do the Right Thing/ Mo` Better Blues/ Crooklyn)
Starring: Spike Lee Joint Collection
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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School Daze [Region 99]
Malcolm X
Bamboozled (New Line Platinum Series)
4 Little Girls
Get on the Bus [Region 99]

ASIN: B000E40QC4
Release Date: 2006-03-07

Product Description

Five groundbreaking films from prolific filmmaker Spike Lee come together in this collection. Starring such heavyweights as Rosie Perez, Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and John Turturro in career-defining roles, the films include CROOKLYN, DO THE RIGHT THING, CLOCKERS, JUNGLE FEVER, and MO' BETTER BLUES. See individual titles for descriptions.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

Clockers
Based on the riveting bestseller by Richard Price, this 1995 crime drama was directed by Spike Lee with such authority and authenticity that it has the hyper-real quality of a stylized documentary. Fully capturing the thoroughly researched detail of Price's novel, the film focuses on Strike (newcomer Mekhi Phifer), a young, ambitious "clocker"--or drug dealer--who works the streets of his New York housing project, selling drugs for a local supplier named Rodney (played with ferocious charisma by Delroy Lindo). Just as Strike is struggling to get away from his dead-end life of crime, another dealer is murdered in a fast-food restaurant and local detectives (Harvey Keitel, John Turturro) consider Strike the primary suspect. In cowriting the script with novelist Price, Lee uses this murder mystery to explore the plague of guns and black-on-black crime in America's inner cities, in which drugs and death are familiar routines of daily life. The film doesn't pretend to offer solutions, nor does it dwell on the problem with numbing insistence. Rather, this taut, well-acted film takes the viewer into a world often hidden in plain sight--a world where options seem nonexistent for youth conditioned to have little or no expectation beyond a probable early death. Lee and Price are deadly serious in handling this volatile subject (which incorporates racism, powerless law enforcement, and political indifference), but Clockers is also blessed with humor, insight, and humanity. It's one of Lee's most confidently directed films, signaling a creative maturity that Lee continued to develop throughout the 1990s. --Jeff Shannon

Jungle Fever
Spike Lee's 1991 story about an interracial relationship and its consequences on the lives and communities of the lovers (Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra) is one of his most captivating and focused films. Snipes and Sciorra are very good as individuals trying to reach beyond the limits imposed upon them for reasons of race, tradition, sexism, and such. Lee makes an interesting and subtle case that they are driven to one another out of frustration with social obstacles as well as pure attraction--but is that enough for love to survive? John Turturro is featured in a subplot as an Italian American who grows attracted to a black woman and takes heat from his numbskull buddies. --Tom Keogh

Do the Right Thing
Spike Lee's incendiary look at race relations in America, circa 1989, is so colorful and exuberant for its first three-quarters that you can almost forget the terrible confrontation that the movie inexorably builds toward. Do the Right Thing is a joyful, tumultuous masterpiece--maybe the best film ever made about race in America, revealing racial prejudices and stereotypes in all their guises and demonstrating how a deadly riot can erupt out of a series of small misunderstandings. Set on one block in Bedford-Stuyvesant on the hottest day of the summer, the movie shows the whole spectrum of life in this neighborhood and then leaves it up to us to decide if, in the end, anybody actually does the "right thing." Featuring Danny Aiello as Sal, the pizza parlor owner; Lee himself as Mookie, the lazy pizza-delivery guy; John Turturro and Richard Edson as Sal's sons; Lee's sister Joie as Mookie's sister Jade; Rosie Perez as Mookie's girlfriend Tina; Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee as the block elders, Da Mayor and Mother Sister; Giancarlo Esposito as Mookie's hot-headed friend Buggin' Out; Bill Nunn as the boom-box toting Radio Raheem; and Samuel L. Jackson as deejay Mister Señor Love Daddy. A rich and nuanced film to watch, treasure, and learn from--over and over again. --Jim Emerson

Mo' Better Blues
With Mo' Better Blues, the story of a young trumpeter's rise to jazz-world stardom, Spike Lee set out to counter Clint Eastwood's cliché-ridden biopic of Charlie Parker in Bird. But the final product, a slick, glossy drama (with hip-hop jazz provided by Gangstarr no less), is just as superficial as the numerous Alger-esque stories of music stardom to which movie audiences are accustomed.

Denzel Washington gives a typically charismatic performance as the trumpeter in question, as does Wesley Snipes as his sax-playing rival. And as with most Spike Lee films, there are numerous solid performers in small roles such as Bill Nunn, Latin-music star Rubén Blades, and comedian Robin Harris. One character, however, attracted unwanted attention: John Turturro's role as an unscrupulous music-industry exec. Critics called the Turturro character, who is at once money hungry, swarthy, and perpetually shrouded in darkness, a classic anti-Semitic caricature. But the charge seems almost irrelevant in Spike Lee's cartoonish, overstylized world of impossibly hunky jazzmen, curvaceous hangers-on, and incessant bebop. --Ethan Brown

Crooklyn
Spike Lee's semiautobiographical, 1994 film about the good and bad times for a Brooklyn family in the '70s has passion and nostalgic good feeling, but it is also a mess of random reflections and arbitrary storytelling. The centerpiece of the movie is a little girl (Zelda Harris) who views the ups and downs of her parents' experiences (mom and dad are played by Delroy Lindo and Alfre Woodard), and who navigates the life of her neighborhood. Lee tosses in a lot of '70s detail (watching The Partridge Family) and other diversions (Harris's journey through suburbia), but he has no master sensibility controlling the flow of it all. The film is more wearying than anything, although bright spots include Lindo's fine performance as a talented man suffering from irrelevance. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Spike Lee - The Man.......2007-06-20

They could have put a movie on the other side of Crooklyn :(, Im still extremely satisfied. This is a piff collection. Spike did a great job capturing the essence (the lighter side) of emotion of every day life living in relative poverty like he did in Crooklyn. Watching these movies made me feel as if I were an invisible character.

You really get ur money's worth.......2007-05-14

I really like this collection, even though I thought it should have included his first work, school daze, instead of Clockers, u get five dvd's for the price of 1.

Good selection!.......2007-03-21

The only reason I gave it 4 stars and not a 5 is because not everyone will be happy with all 5 Films in this Collection. Point blank is that this a must get. You cannot beat the price for a good selection of quality American films. Very satisfied!

YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!.......2007-03-16

5 CLASSIC FILMS BY ONE OF THE BEST AFRICAN AMERICAN DIRECTORS OF ALL TIME FOR $20.00! IF YOU THINK THIS ISN'T A GREAT DEAL THAN OBVIOUSLY THERE IS A PROBLEM! MO BETTA BLUES IS ONE OF THE MOST WELL PUT TOGETHER PIECES AND IF YOU ENJOY THE FILMS I SUGGEST LISTENING TO THE ACTUAL SOUNDTRACKS.

A Fantastic Collection That Is Very Affordable.......2007-03-12

There are a few artists who come to mind - Peter Max, for example - who strongly believe that their craft should be accessible to fans at any income level. Simply, art is solely not defined by its high price tag.

With the release of the Spike Lee Joint Collection (Clockers/ Jungle Fever/ Do the Right Thing/ Mo` Better Blues/ Crooklyn), the legendary film maker is making a very strong statement in the movie industry on producing an extraordinary product at an affordable price.

This is Economics 101 at its simplest, five movies for the cost of a couple of movie tickets at most theaters. It is as much a collection for fans of Lee's career as it an outstanding sampler for those just getting into his style.

And it begs a very important question; if Lee and Max - along with others - can do it, why isn't this practical approach done industry-wide within the arts?

Average customer rating:

Hilarious
what a comedy
Same Old Tired "Black" Jokes!
VERY FUNNY!
EVERYBODY LOVES THIS

The Original Kings of Comedy
Starring: Steve Harvey , D.L. Hughley , Cedric the Entertainer , and Bernie Mac
Director: Spike Lee
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Queens of Comedy
Chris Rock - Bigger and Blacker
The Original Latin Kings of Comedy
Martin Lawrence - You So Crazy
Eddie Murphy Raw

ASIN: B000056BOW
Release Date: 2001-02-27

Amazon.com essential video

The Original Kings of Comedy achieves the seemingly impossible task of capturing the rollicking and sly comedy routines of stand-up and sitcom vets Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac and the magic of experiencing a live concert show. Director Spike Lee and his crew plant a multitude of cameras in a packed stadium and onstage (as well as backstage, as they follow the comedians) to catch the vivid immediacy of the show, which is as much about the audience as it is about the jokes. And the jokes are funny.

All four riff fast and furiously (and with much swearing) on the world in terms of race, family, sex, and in one routine, outer space. Hughley takes comedic aim at extreme sports and eating disorders, while Cedric harks back to the day when gang fights meant calling opponents out onto the dance floor. Bernie Mac, the self-confessed id comedian of the group, presents a routine that is simultaneously offensive and hilarious--an apt reminder that comedy can and should be vicious if we are ever to learn to laugh at ourselves and hopefully be the better for it. Harvey, who acts as the MC for the show, has some transcendent moments with the crowd (a '70s slow jam sing-along, anyone?) that have to be seen to be believed. There's no doubt as to why Kings was a hit with concert and movie audiences; the laughs keep coming, in the tradition of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy, with a sharp eye on the nuances of today's racially affected culture. --Shannon Gee

Customer Reviews:

Hilarious.......2007-01-11

Purchased this for my boyfriend over at Iraq. I've watched this myself multiple times and absolutely love it. Its really funny and I'm not usually into stand up comedy. A must see!

what a comedy.......2006-11-10

i enjoyed the comedy, i laughed untill i started sheding tears, see for urself. oh my God, the queens were awesome.

Same Old Tired "Black" Jokes!.......2006-09-24

I 'm sorry I just was not impressed by this at all. The same old tired skits...."You see if it had been a black person they would have done it - this way - or that way.....yada yada yada...Nothing original here.

VERY FUNNY!.......2006-08-30

The Queens of Comedy are the funniest. The Kings of comedy is okay too, but there is no comparing!

EVERYBODY LOVES THIS.......2006-08-28

I HAVE BOUGHT 4 COPIES OF THIS AND LOAN IT OUT AND NEVER GET IT BACK THE ONE I GOT ON AMAZON IM KEEPING

Average customer rating:

Decent mind trip of a movie.
One of Spike Lee's Best
Wondeful ending...
Great Idea Awful filmmaking
One of Lee's best

25th Hour
Starring: Edward Norton , Philip Seymour Hoffman , Barry Pepper , Rosario Dawson , and Anna Paquin
Director: Spike Lee
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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American History X
Primal Fear
The Score
Down in the Valley
Rounders (Collector's Edition)

ASIN: B00008K7AO
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Amazon.com

25th Hour is a eulogy, mourning the New York of post-September 11, 2001, and the regrettable life of one of the city's least reputable citizens. Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) isn't a bad guy--in fact he's a mensch, adopting a battered dog in the film's mood-setting opening scene, and leading a decent life with his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson)... when he's not dealing narcotics. Facing a seven-year prison term, Monty spends his last free night with pals (Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman) and visiting his understanding father (Brian Cox), while a Russian drug lord pressures him for getting busted. Lee directs this plotless, no-win scenario as the last gasp of a guy with nowhere to go, and the film (written by David Benioff, from his own novel) suffers from a similar loss of potential, lacking enough focus to make Monty's odyssey compelling. Instead, 25th Hour (which also costars Anna Paquin) rambles from scene to lazy scene, vaguely lamenting that lives have been wasted, some by terrorism, others by self-destruction. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Academy Award(R)-nominee Edward Norton (Best Actor, 1999, AMERICAN HISTORY X) heads an amazing all-star cast in the critically acclaimed Spike Lee (SUMMER OF SAM, DO THE RIGHT THING) film 25th HOUR. In 24 short hours Monty Brogan (Norton) goes to prison for seven long years. Once a king of Manhattan, Monty is about to say good-bye to the life he knew -- a life that opened doors to New York's swankest clubs but also alienated him from the people closest to him. In his last day on the outside, Monty tries to reconnect with his father (Brian Cox, THE BOURNE IDENTITY), and gets together with two old friends, Jacob (Philip Seymour Hoffman, ALMOST FAMOUS) and Slaughtery (Barry Pepper, THE GREEN MILE). And then there's his girlfriend, Naturelle (Rosario Dawson, MEN IN BLACK 2), who might (or might not) have been the one who tipped off the cops. Monty's not sure of much these days, but with time running out, there are choices to be made as he struggles to redeem himself in the 25th hour.

Customer Reviews:

Decent mind trip of a movie........2007-03-31

Gives an interesting look of a post 9/11 drug dealer in New York on his last day of freedom before going to prison. Edward Norton is supported by some really good character actors like Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper and Rosario Dawson.

One of Spike Lee's Best.......2007-03-17

This is an unusual movie for Spike Lee. Its one of the few movies that he has maed that really holds your attention from start to finish and does not feature some snarky slam on white people.

Ed Norton is the star here as a yuppie who has messed his life up. Norton's yuppie is the sort of ordinary guy who most folks can identify with. Norton's character has reached a crossroads where he has three choices: Go on the lam, commit suicide or go to prison where his good looks ensure that he will be subjected to homosexual rape.

Before he makes his decision, Norton's felon wants to see 3 people: His retired fireman father, his best friend and his second best friend. There are other characters who he must deal with such as his girlfriend and some gangsters who push heroin.

In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, all of the above elements would add up to a mess. However, Spike Lee is able to balance everything together into a perfect equilibrium that results in a strong movie.

If you want to see a great movie by Spike Lee, then the 25th Hour is a great choice.

Wondeful ending..........2007-03-10

Great movie. You have doubts about it pretty much until the end. However, when you are done watching it...it hits you that the movie is just simply great.

Movie is about this man named Monty (Norton) who gets caught in his drug dealing and is sentenced to prison for 7 years. His last night, he goes out with friends, does things he wants to do, etc. He basically wants to live the best night before he goes to jail and lives a miserable life there. The other character's stories are briefly told and it works out beautifully because the movie spends just the right amount of time on each one.

Great acting. All characters pretty much played their part to the max. Plot is ok. Its not incredibly unique but it has some good elements. What makes this movie great is its ending. Also, the relationship Monty has with everyone surrounding him is excellent. It deeply shows the feelings he has for each.

Overall, its a pretty good movie. At first its a little slow and some camera angles are awkward at times, but if you want to see something a little different, i really recommend it.

Great Idea Awful filmmaking.......2007-02-28

I expected so much more from this movie considering the actors involved. The actors did a great job, but this film fell way short with story telling and flashbacks. There were too many flash blacks and they came at you in the wrong order.

I also hated the "multiple cuts" in the film that showed different angles of the same scene. These cuts didn't appear to be spliced together properly. It was simply aggravating. I am not aware of the proper technical terms for "multiple cuts" nor the "mirror image" mentioned below (sorry).

The way films were scened were also annoying. The scene at the brokerage firm had a "mirror image" of some characters talking to Barry Pepper's role. It took away from the scene. I am not sure why that "mirroring" was there since there wasn't a glass partition there.

Interesting scenes: Barry Pepper at the firm, Norton and his dad in the car, and Norton looking in the mirror with his character lambasting everyone

The way the film was presented, I thought a high school student put this together. Again, the acting was very good. The story had a good premise and interesting characters, but the execution was lacking.

This film was in need of focus and direction.

One of Lee's best.......2007-01-08

Spike Lee has some great gifts as a film maker. One is his ability to create chracters the audience can identify with and the other is to make the setting a character unto itself. 25th Hour was one of the first films shot in post 9/11 New York. Lee makes full use of this, showing how one city can play a big role in people's lives.

But 25th Hour is not about 9/11. 25th Hour is about friendship. It is about redemption. It is about uncertainty in the future. The film stars Edward Norton as a generally good man who unfortunately engaged in illegal activity and got caught. The film takes place on the final day before he is to serve his sentence and flashes back to the moments that led to his fate. We find him accepting of his fate, only questioning who and what led him to this moment. There is a brilliantly directed, much discussed scene where Norton is cursing the people of NYC, his friends, then finally himself as he stares at a reflection in a mirror. This is one of the single greatest scenes that define a character within a film.

This film has a brilliant script that focuses heavily not only on Norton, but two of his contrasting friends, played brilliantly by Barry Pepper and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Pepper is a sly Wall Street man who tries to be slick and even has an equation for his likelihood of success with women. Hoffman, in an untypically subtle understated performance, plays a shy seemingly shameful teacher. He serves as a counterbalance to Pepper. The way these two characters discuss themselves and their friend help define 25th Hour as a beautiful character piece.

This film's defining theme of an uncertain future is emphasized by the post 9/11 backdrop. One telling scene involves Hoffman and Pepper talking about Norton's possible future while we stare out Ground Zero in a window behind them. An uncertain future indeed...

Average customer rating:

Wish I saw it in the theater
Denzel shines, Ray Allen aint bad either...............
Spike out did himself with this one!
a very solid performance by den one of his best
Terrible

He Got Game
Starring: Denzel Washington , Ray Allen , Milla Jovovich , Rosario Dawson , and Hill Harper
Director: Spike Lee
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Product Features:

Classic DVD
Exclusive interviews, highlights, and behind the scenes coverage
DVD's main menu allow you to jump directly to the action
Presented in full-screen digital video

ASIN: 630514415X
Release Date: 1998-11-10

Product Description

Academy Award(R)-winner Denzel Washington (Best Actor, 2001, TRAINING DAY) stars in this must-see story about a convict given one shot at a second chance to be a father! With promises of a reduced sentence, Jake Shuttlesworth (Washington) is granted temporary release from state prison in order to persuade the nation's top basketball recruit ... his estranged son, Jesus (Ray Allen of NBA's Milwaukee Bucks), to play ball for the governor's alma mater! But just as Jesus faces intense pressures and irresistible temptations contemplating his big decision, Jake is also forced to consider not only what's best for himself ... but what's best for his son! With a groundbreaking soundtrack by the legendary Public Enemy -- plus great cameos from John Turturro and basketball personalities Dick Vitale, John Thompson, Dean Smith, and more, HE GOT GAME is a critically acclaimed hit you don't want to miss!

Amazon.com essential video

As a filmmaker and passionate fan of basketball, Spike Lee was the perfect director for this ambitious and heartfelt sports drama, which brought out the best in both Lee and his well-chosen cast. In his third film for Lee, Denzel Washington plays Jake Shuttlesworth, who is in prison for the manslaughter of his wife. His estranged son Jesus (well played by Milwaukee Bucks basketball player Ray Allen) is the nation's best high school basketball star, and Jake receives a compelling offer from the state's governor: If Jake can convince Jesus to sign a letter of intent to attend Big State University, the governor will reduce his sentence. Lee turns this back-room bargain into a fascinating examination of capitalism in college and professional sports, but the film also works as the moving story of a father's desperate attempt to regain his son's respect. Lee handles the basketball angle with an insider's awareness, and takes a few stylistic risks (including a memorable final image) that pay off with considerable emotional effect. He Got Game fully explores the visual poetry of basketball and the greed that fuels this particular vision of the American dream, but Lee never loses sight of the sport's inherent beauty, or the higher priorities of redemption and family that form the solid foundation of this exceptional film. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Wish I saw it in the theater.......2007-06-12

I actually caught this on television when I was flipping channels one day. I didn't even plan on sticking around but this movie kept me watching. The reason why I didn't give it a chance in the theater was because I was growing weary of Spike Lee's style of film making. I thought I'd give it a break and I didn't know anyone else who actually saw this to endorse it. Watching it on tv meant that it was censored so I rented the original version and liked it even more. Denzel is awesome as usual, but the story itself and the trials of the main characters were thought-provoking and interesting. I know a lot of fathers like the one in this film who pushed their child hard. The son ended up living up to his potential so I guess it felt justified. I would've liked this film even if was a sport I didn't like. This is definitely worth a look.

Denzel shines, Ray Allen aint bad either......................2007-01-01

This is one of Denzel's best performances as a loser father who accidentally kills his wife. His only hope for parole is to get his high school senior, star basketball player son to attend the college alma mater of one of the dude's that sits on his parole board. Great story that shows the greed in people's eyes and hearts when money is involved.

Spike out did himself with this one!.......2006-08-31

One of my top five movies of all time.

a very solid performance by den one of his best .......2006-06-06

denzel deserved his recognition for best actor he plays a prison bird responsible for killing his loving wife because he was pushing his son too hard practicing basketball in this film i first i thought this would be an usual basketfall film but i was totally wrong while it was a basketball film it was much bigger than that alot of things was going on in the movie meaning different issues what i like about this movie is that students hs or college who play in sports might be able to relate more than those who are non student athletes or to the parents who may give their children extra coach when they don't have to go to practice for whatever sport it maybe might relate to this movie a bit more than parents who might not coach their kids much he got game was about life decisions and what the consequences would be good or bad with whatever decision that is being made he got game was barely boring easy to understand most people will get nearly all the messages that is being sent trust me when i say so the movie is very emotional but has a small mixture of comedy and high flying action basketball move spike lee should me and the millions who watched this film why he is one of the best directors and producers of all time

Terrible.......2006-05-21

Do not waste your money purchasing this movie. Wait until it shows on TV, if you're unlucky enough to see it. The music for the story was inappropriate and totally threw off the entire story. Instead of following the story my husband and I kept concentrating on the terrible music. Dont waste your money.

Average customer rating:

Being John Malkovich [HD DVD]
Starring: Orson Bean , Ned Bellamy , John Cusack , K.K. Dodds , and Richard Fancy
Director: Spike Jonze
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD DVD

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Similar Items:

The Big Lebowski [HD DVD]
Lost in Translation [HD DVD]
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life [HD DVD]
Mallrats [HD DVD]
The Frighteners: Peter Jackson's Director's Cut [HD DVD]

ASIN: B000OHZL44
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Description

Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a struggling street puppeteer. In order to make some money, Craig takes a job as a filing clerk. One day he accidentally discovers a door… a portal into the mind of John Malkovich (played by John Malkovich)! For 15 minutes, he experiences the ultimate head trip - HE is John Malkovich! Then he's dumped out onto the New Jersey turnpike! With his beautiful office mate Maxine (Catherine Keener) and his pet-obsessed wife (Cameron Diaz), they hatch a plan to let others into John's brain for just $200 a trip. See what all the critics are talking about.

Average customer rating:

Heart Felt Laughter!
Excellent
Great Entertainment for Children
More Rascalism on DVD!
Sound is So Bad Almost Inaudible!

Little Rascals Vols. 3-4
Starring: Harold Switzer , Gary Jasgar , Harold 'Bouncy' Wertz , Henry 'Spike' Lee , and Tommy McFarland
Director: James Parrott , Gordon Douglas , and Nate Watt
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Little Rascals, Vol. 1 & 2
The Little Rascals Collector's Edition III
Our Gang - Little Rascals Greatest Hits
The Little Rascals Collection
The Our Gang Story

ASIN: B00009YXFK
Release Date: 2004-02-17

Customer Reviews:

Heart Felt Laughter!.......2007-05-26

Little Rascals was an era that will never ever return. When watching these classics gems I get to go back to that era for a little while and remember how simple the world use to be. It feels good to be able to laugh at good clean comedy.

Excellent.......2007-05-07

This is an all time favorite. We watch this over and over. My kids absolutely loves it. High recommended

Great Entertainment for Children.......2007-03-12

I give this DVD five stars for the volume of laughter coming from young children when they watch it (ages 5-9 seem to appreciate it the most).

On the downside, they don't like the silent film episodes, but I think there are only a couple of them on this DVD. The episodes with sound more than make up for the silent ones.

More Rascalism on DVD!.......2006-04-23

Another excellent collection of Rascalism.

We have in tandem TEACHER'S PET and SCHOOL'S OUT. These two films introduce the Miss Crabtree (June Marlowe as the pretty teacher) cycle. The first one has Jackie Cooper and the gang trying to scare away their teacher's potential sweetheart ("she has a mean teampature"!)-or so they think. SCHOOL'S OUT features the classic history exam-

Miss crabtee-"Buddy O'Donald, what did Paul Revere say on his midnight ride?"

Buddy-"He said WHOA!"

Then we have what amounts to two very ANTI-racist Gang comedies. In THE POOCH (1932), the white Rascals band together to help their Black pal Matthew "Stymie" Beard keep the Dogcatcher from killing his cannine pal Pete. In DOGS IS DOGS (1931), Sherwood and his mena mama won't let Stymie come in to play with Dorothy and Wheezer, but guess who helps to save the day?

SPOOKY HOOKY (1936) has the later generation of Rascals (Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, and Porky) trying to retrieve a phony note from their teacher. The gang (and janitor Dudley Dickerson) gets scared out of their wits by a skeleton in the dark. Even my nephews, who don't usually take well to black and white films, enjoyed this one.

DOG HEAVEN (1927) is not so hot. Not one of the better silent Our Gangs (which I usually treasure), this is a rather crude entry with the beloved Pete trying to hang himself (rather graphically, I might add) after his master Joe deserts him for a yonug girl. The comedic canine is also shown using his paws to hold up bottles of bootleg liquor to get drunk from in despondency. YUCK! Keep the kiddies away from this one!

Other than that, a typically great collection.

Sound is So Bad Almost Inaudible!.......2005-12-18

Ok now I am afraid to try any other Our Gang DVDs! No one mentions how poor the sound is, so that it it almost impossible to understand what is being said! This made this DVD worthless in my opinion.

Michael Jordan to the Max (Large Format)

Average customer rating:

Dissapoiting Don't Buy this
Powerful
Excelente
I have never seen this movie in my life
MJ awesome on and off the court

Michael Jordan to the Max (Large Format)
Starring: Michael Jordan , Phil Jackson (II) , Doug Collins (II) , Bob Greene , and Bob Costas
Director: Don Kempf , and James D. Stern
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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