Spike Lee's "When The Levees Broke" -- out on DVD today

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

Just noticed this while at DVDTalk. For the length and extras it's a good price (RRP $29.99, Amazon have it for $20.99) and if you haven't seen it yet, you simply must (and if you're in the UK, BBCFour have parts 3 and 4 on tonight from 9pm).

I'll skip the review of the documentary itself (but it's well worth reading and especially so if you haven't seen it) so I can safely quote the review of the DVD, the extras being of particular interest:

The Video:
Presented by HBO Video in its original 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio, the combination of filmed and video elements used by Lee for When the Levees Broke look exceptional. The imagery is crisp, and occasionally shocking in its detail. There are also hundreds of horrifying still photos used, and the transfer here captures them in all their gritty awfulness. Like any great work of art, this documentary looks masterful on the digital format.

The Audio:
Using musical cues recycled from Inside Man, as well as new movements composed by longtime Lee collaborator Terence Blanchard, the sonic situation on this DVD is just devastating. As the various voices clearly and distinctly tell their terrifying tales, and the soundtrack soars with ambient angst, the Dolby Digital Stereo does a fabulous job of mixing the two together to form a seamless emotional whole. As he does with many of his movies, Lee makes the aural as important as the visual. When the Levees Broke may be his most disturbing combination yet.

The Extras:
There are two major bits of added content here, both doing exactly what Lee vowed he would attempt when taking on this project. The first is a 90 minute addendum to the film entitled Next Movement. Combining previously unseen footage with brand new interview material, we see the story of Katrina continuing to unfold and expand. It is a major contextual compendium to the documentary and everything it stands for. Similarly, Lee is on board for a hilarious and heartbreaking full length audio commentary. While sparse in parts, this is one filmmaker not known to mince words, and many of the unspoken criticisms that float throughout When the Levees Broke are voiced in vehement denunciations by the angry and defiant director. Whenever George Bush, Dick Cheney or Condalezza Rice appear onscreen, the four-letter words and condemning epithets come fast and furious – and with good reason. Even without Lee's interjection, we can plainly see how false and phony the promises made by this administration actually are/were. Lee is merely along to make sure we don't miss a moment of the disingenuous bullshit. Finally, there's a fascinating photomontage set to Blanchard's amazing music. It's a moving tribute to the journalists and citizens who felt compelled to capture their dire circumstances in images for the rest of the world to see.

Final Thoughts:
When rap sensation Kanye West stopped a Katrina themed telethon cold with his simple statement of post-millennial American truth – "George Bush doesn't care about black people" – he got just part of the sentiment right. As Lee laments in his closing comments for this DVD release, what was readily apparent after the storm swept through New Orleans is that the most powerful man in the free world really didn't give a damn about any of the underprivileged, disenfranchised members of the Gulf Coast's obliterated communities. For a leader currently locked in a battle for his Presidential legacy, Iraq will only be a starting point. When all the international dust has cleared and the success or failure of the attempt to democratize the region is revisited, the stain on Louisiana will still be there – painful and completely unavoidable. And leading the charge will be Spike Lee. Armed with When the Levees Broke as his main ammunition, those who've so far dodged the bullet of responsibility will be hounded until the day they die – or be forced to fess up to the mess they made of things. Easily one of the best documentaries ever made, Lee's amazing effort earns the DVD Talk Collector's Series tag. Not just for the technical elements, mind you. No, something this important deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. We nearly lost New Orleans 16 months ago. Here's hoping that Spike Lee's motion picture masterpiece shames some people into finally trying to fix things – before it really is too late.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=25611

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000J10F14/
(Alternate shops can be found at the bottom of the DVDTalk review page.)

[xultar]

1. I will never be able to watch this. EVER.

[philb]

2. Katrina was: "promise them pie but give them crumbs" & "it was his fault, not mine"

Bush & the whole Homeland Security beauracracy

They took away lots of money to maintain the levies to fund the wars
They knew what the results of a Category 3 or more storm on New Orleans would be
They knew it was only a matter or time (and not much time) before a Katrina hit

They were warned by the Hurricane people well before Katrina hit
and still they did nothing

and afterward they promised cleanup help and reconstruction but gave very little

[tnlefty]

3. I bought it from Buzzflash to help them raise money. It's a 3 disk set

and I made it into the 2nd part of the 1st last night. The disgust, anger and tears bubbled back up rather quickly. I'll watch all of it, but it may take a few days.

[KansDem]

4. IMDB info...

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts

edited to correct link