When the Levees Broke - HBO Documentary

RockStar

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I'm upset because I haven't seen this start to finish but the footage is devastating! It's incredibly touching and human, so very eerie. New Orleans was a city with such life that it's scary watching the destruction as a silent witness to what it used to be and won't be for a long time.

I can't say much without watching the whole thing but what I saw was very well put together.
 
Just saw this from the Venice Film Festival.

Spike Lee won the Horizons documentary prize for “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts,” about the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The film debuted on HBO last week, a year after Katrina devastated New Orleans.
 
I taped it for my mom but I can't watch it. I used my computer and it taped while media center was closed. I can't bear it.
 
I think that's what surprised me most. I was glad to see a step up from Four Little Girls. Great job by Lee.

I don't know how many people tuned in, but I too hope more people will watch this. So many people still need help.
 
I finally sat through it, although I had to fast-forward through all the Bush parts or I would have punched out my television. I am not a Bush supporter, but that's not why I'm so disgusted - we could have a president I loathed and despised but if he came through in an emergency situation I'd give him his props.

Bush never comes through these things - he's failed the country again and again and I have no idea why people support him. But I don't just blame him, so please don't think this is a rant - I blame all involved who had the authority and power to do something, and didn't (and STILL haven't).

As for the documentary itself, it held few surprises with the exception that Lee handled his interviews well, didn't get too aggressive - let people tell their own story, and was relatively open to opposing views of how things occurred. It was a step up from Four Little Gilrs, which I also liked but thought had irrelevant parts Lee threw in to push his own personal agenda. This was a much more sophisitcated work.

Also, I cannot stand looking at dead people on screen. I've had to bag too many bodies in my life (while in nursing), and what really disturbs me is that these people can't speak for themselves and tell us whether or not they wish to suffer the indignity of having their floating, bloated bodies displayed in a documtary. I avert my eyes whenever a film or news cast does this because it's the only dignity I can give them, so I fast-forwarded through those parts, too.

I do think it's well-done and that people should watch it, especially a year later when so little has been done to help these poor, poor people.
 
I saw the doc and thought it was wonderful.

Everything was great. Two stories really stuck out to me and I will never forget those people.

I was also disgusted how the vancouver military got there before the us gov.

Anways- This doc is so important. I hope Spike Lee is nominated for an oscar or an emmy.
 
I agree.........definitely had more of an impact without any voiceover, etc. The images were so powerful and haunting.

Barbara Bush :nod:

It was also interesting seeing the difference in the way things were portrayed in the media here as opposed to how they were portrayed in the media in other countries!
 
I like the lack of narration over those shots as well. Nothing is as powerful as the image in this situation...a voiceover would have taken away some of the impact. As it was you could get lost in the images.

And, I agree. It was nice that the Coast Guard and residents and others were recognized for their heroics.

I'd read that Barbara Bush quote before but actually seeing it was...ugh.
 
I finally got a chance to watch this documentary.

Very interesting and informative. I thought it was put otgether very well.

Liked that it did give credit where credit was due and wasn't a total slam against the way everything was handled. Although for the most part it was which still angers me.

The places where he just had shots strung together with no dialogue were really moving and just heartbreaking.

I liked that it focused on the city of New Orleans and not just the politics of it all. However, the politics of it all does fascinate me.
 
DreamWalker - I'm interested to hear what you thought of the documentary. It covered the "story" from start to finish - including the political aspects (briefly...in an abstract way).
 
I wasn't able to see this yet, but I will DVR and watch the whole thing when it airs in it's entirety Tuesday.

I've visited New Orleans many times (grew up in Houston) and had many friends, etc. who were affected or had friends/family affected.

Aside from the tragedy and human aspect of it all I really got into the political aspect of it all.

The documentary should be interesting. I usually like Spike Lee's work and I'm curious to see what he did with this.

Unfortunately I didn't catch his interview on NPR.
 
Unfortunately, I didn't hear his interview.

I will agree with your assessment of Spike Lee because I didn't find this to be sentimental. I mean, the images were graphic at times (bodies, pets, the dome) and very sad and the experiences that people were sharing were very sad but the documentary was very straightforward. It was - these are the facts, this is how New Orleans was, this is how people felt, this is how they feel now and New Orleans will be back. Very straightforward. The footage was sad a lot of the time (some comeback footage was there/triumph of spirit) but it was a snapshot of the things he saw (and other survivors footage).
 
I'm interested in seeing this since it's a documentary and by Spike Lee. He tends to be non-sentimental in his documentaries, as far as I've found (I don't want the events to be romanticized, if you know what I mean).

Did anyone here his interview on NPR the other week?
 
Definitely don't miss it on the 29th! The conclusion was just as good as the beginning. The footage is really devastating of the hurricane, the flooding, the waiting, the dome, the recovery...

Some of the personal stories (two in particular) are just heartbreaking. I won't go into specifics until after the 8/29 airing I guess but...sad.
 
I saw it on the schedule but it had started already. I want to watch it from beginning to end so I'll probably catch it soon from the top. I really want to see this.
 
The first two parts of this Spike Lee documentary aired last night on HBO. The last 2 will air tonight and it will air in its entirety on August 29. The HBO site has a description and a few photos available here HBO: When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts - Synopsis

Did anyone get a chance to catch this? The footage is...incredible and the statements from residents and evacuees are well done.
 
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