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Harry Belafonte, Terence Blanchard, Kathleen Blanco, Wynton Marsalis, C. Ray Nagin ... see more see more... , Sean Penn , Al Sharpton , Kanye West , Shelton Shakespear Alexander , Wilhelmina Blanchard

Academy Award-nominated director Spike Lee (the guiding force behind the critically acclaimed documentary 4 Little Girls) turns to nonfiction filmmaking once again with the heart-wrenching marathon wo... read more read more...rk When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, produced by Lee's Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks and originally screened on HBO. In four "acts" of approximately one hour each, Lee examines the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the late summer of 2005 and the incorrigible response to the catastrophe from U.S. government agencies. The filmmaker then evaluates the overwhelming measures that must be taken for the area to rebound and recover fully, demonstrating time and again that this seems an unlikely prospect in the immediate future. Act One covers the events that immediately preceded Katrina's onslaught of horror, with an in-depth exploration of the Bush administration and FEMA's joint failures to understand the potential calamity at hand. Lee picks up this subtopic again and makes it the central focus of Act Two, which expands into a dissection of the government agencies' failure to respond to the crisis with adequate measures; time and again, the director fills his frame, in this segment, with images and indications of naked human indifference. Act Three plunges headfirst into the toll taken by the hurricane on the lives of Louisiana residents, with protracted glimpses of the destruction wrought. And finally, the film wraps with Act Four, where Lee conducts more recent interviews with experts who question the soundness of the New Orleans levee system in the face of future catastrophes. A number of celebrities and public figures also appear on camera to provide commentary throughout the work, including New Orleans mayor Roy Nagin, actor, singer and social activist Harry Belafonte, and actor Sean Penn. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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28 critics

Unrated, 4 hr. 15 min.

Directed by: Spike Lee

Release Date: August 16, 2006

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DVD Release Date: December 19, 2006

Stats: 520 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (520)

  • fb1664868775
    October 30, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Spike Lee's touching documentary on Hurricane Katrina is horrific and beautiful. A film that all americans should see.
  • RCCLBC
    April 14, 2008
    RCCLBC
    Aside from 'Crooklyn' I can't say that I'm a big Spike Lee fan.

    But this documentary is so INCREDIBLY well done that I can forgive him some of the mediocre/crappy films he has made prior to this.

    Spike brings a face (several actually) and a heart (albeit broken) to the trag... read moreic events following hurricane Katrina.

    An event that is a true disgrace to our country and the good people of the gulf coast. And will forever be a scar on the face of our history as Americans.

    If this film doesn't bring tears to your eyes, an ache to your heart and a ball of anger to your stomach...then you are either heartless or a Republican (possibly both?).
  • gator681
    October 15, 2007
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]Spike Lee's epic documentary, "When the Levees Broke" is an oral history of Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans told from the vantage point of survivors, local celebrities, experts, Governor Kathleen Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin. Blanco and Nagin received mixed ... read moregrades while with the exception of the Coast Guard, the federal government is attacked for its painfully slow response. Their testimony helps put the unforgettable images into perspective.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]The one thing missing from this documentary which I was fully expecting was anger and outrage which only come in very short bursts, usually directed rightfully at the Bush Administration.(Indirectly, New Orleans became another casualty of the Iraq debacle.) Maybe Spike Lee is maturing as a filmmaker and the sensationalism is kept at a minimum(even the theory that the levees were dynamited sounds rational once it is placed in historical context), but there is a time and a place for rage and this is certainly the place.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]Spike Lee uses the metaphor of a jazz funeral for the city - mournful music followed by an upbeat tempo. So, maybe there is hope for New Orleans to return to its former glory, but not as an amusement park, industrial park or gentrified white suburb.[/font]
  • wbgoose13
    December 21, 2006
    wbgoose13
    A thorough chronicle of the devastation and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
  • trisarahtops22
    August 1, 2007
    trisarahtops22
    Sure people talk about Katrina and how horrible it was, but it gets swept under the rug and pushed aside for more "important" things...this was a great documentary and showed, among other things, George Bush (and many of his allies) really don't care about black (or poor) people.
  • jenstark3
    October 14, 2010
    jenstark3
    Spike Lee's amazing ear for dialogue really serves him well as a maker of documentaries. When the Levees Broke, his greatest film since Do the Right Thing is mournful, terrifying, sometimes hilarious and beautifully structured.
  • mpghoul1973
    May 6, 2009
    mpghoul1973
    Documentary mini series on HBO about the Katrina hurricane catastrophy and the lack of responce from the U.S. govt. in New Orleans. Its a very gut wrenching documentary to watch! It angers me so, to think about how careless and uncoperative the Govt. was and still is towards the... read more people of New Orleans, AMERICAN CITIZENS!! Especially when you see and hear stories of people trying to escape the nightmare, only to be turned back by armed forces who were gonna shoot anyone who tried to cross a bridge that led out of New Orleans!
    Made up of testimonials from the people who lived through the Katrina incedent, When The Levees Broke is a hard watch but a very important watch! It reaffirms my lack of faith in the powers that rule and dictate. And it drives that point home well.
    I give this four stars, not because of its entertainment value...there nothing entertaining about watching footage of people on the brink of death, but because this is the most powerful documentary ive ever seen!
  • philliprenke
    May 1, 2009
    philliprenke
    The handling of New Orleans after hurricane Katrina was an atrocity. Spike Lee interviews a wide range of people affected by Katrina and captures a lot of footage of New Orleans in disaster. This movie gave me a new appreciation for the people and history of New Orleans.
  • hcusa88
    October 5, 2008
    hcusa88
    The Truth about what happened. Very hard to watch,and so sad that the USA gov. tried to cover it up. This is one to own and show everyone you can!
  • CinemaslaveJoe
    March 11, 2008
    CinemaslaveJoe
    Spike Lee's phenomenal four-hour documentary on Hurricane Katrina and its effects on New Orleans hit me like a sledgehammer to the stomach, and I mean that in the best possible way. How many amazing documentaries have we lost while Spike has been churning out entertaining but ult... read moreimately disposable movies like Girl 6 and She Hate Me? As in his equally powerful Four Little Girls, Spike here is content to let others do most of the talking, yet his outrage over the treatment that the residents of New Orleans (both black and white) have received from FEMA, the Bush administration, and the insurance companies is palpable. A great message, exquisitely communicated. A must-see.

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Critic Reviews

September 23, 2006
Globe and Mail

The same didactic instincts that sometimes mar Lee's fictional filmmaking serve him well as a documentarian and eulogist.

David Denby
August 28, 2006
David Denby, New Yorker

Surely the most magnificent and large-souled record of a great American tragedy ever put on film.

Stephen Holden
August 22, 2006
Stephen Holden, New York Times

What breaks your heart is the film's accumulated firsthand stories of New Orleans residents who lost everything in the flood after Hurricane Katrina, and the dismaying conclusion that a year after the... Full Review

Paul Brownfield
August 22, 2006
Paul Brownfield, Los Angeles Times

When the Levees Broke is like the New Orleans jazz funeral -- a dirge on the way to the cemetery, an up-tempo parade in the deceased's honor on the bittersweet walk back home. Full Review

Charlie McCollum
August 22, 2006
Charlie McCollum, San Jose Mercury News

Do the flaws diminish Levees? To a degree. But the story Lee tells is so powerful, so important, that the lapses aren't a reason not to pay heed to what this passionate film has to say. Full Review

David Bianculli
August 22, 2006
David Bianculli, New York Daily News

It's something to make a point to see. Full Review

David Wiegand
August 22, 2006
David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle

The film asks many questions, implies answers for the easier ones, but ultimately concludes that some are simply beyond answering. Those are the questions posed in stories of incalculable human heartb... Full Review

Matt Zoller Seitz
August 22, 2006
Matt Zoller Seitz, Newark Star-Ledger

One of Lee's greatest and most deeply personal works. Full Review

Joanna Weiss
August 22, 2006
Joanna Weiss, Boston Globe

Lee makes a convincing case that, compared to 9/11, this is the far worse disaster. Full Review

Vinay Menon
August 22, 2006
Vinay Menon, Toronto Star

The most important lesson is this: we must never forget. Full Review

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  • The End Of Eva Inside Man The Original Kings Of Comedy When The Levees Broke Do The Right Thing I directed all these movies...Who am I?  Answer »
  • What director am I? She's Gotta Have It (1986) Malcolm X (1992) Bamboozled (2000) When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)  Answer »
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