Home Media Magazine - February 24, 2008 - (Page 30) REVIEWS I SKID ROW Prebook 2/26; Street 3/25 Universal/Screen Media, Documentary, B.O. $0.006 million, $24.98 DVD, ‘R’ for drug use and language. L os Angeles has been called ground zero for the homeless. California has more than 195,000 homeless residents, and 46% — almost 90,000 — live on the streets of L.A., according to a 2006 report by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. That’s more than any other city in America. It’s 20,000 more than the entire state of Florida, which is runnerup to California with more than 68,000 homeless. Fugees singer and hip-hop star Pras Michel wanted to bring more attention to this tragedy. With $9 in his pocket, a tent and a hidden camera, Michel directed his focus by producing a documentary, one that chronicles him living nine days in the notorious Skid Row area in downtown L.A. For some strange reason, Michel didn’t believe this would be difficult. “I went in with the notion that it’d be easy, but then you get there and you realize it’s a whole other world and that ignorance is bliss,” Pras told Billboard.com about the ordeal. “Most people think homeless people are on drugs or lazy, but that is far from the truth. I left with a completely different mindset on the situation.” A trip to Skid Row will do that. And if you haven’t been there, Michel’s documentary will give you a clue of the despair and hopelessness. This documentary details some of the raw events that occur daily, including the drug dealing, the assaults and the rats. Some Skid Row residents share their stories with Michel, including a heroin addict shooting up. He later dies from a drug overdose. The documentary also includes individuals who have been close to the situation or written frequently about it, such as L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez and Orlando Ward, a public affairs official for the Midnight Mission. The bonus features include deleted scenes and chapter sequences. – Benny Lopez Cannes Film Festival Grand Prize of the Jury WINNER “By the end of this MAJESTIC ENTERTAINMENT ONE FEELS LIKE THE CHILDREN IN IT: that one has not been told this story but dreamed it” –Time Magazine While watching shooting stars, a young mother tells her son about when she was six years old, and the residents of her small Tuscan town defied their Nazi occupiers. ALL DIGITALLY RESTORED AND RE-MASTERED KLF-DV-3150 • UPC: 7-41952-31509-4 • ISBN: 1-4172-0166-5 SRP: $26.98 • Running Time: 103 minutes • Foreign/Drama Italian with English subtitles • Dolby Digital • 16x9 (1.78:1) Production Year: 1982 DVD EXTRAS: 84-minute interview “Talking About Cinema: Taviani Brothers,”Taviani Trailer Gallery “RIGOROUS AND ELOQUENT, EFFORTLESSLY POETIC, KAOS IS THE TAVIANIS AT THEIR BEST” –The New York Times Magic, drama, misery and hope are given life in five tales adapted from short stories by Luigi Pirandello. David di Donatello Awards Best Producer,Best Screenplay WINNER KLF-DV-3088 • UPC: 7-41952-30889-8 • ISBN: 1-4172-0104-5 • SRP: $26.98 Running Time: 182 minutes • Foreign/Drama • Italian with English subtitles Dolby Digital • 16x9 (1.78:1) • Production Year: 1984 DVD EXTRA: Taviani Trailer Gallery 8-page booklet with essay by Italian cinema expert Peter Bondanella Each DVD Includes: NOMINEE Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm “as MASTER STORYTELLERS OF ITALIAN CINEMA, the Taviani brothers continue to do what they do best” –The Austin Chronicle On a long drive to visit their grandfather, Luigi Benedetti tells his children the mysterious story of their ancestors – a story filled with forbidden love, passion and romance. KLF-DV-3126 • UPC: 7-41952-31269-7 • ISBN: 1-4172-0142-8 SRP: $26.98 • Running Time: 105 minutes • Foreign/Drama Italian with English subtitles • Dolby Digital • 16x9 (1.85:1) • Production Year: 1993 DVD EXTRAS: 55-minute featurette“The Boys from San Miniato: Meeting with Paolo and Vittorio Taviani,” Taviani Trailer Gallery NATIONAL MARKETING & PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN Including advertising with CINEASTE, FILM COMMENT and DVD TALK Pre-Book Date: 3/4/08 • Street Date: 4/1/08 Watch TRAILERS & CLIPS from these films at www.kochclips.com For more information on these releases visit www.kochb2b.com 30 http://Billboard.com http://www.kochclips.com http://www.kochb2b.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.