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''When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts'' is a 2006 documentary film directed by Spike Lee about the devastation of New Orleans, Louisiana following the failure of the levees during
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cos ...
. It was filmed in late August and early September 2005, and premiered at the New Orleans Arena on August 16, 2006 and was first aired on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...
the following week. The television premiere aired in two parts on August 21 and 22, 2006 on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...
. It has been described by Sheila Nevins, chief of HBO's documentary unit, as "one of the most important films HBO has ever made." The title is a reference to the blues tune " When the Levee Breaks" by
Kansas Joe McCoy Wilbur "Kansas Joe" McCoy (May 11, 1905 – January 28, 1950) was an American Delta blues singer, musician and songwriter. Career McCoy performed under various stage names but is best known as Kansas Joe McCoy. Born in Raymond, Mississippi, he ...
and Memphis Minnie about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. The documentary was screened at the
63rd Venice International Film Festival The 63rd annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was opened on 30 August 2006 with Brian De Palma's '' The Black Dahlia'' and was closed on 9 September 2006. Host of the event was Italian actress Isabella Ferrari. Duri ...
on August 31 and September 1, 2006. It won the Orizzonti Documentary Prize and one of two
FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...
awards. It was also shown at the
2006 Toronto International Film Festival The 31st Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 7 to September 16, 2006. Opening the festival was Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn's ''The Journals of Knud Rasmussen'', a film that "explores the history of the through the eyes of a ...
on September 15 and September 16, 2006. It won three awards at the
59th Primetime Emmy Awards The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 16, 2007, honoring the best in U.S. prime time television programming at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. ...
and received a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
. The documentary is based on news video footage and still photos of Katrina and its aftermath, interspersed with interviews. Interviewees include politicians, journalists, historians, engineers, and many residents of various parts of New Orleans and the surrounding areas, who give first hand accounts of their experiences with the levee failures and the aftermath. In the style of Michael Apted's '' Up series'' (a documentary series that interviews Apted's subjects every seven years), Lee planned to interview his featured subjects in ''Levees'' at least once more. In August 2010, HBO aired Lee's documentary series, '' If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise'', which chronicles how New Orleans and the Gulf Coast area have fared in the five years following Hurricane Katrina.


Synopsis

The film focuses on the changed lives of New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina hit. The film shows residents in the midst of disaster dealing with death, devastation and disease. Spike Lee said about the film:
New Orleans is fighting for its life. These are not people who will disappear quietly — they're accustomed to hardship and slights, and they'll fight for New Orleans. This film will showcase the struggle for New Orleans by focusing on the profound loss, as well as the indomitable spirit of New Orleaneans.
This documentary is Spike Lee's third, preceded by ''
4 Little Girls ''4 Little Girls'' is a 1997 American historical documentary film about the murder of four African-American girls (Addie May Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Rosamond Robertson) in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Bi ...
'' (1997), about the Birmingham church bombing of 1963; and '' Jim Brown: All-American'' (2002), about the football player. Shooting for the film began three months after Hurricane Katrina hit, when Lee and his camera crew took the first of eight trips to New Orleans. They conducted interviews and taped footage for the film. Lee hoped to hear varying opinions of the storm and responses to the storm's destruction. He interviewed nearly 100 people of diverse backgrounds and opinions for his film.


Interviewees

People appearing in interviews include: * Glen David Andrews, musician *
John M. Barry John M. Barry (born 1947) is an American author and historian who has written books on the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the influenza pandemic of 1918, and the development of the modern form of the ideas of separation of church and state and i ...
, author and member of Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority * Harry Belafonte, actor and singer * Terence Blanchard, jazz musician * Kathleen Blanco, governor of Louisiana * Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Tulane University * Karen Carter, New Orleans politician, member of the
Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (french: Législature d'État de Louisiane) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 represe ...
* Louella Givens, representative, second district of
Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is an administrative policy-making body for elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was created in the 1973 Louisiana Constitutional Convention, called b ...
*
Cynthia Hedge-Morrell Cynthia Hedge-Morrell (born September 4, 1947) is an African-American teacher, a former school administrator, and a Democratic politician from New Orleans, Louisiana. She served on the New Orleans City Council from 2005 to 2014. Education Hedge- ...
, member of the
New Orleans City Council The New Orleans City Council is the legislative branch of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The current mayor-council form of city government was created in 1954, following the 1950 amendment of the state constitution that provide ...
* Donnell Herrington, survivor of a post-Katrina shooting in
Algiers Point Algiers Point is a location on the Lower Mississippi River in New Orleans, Louisiana. In river pilotage, Algiers Point is one of the many points of land around which the river flows—albeit a significant one. Since the 1970s, the name Algier ...
* Mary Landrieu, senior U.S. Senator from Louisiana *
Mitch Landrieu Mitchell Joseph Landrieu ( ; born August 16, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician who served as Mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 2004 to ...
,
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana The lieutenant governor of Louisiana (french: Lieutenant-Gouverneur de la Louisiane) is the second highest state office in Louisiana. The current lieutenant governor is Billy Nungesser, a Republican. The lieutenant governor is also the commissi ...
*Dr. Calvin Mackie, faculty member of Tulane University and founder of Channel Zero; member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority * Wynton Marsalis, musician *Dr. Hassan Mashriqui, researcher, Louisiana State University (LSU) Hurricane Center * Marc Morial, former Mayor of New Orleans and President and CEO of the
National Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...
* Arthur Morrell, New Orleans politician and member of the Louisiana State Legislature *
Ray Nagin Clarence Raymond Joseph Nagin Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former politician who was the 60th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2002 to 2010. A Democrat, Nagin became internationally known in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane K ...
, mayor of New Orleans *
Soledad O'Brien María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien (born September 19, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist and executive producer. Since 2016, O'Brien has been the host for '' Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien,'' a nationally syndicated weekly talk show ...
, television journalist *
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
, actor and activist *
Wendell Pierce Wendell Edward Pierce (born December 8, 1963) is an American actor and businessman. Having trained at Juilliard School, Pierce rose to prominence as a character actor portraying roles both on the stage and screen. He first gained notoriety portra ...
, New Orleans actor *
Garland Robinette Charles Garland Robinette (born August 21, 1943 in Boutte, Louisiana) is a journalist in the New Orleans area. He was recently the host of "The Think Tank" on New Orleans radio station WWL (AM). Robinette was a news anchor and investigative repo ...
, New Orleans journalist and radio host * Junior Rodriguez, president of the
St. Bernard Parish St. Bernard Parish (french: Paroisse de Saint-Bernard; es, Parroquia de San Bernardo) is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of t ...
Council *Rev.
Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, talk show host and politician. Sharpton is the founder of the National Action Network. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democrati ...
, civil rights activist * Dinerral Shavers, musician * Ivor van Heerden, deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center * Kanye West, music producer and rapper * Phyllis Montana LeBlanc, resident of New Orleans East.


Music

The first installment opens with a photo and film montage of historic and recent New Orleans scenes, with a soundtrack of
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...
performing
Louis Alter Louis Alter (June 18, 1902 – November 5, 1980) was an American pianist, songwriter and composer. At 13, he began playing piano in theaters showing silent films. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Stuar ...
's "
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" is a song written by Eddie DeLange and Louis Alter, which was first heard in the movie ''New Orleans (1947 film), New Orleans'' in 1947, where it was performed by Louis Armstrong and sung by Billie H ...
". At the end of the last episode is a similar montage with
Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...
's " Walking to New Orleans" on the soundtrack. The film's original score is by Terence Blanchard, a New Orleans-born trumpeter who appears in the film, with his mother and aunt, as they return to their flooded home. Not being the first time that Terence Blanchard had worked as a composer for a film by Spike Lee, Blanchard had worked to create compositions of a more universal genre of jazz as opposed to New Orleans style jazz in order to reach masses of audiences to raise awareness of the results of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In general, the music he had composed was written under the context of respecting those who were directly affected by the catastrophe and with intentions of providing contexts to allow audiences to sympathize with those affected.


Awards

''When the Levees Broke'' won three Emmy Awards: Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking, Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming, and Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming. It received a 2006
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
from the University of Georgia for being an "epic document of destruction and broken promises and a profound work of art" and "an uncompromising analysis of the events that precede and follow Hurricane Katrina's assault on New Orleans" that "tells the story with an unparalleled diversity of voices and sources." It won the 2007 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. At the
63rd Venice International Film Festival The 63rd annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was opened on 30 August 2006 with Brian De Palma's '' The Black Dahlia'' and was closed on 9 September 2006. Host of the event was Italian actress Isabella Ferrari. Duri ...
the film was awarded the Horizons award in the documentary category. The film was also selected as part of the 2008 Whitney Biennial.


Points made by the film

The film focuses on the suffering of those affected by the disaster and their will to survive. Additionally, it suggests that the disaster in New Orleans was preventable, caused by levees poorly designed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the suffering afterward was compounded by failures at all levels of government, most severely at the State level. These points are in line with mainstream investigations, including the bipartisan U.S. Congressional report, ''A Failure of Initiative'', and the Army Corps of Engineers' own studies.


See also

*
2005 levee failures in Greater New Orleans On Monday, August 29, 2005, there were over 50 failures of the levees and flood walls protecting New Orleans, Louisiana, and its suburbs following passage of Hurricane Katrina. The failures caused flooding in 80% of New Orleans and all of St. B ...
*
Criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina Criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina was a major political dispute in the United States in 2005 that consisted primarily of condemnations of mismanagement and lack of preparation in the relief effort in response to Hurricane Ka ...


References


External links

* , Official website, HBO * * {{HBO documentaries Films directed by Spike Lee Documentary films about Hurricane Katrina 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks films American documentary films 2000s American television miniseries 2006 television films 2006 films 2006 documentary films Films shot in New Orleans HBO documentary films History of New Orleans Peabody Award-winning broadcasts Films set in Louisiana Films scored by Terence Blanchard Primetime Emmy Award-winning broadcasts 2000s English-language films 2000s American films