Slam (1998)

Slam tells the story of Ray Joshua, an original, gifted young MC trapped in a war-zone housing project known as Dodge City. Unable to find a job, Ray copes with the despair and poverty of ... See full summary »

Director:

Marc Levin

Writers:

Marc Levin (story), Richard Stratton (story),

Stars:

Saul Williams, Sonja Sohn, Bonz Malone

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Saul Williams	...	Ray Joshua
Sonja Sohn	...	Lauren Bell
Bonz Malone	...	Hopha
Lawrence Wilson	...	Big Mike
Beau Sia	...	Jimmy Huang
Andre Taylor	...	China
Momolu Stewart	...	Bay (Jail Rapper)
Ron Jones	...	Do Wop Cop
Reamer Shedrick	...	Do Wop Cop
Allan E. Lucas	...	Chief C.O.
Dominic Chianese Jr.	...	Officer Dom
Jerome Goldman	...	Jail Class Poet 'Why'
DJ Renegade	...	Party Poet 'Diminuendo in Blue'
Liza Jessie Peterson	...	Slam Poet 'Ice Cream'
Taylor Mali	...	Slam Poet 'Like'

Storyline

Slam tells the story of Ray Joshua, an original, gifted young MC trapped in a war-zone housing project known as Dodge City. Unable to find a job, Ray copes with the despair and poverty of his neighborhood by using his wits and verbal talent.

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Plot Keywords:

gang | prison | racial slur | urban | poetry | 

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Taglines:

Words make sense of a world that won't.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, a sex scene and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Production Company (Offline Entertainment Group) Trimark Pictures

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Slam - A szó fegyver

Filming Locations:

Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$34,887 (USA) (9 October 1998)

Gross:

$982,214 (USA) (18 December 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Off Line Entertainment Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Ray is on his way to the poetry night, he gets on the metro at the Cleveland Park station, rides, and gets off at the metro at the same station: Cleveland Park.

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Quotes

Ray Joshua: And they start shooting at the children / one by one / two by two / three by three / four by four / five by five / six by six / But my spirit is growing seven by seven.

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Soundtracks

"Sellin' D.O.P.E. (Drugs Oppress People Everyday)"
Performed by Dead Prez (as dead prez)
Written by Stic Man (as C. Gavin) and L. Alford
dead prez appears courtesy of Loud Records

User Reviews

Powerful!

Fantastic performances, a good story and interesting photography make Slam a very good movie; realism makes it a great one. I was in awe of the utter authenticity of the people, the situations, the energies in this film. I was suitably impressed by the emotions expressed and how effective it all was, for essentially a minimalist message (the odds are stacked against young black males in the inner cities) but even more impressed once I listened to the commentary on the DVD. I highly recommend you get your hands on the disc, and listen to the commentary after watching the film. Sure, it's a bit too self-congratulatory ("what a beautiful shot!" [it was only "nice"]) but the insight on the people involved--the writers, actors, poets... adds an incredible amount of depth to the experience.

To quickly generalize: if you appreciate Spike Lee's work, you'll probably like Slam. Although Spike might be a little upset that a white Jewish director brought this to film :-)