IMDb > Slam (1998)
Slam
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Slam (1998) -- Open-ended Trailer from Trimark

Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   1,311 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
No change in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Marc Levin
Writers:
Marc Levin (story) &
Richard Stratton (story) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Slam on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
7 October 1998 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
Words make sense of a world that won't. more
Plot:
Slam tells the story of Ray Joshua, an original, gifted young MC trapped in a war-zone housing project known as Dodge City... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
3 wins & 3 nominations more
User Comments:
Powerful! more (34 total)

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'
more
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for pervasive language, a sex scene and brief violence.
Runtime:
100 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
USA:R (certificate #35994) | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | France:U | Norway:11 | South Korea:12 (video rating) (cut) | South Korea:15 (director's cut) | Spain:13 | UK:15

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Ray Joshua: I am before, I am before before. Before death is eternity, after death is eternity, there is no death - there is only eternity. more
Soundtrack:
Juba more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful.
Powerful!, 19 March 1999
10/10
Author: Ben Margolin (bside@togdog.com) from Silicon Valley, CA

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 :-)

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (34 total)

Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
'Wire' connections hq-3
This is a great movie.. yankeepinstripes2005
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Lyrics to love poem?? carmencapel69
Saul Williams lotus6257
an under rated movie! unlikely_protagonist
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