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Anatomy of a 'Homicide: Life on the Street'

  • TV Movie
  • 19981998
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
107
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • IMDbPro
  • Crime
  • Documentary
  • Drama
A brief look at the history of "Homicide: Life on the Street", one of the best shows on television and its ratings history as well as some of the people on the show, as well as behind the ca... Read allA brief look at the history of "Homicide: Life on the Street", one of the best shows on television and its ratings history as well as some of the people on the show, as well as behind the camera. The primary focus of this PBS documentary is the "Subway" episode which aired on Dec... Read allA brief look at the history of "Homicide: Life on the Street", one of the best shows on television and its ratings history as well as some of the people on the show, as well as behind the camera. The primary focus of this PBS documentary is the "Subway" episode which aired on December 5, 1997 on NBC. This two-hour documentary follows the "Subway" episode from concepti... Read all
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
107
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Ted Bogosian
  • Writer
    • Ted Bogosian
  • Stars
    • Will Lyman(voice)
    • G.A. Aguilar
    • Michael Ahl
Top credits
  • Director
    • Ted Bogosian
  • Writer
    • Ted Bogosian
  • Stars
    • Will Lyman(voice)
    • G.A. Aguilar
    • Michael Ahl
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 4User reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos

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    Top cast

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    Will Lyman
    Will Lyman
    • Narratoras Narrator
    • (voice)
    G.A. Aguilar
    • Self (stunt coordinator)as Self (stunt coordinator)
    Michael Ahl
    • Uniform Officeras Uniform Officer
    A. Russell Andrews
    A. Russell Andrews
    • EMT #2as EMT #2
    • (archive footage)
    Daniel Baldwin
    Daniel Baldwin
    • Det. Beau Feltonas Det. Beau Felton
    • (archive footage)
    Ned Beatty
    Ned Beatty
    • Det. Stanley 'The Big Man' Bolanderas Det. Stanley 'The Big Man' Bolander
    • (archive footage)
    Richard Belzer
    Richard Belzer
    • Det. John Munchas Det. John Munch
    • (archive footage)
    Andre Braugher
    Andre Braugher
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    • …
    Vincent D'Onofrio
    Vincent D'Onofrio
    • Selfas Self
    Reed Diamond
    Reed Diamond
    • Det. Mike Kellermanas Det. Mike Kellerman
    • (archive footage)
    Shari Elliker
    • Womanas Woman
    • (archive footage)
    Anya Epstein
    • Selfas Self
    Jim Finnerty
    • Selfas Self
    Gary Fleder
    Gary Fleder
    • Selfas Self
    Tom Fontana
    Tom Fontana
    • Selfas Self
    Michelle Forbes
    Michelle Forbes
    • Dr. Julianna Coxas Dr. Julianna Cox
    • (archive footage)
    Peter Gerety
    Peter Gerety
    • Det. Stuart Ghartyas Det. Stuart Gharty
    • (archive footage)
    Moses Gunn
    Moses Gunn
    • Risley Tuckeras Risley Tucker
    • (archive footage)
    • Director
      • Ted Bogosian
    • Writer
      • Ted Bogosian
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

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    Storyline

    Edit
    A brief look at the history of "Homicide: Life on the Street", one of the best shows on television and its ratings history as well as some of the people on the show, as well as behind the camera. The primary focus of this PBS documentary is the "Subway" episode which aired on December 5, 1997 on NBC. This two-hour documentary follows the "Subway" episode from conception to award nominations. —Tom Myers <tmyers@goucher.edu>
    • Plot summary
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    • Genres
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Mystery
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

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    • Connections
      Features CBS News Sunday Morning (1979)

    User reviews4

    Review
    Top review
    Despite Lyman's narration, this is a really engaging and telling look at the struggle facing the show coming into season 6
    I forget what season it was on, but some of the previous documentaries on the DVD extras were little more than promotional filler of little value and I sort of expected the same from this. I thought my fears were confirmed when the gruff and overly-serious narration from Will Lyman started us off with a very brief overview of the show with lots of clips played under his voice. Some people like his style but to me it suits some shows but generally pushes the film one way – and it is generally an "overview" with "big sentences" rather than letting the subjects talk. After this though we get to what the film is about – which is following the process of creating an episode which, either by very good fortunate or by good selection, is the subway one.

    What this means is that we follow it from the idea in the informal writing meeting where it is pitched as an idea, through the writing stage, the rewriting stage into the shooting and finally to the editing of the final episode. The focus of the film is not really about the "how" (although bits of that come out) but more about the challenges faced in making this episode, with us being given the understanding that this is not only relevant to this one episode but week-in, week-out. The camera manages to not get in the way and, although we don't get "warts and all", we do get frank discussions and the frustrations and strains on those involved is evident. As writer and producer of this episode, most of the time is spent with Yoshimura and I think catching him at work prevents the glossy sound-bites that some of the other set interviews produce. It is this that makes the film interesting and engaging and provides a good snapshot into why the show went the way it did and how hard it was to get it onto the screen each week – for many reasons.

    Non-fans of the show will perhaps not care about the subject as much as I did, but it is unlikely that non-fans will be buying the sixth season box-set of the show. So while season 6 may be a slight disappointment for those who love seasons 1 & 2, this documentary helps you appreciate why and perhaps be a bit more understanding of what the writers were trying to do with it. Well worth checking out if you have the DVD.
    helpful•2
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    • bob the moo
    • Sep 11, 2008

    Details

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    • Release date
      • November 4, 1998 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Color
      • Color

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