When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts 

An examination of the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina.

Stars:

Darleen Asevedo, Jay Asevedo, Shelton Shakespear Alexander

Won 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 5 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Darleen Asevedo	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Jay Asevedo	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Shelton Shakespear Alexander	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Lee Arnold	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Gralen Bryant Banks	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
John Barry	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Robert Bea	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Harry Belafonte	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Wilhelmina Blanchard	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Terence Blanchard	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Kathleen Blanco	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Douglas Brinkley	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Joseph Bruno	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Karen Carter	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Louis Cataldie	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Judith Morgan	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Cheryl Livaudais	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Will Chittenden	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Eddie Compass	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Harry Cook	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Sarah Dean	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Petri Laurimaa	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Emil Dumesnil	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Michael Eric Dyson	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Felton Earls	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Paris Ervin	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Sylvester Francis	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Herbert Freeman Jr.	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Dale Girard	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Louella P. Givens	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Anita Gupta	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Glenn Hall	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Josephine Butler	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Donald Harrison	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Darnell Herrington	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Corey Hebert	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Damon Hewitt	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Freddie Hicks	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Justin Hite	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Fred Johnson	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Michael Katz	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Michael Knight	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Mitch Landrieu	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Phyllis Montana LeBlanc	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Trymaine Lee	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Brendan Loy	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Calvin Mackie	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Ben Marble	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Wynton Marsalis	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Kevin A. Martin	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Hassan Mashriqui	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Audrey Mason	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Betty McHale	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Charles McHale	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
David Meeks	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Joseph Melancon	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Gina Montana	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Henry Morgan	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Marc H. Morial	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Cynthia Hedge-Morrell	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Arthur Morrell	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Joycelynn Moses	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Anthony Dunn	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Ray Nagin	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Linda Novak	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Soledad O'Brien	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Sean Penn	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Bennie Pete	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Wendell Pierce	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Kimberly Polk	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
James Pullings Jr.	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Garland Robinette	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Robert Rocque	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Junior Rodriguez	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Daina Saulny	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Michael Scott Schlacter	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Jeffrey David Schultz	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Jay Scully	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Mike Seelig	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Lewis Setliff III	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Al Sharpton	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Brian Thevenot	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Charley Varley	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Ivor Van Heerden	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Elder William Walker Jr.	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Rhonda Washington	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Kanye West	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Roy Williams	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Lois Armstrong	...	Herself - CNN anchor 2 episodes, 2006
Chirrie Harris	...	Herself - Interviwee 2 episodes, 2006
Tanya Harris	...	Herself - Interviwee 2 episodes, 2006
Florence Jackson	...	Herself 2 episodes, 2006
Shawn Kael	...	Himself 2 episodes, 2006
Douglas Kiesling	...	Himself - Weather Paparazzi & Major Katrina Stock Footage Source 2 episodes, 2006
Michael Brown	...	Himself (archive footage) 2 episodes, 2006
Barbara Bush	...	Herself (archive footage) 2 episodes, 2006
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage) 2 episodes, 2006
Dick Cheney	...	Himself (archive footage) 2 episodes, 2006
Anderson Cooper	...	Himself (archive footage) 2 episodes, 2006
Russel Honore	...	Himself (archive footage) 2 episodes, 2006
Mike Myers	...	Himself (archive footage) 2 episodes, 2006
Betty Nguyen	...	Herself (archive footage) 2 episodes, 2006
Condoleezza Rice	...	Herself (archive footage) 2 episodes, 2006

Storyline

In August 2005, the American city of New Orleans was struck by the powerful Hurricane Katrina. Although the storm was damaging by itself, that was not the true disaster. That happened when the city's flooding safeguards like levees failed and put most of the city, which is largely below sea level, underwater. This film covers that disastrous series of events that devastated the city and its people. Furthermore, the gross incompetence of the various governments and the powerful from the local to the federal level is examined to show how the poor and underprivileged of New Orleans were mistreated in this grand calamity and still ignored today.

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Plot Keywords:

hurricane | government | hurricane katrina | incompetence | flooding | 

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Taglines:

An American Tragedy

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

HBO [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 August 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

When the Levees Broke

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Documentary Films,40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

255 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Unlike most of Spike Lee's films, this does not feature his customary titling "A Spike Lee Joint."

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Connections

Referenced in Who Do You Think You Are?: Spike Lee (2010)

User Reviews

Having lived the storm myself!

After seeing this movie, I feel completely betrayed by the United States government and the government of Louisiana. I am from a town right outside of New Orleans (on the Northshore of Lake Pontchatrain) and my town endured much devastation and many people lost their lives. I think that this movie is a great opportunity for Spike Lee to show everyone in the United States that Hurricane Katrina still haunts the lives that it affected 1 year ago, including myself. Many people do not understand the magnitude of this storm and until you smell it, see it in person, and live it YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND. To see the vice president fishing, and Rice shopping in New York just days after the devastation is very unwelcoming but sometimes I believe that at one point, there was nothing that could be done because this country was not ready for a hurricane like this and they never did expect it. But indeed, this movie can give a person a slim sense of what we endured. THe graphics were horrible and very graphic but they were a good touch as to visual understanding of the situation. Many rumors are still circulating about this storm but in my opinion, they will never really get to the end of it. The storm is over and there is no turning back time so pointing fingers is a waste of time. I believe the government needs to focus on the future and the rebuilding process of New Orleans and the other areas who were severely devastated. I give this movie 2 thumbs up because having witnessed the devastation first hand I believe Spike Lee did an extraordinary job to create a documentary that covers all aspects of this storm.