The House I Live In (2012)

From the dealer to the narcotics officer, the inmate to the federal judge, a penetrating look inside America's criminal justice system, revealing the profound human rights implications of U.S. drug policy.

Director:

Eugene Jarecki

Writers:

Eugene Jarecki, Christopher St. John (additional writing)

Stars:

Eugene Jarecki, David Simon, Shanequa Benitez

4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eugene Jarecki	...	Self - Narrator / Interviewer
David Simon	...	Self - Creator, The Wire
Shanequa Benitez	...	Self
William Julius Wilson	...	Self - Harvard University (as Prof. William Julius Wilson)
Glendon Goldsboro	...	Self - Providence Police (as Lt. Glendon Goldsboro)
Fabio Zuena	...	Self - Providence Narcotics
David Kennedy	...	Self - John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Michael Correia	...	Self - Commanding Officer, Narcotics (as Lt. Michael Correia)
Charles Bowden	...	Self - Investigative Reporter
Gabor Maté	...	Self - Physician, Addiction Expert (as Dr. Gabor Maté)
Mark W. Bennett	...	Self - U.S. Federal Judge (as Hon. Mark Bennett)
Maurice Haltiwanger	...	Self - ID# 03678-029
Jim K. McGough	...	Self - Maurice's Lawyer (as Jim McGough)
Eric Franklin	...	Self - Lexington Corrections Center (as Warden Eric Franklin)
Mike Carpenter	...	Self - Chief of Security, Lexington Corrections

Storyline

From the dealer to the narcotics officer, the inmate to the federal judge, a penetrating look inside America's criminal justice system, revealing the profound human rights implications of U.S. drug policy.

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Plot Keywords:

u.s. mexico border | despair | american history | judge | federal judge | 

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Taglines:

The war on drugs has never been about drugs.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Quotes

Herself - Author, The New Jim Crow: You know, in any war, you've got to have an enemy, and when you think about impact, particularly on poor people of color, there are more African-Americans under correctional control today in prison or jail, on probation or parole, than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War began. And that's something we haven't been willing to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, "what's really going on?"

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Connections

Featured in Storyville: The House I Live In (2013) (2013)

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Soundtracks

SOULSVILLE
Written by Isaac Hayes
Published by Irving Music, Inc. on behalf of East Memphis Music Corp.
Performed by Isaac Hayes
Courtesy of Concord Music Group, Inc.

User Reviews

"Free" Enterprise at It's Finest

What's really fueling this law and order hysteria and the draconian prison sentences for relatively minor, innocuous and even non-existent "crimes" is the extraordinarily profitable Prison for Profit system. What's interesting and extremely frightening is most Americans are oblivious to it. Combine this with a large number of the public being largely uneducated and on a continual sadistic hunt for scapegoats, those who profiteer on the modern day slave trade have a willing public as unwitting accomplices.

It's interesting the director, Eugene Jarecki, also did "Why We Fight", one of the best documentaries to expose the crimes being committed by the blood money Military Industrial Complex. The public is also largely oblivious to that evil profiteering monster and also happily supports it to the point it thinks murdering and dying for it is a good thing. Jarecki makes some of the most important and enlightening documentaries of today. It's an alarming shame and tragedy that the predominately ignorant and not very mentally healthy general public aren't watching them, let alone able to comprehend how it hurts everyone except the bank accounts of sociopathic "business" men and women.

Perhaps the common denominator is the same fuel that's driving half of the present day voters in the Presidential election: hatred and the eternal search for scapegoats. It would make an excellent documentary to tie these core driving forces together, a task I think Mr. Jarecki is capable of doing well. It probably won't make much of an impact beyond preaching to the choir but then again none of his other fine offerings have fared much better and those are still greatly appreciated by thoughtful and humane audiences.

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [United Kingdom] ITVS [United States]

Country:

Netherlands UK Germany Japan Australia USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

The House I Live In

Filming Locations:

New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,453, 7 October 2012

Gross USA:

$210,752

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$219,159

Company Credits

Production Co:

Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Charlotte Street Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 98 min (total run time)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1