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When the Levees Broke (2006)
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts is a 2006 documentary film directed by Spike Lee about the devastation of New Orleans, Louisiana following the failure of the levees during Hurricane Katrina. It premiered at the New Orleans Arena on August 16, 2006 and was first aired on HBO the following week. The television premiere aired in two parts on August 21 and 22, 2006 on HBO. It has been described by Sheila…
Directed by Spike Lee · Cut by Barry Alexander Brown · Music by Terence Blanchard · 240 min
How it was made
- Composer Terence Blanchard, a New Orleans-born trumpeter, appears on camera in his own film, returning with his mother and aunt to see their flooded home.
- Blanchard deliberately composed the score in a more universal style of jazz rather than traditional New Orleans jazz, aiming to reach a wider audience and build sympathy for the people affected by Hurricane Katrina.
- The first episode opens with a montage of New Orleans imagery scored to Louis Armstrong's Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans, and the final episode closes with a matching montage set to Fats Domino's Walking to New Orleans.
Elsewhere
More by Spike Lee
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