Amazon.com
The documentary, Hell and High Water, is more than just a selection of interviews with seven residents of New Orleans. It is an oral history of the after effects of Hurricane Katrina as told by the people that live there. Unscripted and unrehearsed the interviews reveal aspects of the disaster that the major media never touched. People have a chance to tell it like they see it, like they experienced it, and express their emotions freely and in their own time. Their inquiries pose some hard questions about the future of their great city, and about the precarious future of our Nation.??They tell a cautionary tale for residents of the United States. They explain the complete collapse of the elected body and how that translates into future disasters for anyone of us that might be exposed to a similar catastrophe. They enlighten us with a deeper understanding of what happened and who is responsible, revealing a truth far beyond what the politicians believe the public actually knows.??Lacking sensationalism but rich on content, Hell and High Water takes the audience down a funny, historical and spiritual road to the events and reactions of this great natural and man-made disaster. This is the 'thinking man's' documentary on Katrina. It touches on what it means for the Superpower of World to neglect its own people in a time of dire need. It touches on what may be the beginning of the end of the American Empire. It touches on how the storm has reminded people of what really matters in their lives and how their humor, strength and faith have sustained them.??This film will lead you on a journey - a journey through time, through politics, through love, loss and hope - a journey of the human heart. This film will change forever the way you look at what really happened along the Gulf Coast in the last days of August 2005. This film will change how you look at your own sense of personal safety and will redefine for you the false notion of 'Homeland Security.' This film will disturb you. This film will encourage us to make new and better choices for our Country.

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CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 5 reviews)

Poorly done

I got this DVD to show to a group of people preparing to travel to New Orleans to help with the rebuilding, and I was greatly disappointed. The interviews were shot in bars and shops, apparently with insufficient microphones -- we had to strain our ears to hear the speech over the roar in the background. Much of the footage was taken out of a car window (you can see the driver's side mirror!) and I felt seasick watching it. The editing of the video did not make sense; one interview would interrupt another, with no apparent link between the two, and the background music seemed random and at times too loud. We ended up stopping the DVD before it was over; it became too unbearable to watch, and it had nothing to do with the tragedy of the hurricane -- it simply was a lousy documentary.
October 25, 2007

Best of The Katrina Damage DVDs

Of all the DVDs about the damage done by Hurricane Katrina, this one is the most informative and vivid. Like watching TV News as it happened.
Well worth the cost.

September 02, 2007

A "Must See" Katrina documentary

Wow! These folks did a great job: I'm guessing that it's not easy to find a collection of interesting and soulful people from a variety of walks of life to interview, and the film-makers certainly found them. The deft cross cutting of ongoing interviews with the scenes of the devastation of New Orleans very effectively underscored the breadth and depth of the Katrina disaster, too. More than anything else, the film successfully puts a human face on what it will take to deal with "Katrina's" aftermath. It's just a really outstanding documentary film of a powerful event that people throughout the country should see.

March 02, 2007

Hell and High Water

This video is great to show the scenes of particularly the lakeview and lakefornt area which has been neglected in all other videos and reports. The one painter, historian rambles endlessly. Interview questions we generally not answered directly.
February 02, 2007

Historical, Educational, Emotional, Spiritual

We need more independent film makers like Jim wills and Pam Bell who tell the real story instead of sensationalizing it for the media. Shot four months after hurricane Katrina, Hell and High Water gives an true oral history in unscripted interviews with seven people who experienced the loss, frustration, aftermath, and on-going challenge of life in a destroyed city. It's more than a narrative about how the storm affected their lives. It raises larger questions critical to us all about the future safety of our country and our government response to disaster. The seven voices are honest and from the heart, giving us a far deeper understanding of what really happened. Viewing this remarkable work, we learn aspects of the storm and life itself not covered anywhere else.
October 04, 2006

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