Slam

Theatrical Release Date: 1998 10 23 (USA)

UPC: 031398697336

Studio: Lions Gate

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Profanity, Substance Abuse, Sexual Situations]

Summary: Filmmaker Marc Levin, known for his documentaries exploring prison life, drug addiction, and street gangs, won the 1998 Sundance Film Festival grand jury prize when he made his feature dramatic directorial debut with this downbeat prison drama about a black poet jailed on minor drug charges. At "Dodge City," a Washington, D.C., housing project, streetwise Ray Joshua (Saul Williams), a marijuana dealer who writes poetry, sees his drug connection gunned down, winds up busted as a murder suspect, and is also charged with possession. Incarcerated in a tough D.C. jail, Ray is caught between two rival gangs, Thug Life and the Union, when both compete for his membership, and he becomes friends with the Union's leader, Hopha (Vibe columnist Bonz Malone), and Lauren (Sonja Sohn), a volunteer who runs the prison's creative writing workshop. Prison yard fights between the rival gangs prompt a poem of such passion that Hopha decides to bring his connections into play to arrange for Ray's bail. Back in Dodge City, Ray learns Big Mike was blinded yet is still alive, and he joins Lauren in a poetry session. Real-life poets Williams and Sohn wrote their own material. This film was produced by Levin, New York nightclub owner Henri Kessler, and Prison Life magazine founder Richard Stratton, who spent eight years in prison on marijuana charges. Stratton encountered Williams during a 1996 poetry reading at New York's Nuyorican Poets Cafe. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic – Sundance Film Festival Camera d'Or – Cannes Film Festival Best Debut Performance – Independent Spirit Awards Best Debut Performance – Independent Spirit Awards

Slam

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 08/29/2000

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 103 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Scene Index
1. Main Credits [2:46]
2. Kids [:57]
3. Transaction [:53]
4. Friends [3:04]
5. Singing [1:07]
6. Shooting [2:11]
7. The Hearing [1:06]
8. MC in the Van [3:22]
9. In Jail [2:55]
10. Attorney [2:29]
11. Your Number [2:56]
12. Serving Time [4:56]
13. Nobody Eats [1:41]
14. Introduction [5:25]
15. In Line [6:46]
16. Amethyst Rocks [3:08]
17. How We Fight [1:41]
18. Class [9:21]
19. Cash Collateral [5:22]
20. Blind [4:08]
21. Last Bullet [1:55]
22. Up to Me [3:47]
23. Not Today [2:49]
24. New World [9:12]
25. Poetry Slam [3:04]
26. Mack Truck [4:19]
27. Time [3:57]
28. Support [1:37]
29. Decide [1:57]
30. End Credits [4:23]

Cast and Crew: Sonja Sohn  Screenwriter 
Saul Williams  Screenwriter 
Henri Kessler  Producer 
Marc Levin  Director 
Marc Levin  Producer 
Marc Levin  Screenwriter 
David Peipers  Executive Producer 
Richard Stratton  Producer 
Richard Stratton  Screenwriter 
Saul Williams  Actor 
Sonja Sohn  Actor 
Bonz Malone  Actor 

Country: USA