American Me

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Edward J. Olmos made his directorial bow with the powerhouse crime saga American Me. Olmos stars as street-gang leader Santana, who during his 18 years in Folsom Prison rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful, crime-free life. But his old gang buddies force him back into his old habits. The omniprescene of the "Mexican Mafia" in the southwest is sufficient to make this film a daunting, demoralizing experience. Upon its release, American Me received a lot of press play due to the fact that Olmos shot his Folsom sequences on location, using actual prisoners as extras and bit players. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Surround
• Features:
  • cc
  • Lives in Hazard documentary

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Edward James Olmos - Santana Montoya
       William Forsythe - JD
       Pepe Serna - Mundo
       Danny De La Paz - Puppet
       Evelina Fernandez - Julie
       Cary - Hiroyuki Tagawa - El Japo
       Daniel Villarreal - Little Puppet
       Sal Lopez - Pedro
       Daniel Haro - Huero
       Domingo Ambriz - Pie Face
       Vic Trevino - Cheetah
       Tom Bower - Dornan (uncredited)
       Panchito Gomez - Young Santana
       Richard Coca - Young Mundo
       Abraham Verduzco - Paulito (Age 7)

• Director:

  Edward James Olmos

• Producer:

  Lou Adler, Sean Daniel, Floyd Mutrux, Edward James Olmos, Irwin W. Young, Robert M. Young

• Screenwriter:

  Floyd Mutrux, Desmond Nakano

• Cinematographer:

  Reynaldo Villalobos

• Composer (Music Score):

  Claude Gaudette, Dennis Lambert

• Editor:

  Richard Candib, Arthur Coburn

• Production Designer:

  Joe Aubel, Richard Yanez

• Co-producer:

  Brian Frankish

• Set Designer:

  Martin Price

• Costume Designer:

  Sylvia Vega-Vasquez

• Stunts:

  Jim Halty, Chuck Picerni, Jr.

REVIEW:

• This searing drama, the directorial debut of star Edward James Olmos, is an ambitious fusion of crime epic a la The Godfather and social expose. It's a tough balance to pull off, but American Me works because it maintains this agenda by balancing brutal realism with dramatic subtlety. As it charts the way the criminal justice system allows misguided kids to become hardened criminals, the film achieves an impressive sense of tragic grandeur without ever pulling its punches or giving in to cheap melodrama. That said, American Me isn't an easy film to warm up to for more than one reason. The first is its refusal to flinch from the ugly reality of its subject matter; though it is never dealt out in a glorified manner, American Me presents the savage violence of the drug trade with a gruesome, vivid sense of detail that will shock many people. The other reason is that it doesn't give the viewer an identification figure to latch on to; the central characters aren't presented in a way that inspires sympathy, and none of them ever experience an audience-friendly moment of redemption. These factors may limit the appeal of American Me, but it remains well worth the effort for the brave viewer because it is an extremely well-made film. Olmos reveals himself to be quite a stylist behind the camera, making deft use of cross-cutting to amplify the film's level of drama during key sequences and crafting a number of nerve-jangling set pieces along the way (an assassination during a prison film screening is a standout). He also gives a powerful yet controlled performance as Santana, and his work is skillfully supported by an array of distinguished supporting performances, most notably Evelina Fernandez as his ill-fated love interest and Danny De La Paz as a colleague whose faithfulness to his criminal organization comes with a heavy cost. To sum up, American Me is not for every viewer but anyone interested in a powerful, realistic crime drama will find it a rewarding experience. ~ Donald Guarisco, Rovi