Product Details

• Directors: Phil Ranstrom
• Producers: Phil Ranstrom
• Format: NTSC, Color, Director's Cut
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1000
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B003DICUYU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #184,941 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

For over 120 years, Chicago's Maxwell Street served immigrants and poor people and was considered the "Ellis Island of the midwest". It was also the "New Orleans of the north", the birthplace of the modern blues, home to blues legends like Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and Little Walter. This 90 minute documentary film details the rise and fall of the Maxwell Street market. Narrated by actor and former Chicagoan, Joe Mantegna, this film is in 3 acts - part history, part blues and part expose', focusing on the shady deals that destroyed this beloved, historic place. Created by veteran documentary filmmaker, Phil Ranstrom, this film is considered the definitive work about Maxwell Street in any medium and features the last interviews of some famous Chicagoans and blues artists such as Stud Terkel, Bo Diddley, Little Italy activist, Florence Scala, Nate Duncan, 99 year old Uncle Johnny Williams, Jimmy Lee Robinson, Eddie Burks and more. Chicago Tribune writer, WGN Radio host and author of 12 books, Rick Kogan, said, "This is one of the most remarkable pieces of work I've ever seen. Anyone with any affection for Chicago or the blues must see this film".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant Film About Chicago's Historic Maxwell Street, May 27, 2011

By 

Gene Tomko (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "Cheat You Fair: The Story of Maxwell Street", By Phil Ranstrom (DVD)

After much anticipation, Cheat You Fair, the incredibly moving and ultimately heartbreaking story of Chicago's famed Maxwell Street Market is finally available on DVD. Written, directed and produced by Phil Ranstrom and narrated by actor and former Maxwell Street regular Joe Mantegna, the film meticulously documents the street's fascinating 120-year history from its humble beginnings as a makeshift refuge for poor immigrants in the years following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 to its heydey as being one of the most unique and culturally important open-air markets of the 20th century to the valiant but unsuccessful efforts in the early 1990s to save it from both the city and a nearby university's destructive plans of gentrification which eventually displaced countless families and livelihoods.

Most fans of Chicago blues recognize the dominant role Maxwell Street played in the music's creation and Cheat You Fair prominently features many bluesmen and women who famously performed on the hallowed grounds near Maxwell and Halsted throughout the years. Artists such as Jimmie Lee Robinson, Eddie Burks, Uncle Johnnie Williams, Johnnie Mae Dunson, Bo Diddley and Junior Wells among others offer their perspectives on why the street was so important to themselves and to so many others.

From start to finish, the film wonderfully captures not only the spirit of Maxwell Street and its vibrant people, but also its cultural and historical significance. With top-notch production, the amount of rare historical photographs and film clips of Maxwell Street that Ranstrom has unearthed to help visually tell the story is staggering. This, along with Ranstrom's own footage and interviews which he began shooting in 1994 to document Maxwell's remaining days, combine to paint a complete and very engaging history of this one-of-a-kind landmark.

Cheat You Fair is a powerful film which I cannot recommend highly enough.