Product Details

• Actors: Jim Brown, Forest Whitaker, Tom Hayden, Todd Boyd, Gerard Horne
• Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: NEW VIDEO GROUP
• DVD Release Date: May 19, 2009
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001O7R74K
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,672 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Crips and Bloods: Made in America" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: New Video Group Release Date: 05/26/2009

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Eye Opener - Thank You Stacey Peralta!, August 22, 2009

By 

Jim M. Van Cise "My Pen is Huge" (Mentor, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crips and Bloods: Made in America (DVD)

I was skeptical. What does a blonde (now grey) former professional skateboarder (now film maker) from the other side of town know about gang wars in LA? And then there's me: a white guy from the suburbs in Ohio who was raised by a gun collector who is still pretty open about his use of the"N" word. When I hear about gang violence: I just shrug: "It's probably a fight over something stupid." Still, this film remained in my queue and wasn't working its way up very quickly.

I elevated this movie to #1 when Michael Vick was signed by the Eagles. In one week: I heard two accounts from completely different lifestyles: Prissy ESPN sports talk show host Mike Greenberg declared that he had never heard of the subculture known as dog fighting until the Vick case made the news. Vick stated that dog fighting in his childhood neighborhood was so common that police would stop to see a fight and then drive away. Dog fighting was the norm. It was then when I knew I had to check out Peralta's newest movie as I'd loved the Dog Town and Z Boys documentary.

The first 25-30 minutes of the movie covers pre-1970 race riots in LA and other cities. How invisible lines created "hoods" by police who would commonly question straying pedestrians about "why don't you go back to your neighborhood?" Then abruptly, the movie takes a sharp turn when vocal black leaders like MLK, Malcom X and others are thrown in jail or murdered. Suddenly, all the icons were gone. Think of the Living Colour song: Cult of Personality - "When that leader speaks, that leader dies."

For the rest of the movie I was hooked. I couldn't grasp what was happening. The Crips and Bloods seemed to come out of nowhere. Peralta seemed to have skipped something important. But he didn't. I didn't understand how there were suddenly two gangs. I didn't understand why they were divided and bent on killing each other based on territories, red or blue bandanas, or other reasons.

Before the movie ended, I got it. Young black men without fathers, mentors or real leadership took a downward turn. Image, status and bravado became a common theme in neighborhoods where there is no hope. I will admit that I'm a Republican with strong beliefs that everybody should pull their weight and not rely on handouts. In a world where police often respond by use of strong force, there's little reason to NOT question authority. I have no solutions. The oppressed respond to violence, with violence.

Jim Brown has a couple of short appearances (he's not in the film enough in my opinion) and he is quoted by someone in the extras: "If the police have not resolved the problem in 40 years, they never will resolve the problem." It's about oppression, not the gangs themselves. Stacey says the an outtake that he wanted to make this movie because he didn't understand why there is no gang violence in suburban or upscale neighborhoods. Why are people arming themselves and having gun battles with former childhood friends in impoverished communities?

This movie is a must see for anyone even mildly afraid to drive thru certain neighborhoods or better yet, the generation of kids from the suburbs who were raised on hip hop, MTV and anything that glorified the gangsta lifestyle. In the extras, Snoop Dog and Lil Wayne each give a heartfelt, unscripted point of view that really was impressive.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent documentary that explains the rage of some young black men, March 26, 2009

By 

ViAmber (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crips and Bloods: Made in America (DVD)

I just saw this movie last night and will be returning again to see it. It was very powerful, much more so than I would have ever imagined.

The film traces back through history, detailing the "roots of rage", so to speak, for the black man in Los Angeles. The film is never boring, utilizing archival film clips from the past, interspersed with interviews from past gang members who are incredibly articulate and erudite. Kumasi's barely controlled ire is tempered with measured intelligent speech. I was enthralled.

The only surprise for me was the lack of mention of the influence of rap music vis a vis the gangs, although there is plenty to be had on the soundtrack throughout.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful stuff, May 13, 2009

By 

Professor Brizz (KCK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crips and Bloods: Made in America (DVD)

Simply some of the most powerful footage and commentary on race in America I've ever seen. Powerful Powerful stuff. Something every American should sit down and pay very close attention to. The section on the Watts Riots gave me chills....just incredibly well done. The explication of the economic foundation of LA's ghettoization is succinct and 100% on target. The way the film traces the roots of today's problems so clearly to Slavery, Jim Crow, and the marginalization of the American black in the most prosperous period after WWII is pitch perfect. It's hard to comprehend how someone can grow up in LA and never have seen the Pacific Ocean...but that insular world of crips and bloods is an epidemic America is going to have to confront sooner or later.

Buy this dvd and watch this film...