Product Details

• Actors: Chris Johnson, Cody Perkins, Jessica Riddle, David Stükenberg
• Directors: David Sutherland
• Writers: David Sutherland
• Producers: David Sutherland, David Fanning, Erin Anguish, Michael Sullivan, Robin Parmelee
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS
• DVD Release Date: January 17, 2006
• Run Time: 360 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000CPHAA6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,462 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #13 in Movies & TV > DVD > TV News Programming
• For more information about "Frontline: Country Boys" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Film to Think About Long After it is Over., January 18, 2006

By 

Kevin Currie-Knight "Education Grad Student" (Newark, Delaware) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Frontline: Country Boys (DVD)

I first saw "Country Boys" one evening after groggily scrolling through the channels until I got to PBS. There, I found an "docudrama" about two appalachian boys called Cody and Chris, following their trials and tribulations while attending a private high school. So engrossed was I, I watched the next two "installments," staying up past my "bedtime" to do so. Now, of course, I won't have to stay up beause I just ordered this beautiful film on DVD.

"Country Boys" had all the fixin's for being a "pitying" film. That is, it is a film about two poor boys attending a school for the academically struggling in Eastern Kentucky. Cody does not have parents (his father murdered his mother when he was very young.) Chris had an alcoholic father and a mother trying to make it any way she can. But far from pitying its subjects, we get to see not only the dark side, but the bright side, of each boy's life. We get to see not only failures (there are some of those), but successes. You will think about these boys and this town long after the 6 hours of film is over.

What really affected me about the film was that you get a real sense not only of who these boys are, but what the community is like. From the close-knit family that is the David School (the private high school for the acedemically challenged) to Cody and Chris's respective support "networks," you see both the ugliness and beauty that is Appalachia.

This is one of the few films that I have had trouble not thinking too much about after it was over. Now, all I have to do is wait for the DVD to come.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine film about two very real boys..., February 24, 2006

By 

Jess "The Librarian" (The Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frontline: Country Boys (DVD)

Perhaps my rating of this film is a bit biased. I'm from Knott County, KY, which borders Floyd County where the film takes place. I know boys just like Chris Johnson and Cody Perkins, struggling to make it through high school because of various tragic reasons. The duality of both "needing" an education and "not getting above your raisings" echos strongly throughout this film and throughout this region. It is a struggle for many young people to balance strong family ties and their own personal ambitions. I appreciate Sutherland's truthfulness to the reality of eastern Kentucky and to the very real struggles young people go through without using stereotype or judgement.

I will remember Country Boys for years to come as a film important to local and Appalachian studies. Apart from its stance as a regional piece, this is an entertaining documentary. Beautifully-shot and well-directed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!!!, March 21, 2006

By 

A Reader (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frontline: Country Boys (DVD)

I saw this documentary when it was shown earlier this year on PBS & I am still thinking about Chris & Cody & wonder how they're doing. I can't express how much this film touched me. It's a magnificent piece of work. Thank you, David Sutherland, AND Chris & Cody!