Product Details

• Format: NTSC
• Region: All Regions
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Quality Information Publishers, Inc.
• Run Time: 22 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B001DNJQNK
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #148,979 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Heroin. It's one of the most powerful illegal drugs and is still regularly abused around the world. This intense film explores where heroin comes from, how it's processed, and by what methods it enters into the United States for sale on the black market in the 1970's. It's also narrated by the wonderful Hollywood icon Paul Newman who illuminates the history of heroin. Opium has been a source of drug addiction for thousands of years. The film reveals how opium is made into heroin. Originally used chiefly in Mediterranean countries, the drug eventually spread to Arab countries and to the Far East. It is now smuggled into the United States. Today, illegal drug smuggling is a serious issue in the United States as smuggling techniques become more sophisticated. Despite efforts to crack down on the availability of narcotics, it is nearly impossible to prevent them from entering the country. The manner of processing opium into heroin has also become more advanced. The effects of heroin are examined, as well as substance abuse treatment for heroin addiction. The film continues with a description of how heroin addicts have started to be treated differently in the 1970s. The major shift was from moving away from criminalization of addicts to treatment. This is ironic, however, since less than a decade later the War on Drugs would begin and drug abuse would return to criminal activity. A stirring look at heroin abuse, Distant Drummer: Flowers in the Darkness is an intense but important viewing experience to learn more about the history of drug abuse.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent, although dated, documentary, November 20, 2008

By	James C. Ward "movie fan" (Tuscaloosa area AL, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

this documentary (narrated by the late, great Paul Newman) was produced in the 70's and talks about the effects of heroin.

although some of the information is dated, much of the information is right on target about the effects and addictive properties of heroin, and its various derivatives (morphine, methadone, Oxycodone, etc.)

good tool to have to show in substance abuse classes or out-patient programs.