Product Details

• Actors: Martin Sheen, Melinda Dillon, Matthew Labyorteaux, Lukas Haas, Roxana Zal
• Directors: Robert Greenwald
• Writers: Gregory Goodell
• Producers: Robert Greenwald, Diane Walsh, Paul Pompian
• Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, 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: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Allumination
• DVD Release Date: July 1, 2002
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008MTXI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,564 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Shattered Spirits" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This will sneak up on you!, February 6, 2002

By 

Charles Whitcomb (Ashland, MA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shattered Spirits [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film was first shown on TV at the boomtime of recovery when Betty Ford was pushing for recovery for families affected by addiction. The story portrays a middleclass family hiding dad's (Sheen's) alcoholism and sliding down the slope of denial. The reactions of the family to crises and the roles they each fall into are so accurately done that the viewer can get way into his/her own alcoholic upbringing and pain before they are aware of it.
I have shown this at several gatherings and it never fails to shake some people up seriously. Kids are especially vulnerable in their teen years. But entire families can get very agitated during the viewing.
So I would recommend that anyone showing or viewing this film be prepared to deal with some extreme reactioons for several days afterwards. Don't just show this and send your guests home. Instead have a discussion and a followup trip to a meeting of Alateen, Al-Anon or AA.
BUT SHOW IT!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shattered Spirits, April 22, 2003

By 

Jordan B Killpack (Elk Ridge, Utah United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shattered Spirits [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film depicts substance abuse, domestic violence, co-dependancy in the family. Very powerful, very accurate.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Accurate and cathartic for Alcoholic Families, February 10, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shattered Spirits [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The story is full of those disturbing yet common events which plague families struggling with Alcoholism. The folks who consulted on this film (Claudia Black for one - Authoer of some of the best recovery books for kids) did a great job of keeping the alcoholic insanity just high enough to really affect anyone who grew up with an alcoholic parent. The scenes are well constructed and the outcome is not sugar coated. ONE WARNING...don't just show this to a group or a friend or a bunch of kids thinking they'll like it. There will need to be some help and comfort offered. Some people will discover their own alcoholic and/or abusive past for the first time During the showing. Find out where there are Al-Anon, Alateen, and AA meetings BEFORE you show the film. But SHOW IT!