Product Details

• Actors: Jaime Leigh Allen, Jemma Braham, Freeda Cat, Scott Davidson, Ruthanne Gereghty
• Directors: Josh Aronson
• Producers: Josh Aronson, Jackie Roth, Julie Sacks, Roger Weisberg
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: New Video Group
• VHS Release Date: January 2, 2002
• Run Time: 80 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005RJ1Y
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,259 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

You might expect that the cochlear implant, a device that can give deaf people the gift of hearing, would be embraced by the deaf community. Josh Aronson's Sound and Fury, a compelling and often devastating documentary, tells a different story. Two brothers, one deaf and one hearing, grapple with a decision concerning their deaf children, and the debate that rages through the extended family turns less on technology and medical concerns than social politics and culture. The deaf parents of a school-age girl fear what the implant would do to her unique identity, while the hearing parents of a toddler see no question at all. Aronson gives all sides their say, but ultimately the increasingly angry arguments reveal prejudices and fears from both sides and split the once-harmonious family, much like they have split hearing and deaf communities across the country. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

Academy Award(r)-nominated Sound and Fury follows the intimate, heart-rending tale of the Artinians, an extended family with deafness in three generations, as they confront a technological device that threatens deaf culture - and their bonds with each other. For the Artinians, a surgical ear implant means the choice between life in the mainstream and the longevity of the deaf community, a robust culture in its own right, united by a uniquely visual and artistic language. Six-year-old Heather -- precocious, vivacious, deaf and a candidate for implant surgery -- is caught between her deaf parents and her hearing grandparents, as they argue passionately about her future. The debate is sometimes silent, but by no means quiet. When all is done, Sound and Fury speaks volumes about the choices we make and the battles we fight in order to be heard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A documentary full of passion and ethical challenges, October 7, 2003

By	Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: Sound and Fury (DVD)

"Sound and Fury" is a documentary film directed by Josh Aronson and produced by Roger Weisberg. The film tells the story of three generations of two families that are linked by marriage. Each family has a number of deaf members across the generations.

The family members find themselves challenged by the availability of cochlear implants, a revolutionary medical technology that potentially allows deaf people to be able to hear. At the heart of the film are the debates over whether two of the children in the extended family will receive the implants.

This is an extraordinary film--one that is both emotionally moving and intellectually challenging. There are a number of lively debates over various interconnected topics: deaf culture, deaf identity, what is or is not a handicap, being a minority, and parental decisionmaking. The film is also valuable in that it is a fascinating visual record of people speaking in sign language--the beauty, power and expressiveness of this mode of communication is superbly captured, and accompanied by useful voiceover translation.

The DVD contains additional footage that was cut from the film due to "weak" video quality. However, I feel that this additional material greatly adds to the debates in the film.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Completely bowled over!, July 19, 2002

By	--corinne-- (North Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sound and Fury (DVD)

Can I give this documentary six stars? It's that good. It's a provocative story with even-handed treatment and thoughtful portrayal.
The idea of cochlear implants is amazing- that people deaf since birth can have a device implanted behind their ears that enables them to hear. You'd think that this device would be embraced by the deaf community, but the reality is not so simple.
This documentary follows the families of two brothers, one deaf and one hearing, who are divided over whether to have cochlear implants implanted in their deaf children.
The deaf brother and his wife passionately identify themselves with being deaf. They can read lips but cannot speak. Their misgivings grow over the consequences for their family if their four-and-a-half year old daughter receives a cochlear implant and is able to hear and speak while they cannot.
The second brother and his wife, both hearing, have newborn twin sons, one who hears and one who cannot. They feel their deaf son's life will be easier if he has an implant.
This documentary is most riveting when following the conflict between the two couples and their own parents as they debate whether or not to give their deaf children cochlear implants.
Profound socio- and psychological issues come to light over deaf and hearing identity and culture.
High praise goes to the "Sound and Fury" crew who found this family who have three generations of hearing and deaf members. Their different perspectives created a wonderfully rich dialogue that was a joy to follow.
And much thanks to the Artinian family for generously opening your homes to us and making us think about both sides of this intensely personal debate.
From a person who is new to the issue of cochlear implants I couldn't take my eyes away from this story. I have not followed a documentary so raptly since "Hoop Dreams."
This eighty-minute documentary is completely suitable and highly recommended for both academic and personal viewing.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an important documentary..., June 9, 2007

By	D. Pawl "mariposarosa2" (Seattle) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sound and Fury (DVD)

SOUND AND FURY, directed by Josh Aronson, takes a good look at the deaf culture and the cochlear implant, a device that poses a great challenge and [even] a threat to their interconnectedness, as a community. The implant, if implanted in a deaf child, has the power to bring them hearing. Potentially, if an implant recipient receives it early enough, they can even grow up to speak and interact with the hearing world in a coherent and connected manner. Though, this sounds like a great miracle that all parents would potentially want for their children (especially deaf parents), this is not that case at all.

The film follows the Artinian family. The two Artinian brothers live very different lives. While Peter was born deaf, went on to marry a deaf woman and has a deaf five year old daughter, his brother can hear, married a woman whose parents are deaf, but she is also hearing. Together, they have twin boys. One can hear, but the other was born deaf. When the option of the cochlear implant is presented, the brothers react very differently, as do sets of grandparents. In the Artinian family's community in Long Island, New York, the cochlear implant is a very controversial medical phenomenon. For starters, the question of deaf people's perceived inferiority in the eyes of of hearing people is a huge issue. The cochlear implant poses even greater leverage in the favor of the hearing world's sustained stereotype--that is the feeling that Peter and many of his friends in the deaf community share. Whereas, Mrs. Artinian, Peter's mother, believes that denying a deaf child the opportunity to hear is wrong and not giving their flesh and blood the best opportunity to integrate into the hearing world, to have better opportunities. These opportunities would otherwise be denied.

The title of this documentary, alone, really made me anticipate a very fiery debate on the cochlear implant issue, and I was right. The separation between the hearing world and the deaf world is a great and difficult one. I am so glad that this film was made because it was sensitively done, and it also teaches the viewer a great deal about the intricacies of moving between the world of the hearing and the world of the deaf. It really is a huge cultural difference--bigger than you would imagine. Well worth the acclaim!