death sentence is a 2007 american action drama film loosely based on the 1975 novel of the same name by brian garfield .

directed by james wan , the film stars kevin bacon as nick hume , a man who takes the law into his own hands after his son is murdered by a gang as an initiation ritual .

hume must protect his family from the gang 's resulting vengeance .

the film premiered on august 31 , 2007 , and was released on dvd on january 8 , 2008 .

death sentence ( 2007 film )

garfield has said that the film death sentence was never going to be able to be a strict sequel to winner’s death wish because the film rights for the death sentence franchise are still owned by somebody else . see nikki tranter , “historian : interview with brian garfield” , pop matters 4 march 2008 : urltoken .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing death sentence near you .
death sentence is a laughably bad exercise in the pornography of sadism and the american appetite which voraciously consumes it .
bacon ' s performance in saw creator james wan ' s laughably extreme revenge thriller death sentence is six degrees of ham .
“death sentence” is rated r ( under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian ) for graphic violence , language and drug use .
death sentence ; death wish ; fleshburn ; hopscotch ; the last hard men ; necessity ; relentless ; the stepfather ; wild times etc - - nineteen so far , and counting . . . .
death sentence has a weird history . technically , this is the sequel to death wish but in a literary sense . obviously , there were many death wish movies . however , if for some reason you wanted both stories in one day i suppose you could skip the death wish sequels and just watch death wish and this . i don’t know why you would do that but you could .
′colonia′ : film broaches atrocities of german - run sect in chile | film | dw | 14 . 09 . 2015
watching this film reminds me of i saw the devil and vice versa . it gets more and more uncomfortable as the film progresses .
bronson went on to make
death wish 3
( 1985 ) ,
death wish 4
( 1987 ) and
death wish v
( 1994 ) , by which date he was 73 and didn ' t need the bag of groceries as bait . they were set variously in los angeles and new york , largely filmed in toronto , and never did get back to chicago , reportedly because garfield hated the first movie and its sequels so much he would never sell the rights to death sentence . but now here at last , in 2007 , is
death sentence ,
and it is filmed in , that ' s right , south carolina . it doesn ' t follow the book , either .
this week ' s round of new movie release information contains release dates for talk to me , death sentence , the christmas cottage and more . more . . .
now film director florian gallenberger has created a movie based on this dark chapter of history . the german film
colonia
premieres at the 40th toronto international film festival ( held from september 10 - 20 ) .
blunt , bloody and far too busy with its sledgehammer plot and mighty gunplay to waste time on the main character ' s inner life , death sentence is a baseline entertainment .
this form of authorship has a classificatory function . several films are related to a particular film – saw – and also related implicitly to the name wan . a relationship is established between these texts as a result of the specific links that they have ; moreover , this relationship calls forth into being a particular kind of film - group formation . put another way , each film being advertised is associated with other texts – each film is associated with saw but , in the case of death sentence , also the novel / film death wish and , in the case of insidious , also paranormal activity . what being associated in this way means is that each film is characterised by its relationship to other texts .
a scintillating , talented writer .
- - newsday ( reviewing death wish )
[ … ] anatoly liberman’s look at the death of the adverb . [ … ]
what did you think the direction taken by the death wish sequels ? death sentence , the book , took such pains to delve into these issues of vengeance and modes of violence and crime eradication , yet the sequel to death wish really seemed to retread old territory . the book reveals so much about paul , and is such a fascinating continuation of his story , an evolution of his motives . i found myself reading death sentence and kind of feeling annoyed that your theories weren ' t explored more fully in the films . was that on purpose ?
death sentence wasn’t screened in advance for critics when it came out on august bank holiday weekend in 2007 , so when they finally saw it they were all too happy to savage the film . whilst the plot may be simple , the execution of death sentence is anything but . the effect that this film has on you is similar to a lot of the popular south korean revenge films of the last few years . you walk out shell - shocked and depressed , revenge is an ugly business and not something to be glorified and wan shows you this . with every murder that happens in the film there is a real sense of loss and finally when the climax comes , wan changes kevin bacon’s physical appearance to such a degree that the ugliness reflects how his soul has rotted through this mission of vengeance .
on the review aggregate website rotten tomatoes , 19 % of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 106 reviews , as of february 27 , 2009 . on metacritic , the film had an average score of 36 out of 100 , based on 24 reviews . rodger ebert of the the chicago sun - times gave the film 2½ stars out of 4 . he compared death sentence to the death wish films starring charles bronson , saying :
in the bronson movies , the hero just looked more and more determined until you felt if you tapped his face , it would explode . in death sentence , bacon acts out a lot more .
ebert called death sentence
very efficient
, praising
a courtroom scene of true surprise and suspense , and some other effective moments
, but concluded that
basically this is a movie about a lot of people shooting at each other
.
of the same name is based on . it is the sixth film in the
i think that , except for its ludicrous violence toward the end , the death sentence movie does depict its character ' s decline and the stupidity of vengeful vigilantism .
death wish creator brian garfield talks to popmatters about remakes , sequels , writing , and the meaning of vengeance .
death sentence gave me hope for fast & furious 7 and i was interested in seeing what james wan would do with it . turns out nothing , you can ' t even tell he directed it .
a father ( kevin bacon ) goes out for revenge after his family is attacked in a senseless and heinous gang - initiation crime . the father enacts a death sentence on each perpetrator involved with the crime .
see john ellis , visible fictions : cinema , television , video , routledge , london , 1982 . the “narrative image” of a film relates to how the film functions as a component in public discourse ; put another way , it has to do with how cultural knowledge builds up around a film . this relates to not only knowledge about what kind of film it is ( say it’s generic structure and tone – e . g . a nasty or fun horror film ) but also other concepts that help to define the film and differentiate it from other texts in the marketplace . therefore , the narrative image of a film has to do with the intertextual contexts within which a film can be placed .
the film has little in common with the novel , a sequel to death wish . the novel follows paul benjamin moving to chicago , illinois after his daughter dies in a mental institution , as he continues his vigilantism . he then falls for a woman . the novel also deals with benjamin ' s attempts to stop a new , antagonistic vigilante from copying his methods for publicity , as he later is confronted with an idealist as to why his vigilantism must stop . the film , while borrowing elements from the death wish and death sentence novels , follows a new character , nick hume , as his family suffers a gang - related attack similar to that experienced by benjamin ' s in death wish .
plot triggering death : brendan ' s murder at the hands of joe causes nick to go vigilante .
a man must survive a prison where hardened criminals battle to the death for the wardens ' entertainment .
i was horrified at the new death sentence film ! i realize the film is not based on your book , but it was hard to judge the film on its own after reading the books , and following paul ' s story as closely as i have over the years . the new film was really just a retelling of the first story , heavily altered , removing much of paul ' s character , and the issues and debates between paul and irene the lawyer that make the second book so great . that bothered me . or am i looking at the project in the wrong way ?
death sentence is not for the squeamish or the weak of heart . but , in many ways it should be viewed by those who would otherwise turn their nose at such extreme violence . james wan never treats the death on screen as a joke or something to laugh at but he also doesn ' t wallow in the guts . yes , there is death and a lot of gore here , but it is the buckets of blood that represents the stakes that a single death can represent for those involved . it also makes it clear that the death of one will always lead to the death of many more . wan definitely drives home brian garfield ' s intended message that vigilantism is stupid and carries with it so much more . i do not think many people will leave watching this movie unchanged . i know that on repeated viewings , death sentence is still not an enjoyable film but not all movies should be fun . some movies should punch you in the gut and make you think about what you just saw . this movie does just that .
much like the conjuring films , death sentence has multiple layers to it . on a first viewing , you can focus purely on the action elements of the film and enjoy it as a roller coaster of guns and explosions . but , a deeper analysis opens up death sentence as so much more . this is a film that can be taken as an example of why the preponderance of gun violence in the united states must be dealt with . the actions of our
hero
may seem noble in an antiquated sense of the word , but what do his actions bring down on the innocent bystanders around him ? in a less political light , death sentence can be seen as a psychological look at what trauma can do to someone who doesn ' t exert any deviant behavior . can a man be forced to descend into the evil he is trying to stop ? aside from all of that , you can watch death sentence as an evolution in the skills of james wan . the courtroom scene alone is proof enough that wan should be given much more to work with than summer blockbusters and genre movies .
barry keith grant , “introduction” , auteurs and authorship : a film reader , p . 3 .
founded in 1999 , senses of cinema is one of the first online film journals of its kind and has set the standard for professional , high quality film - related content on the internet .
since last week making it only the tenth film to do so . over the weekend the film added $ 7 . 08 million on 4486 screens in 53 markets for a total of $ 626 . 30 million internationally , which places the film sixth place on that chart just $ 16 million behind
funny thing . when bronson made
death wish ii
( 1982 ) , it was set in los angeles , even though brian garfield , the author of the novel death wish , had written a 1975 sequel , death sentence , set in chicago . ah , yes , here ' s my copy right here , dedicated to
jay robert nash , john mchugh , roger ebert and bill granger , chicago front - pagers all , with thanks .
this graphically violent film suffers from cursorily developed characters whose primary function is to advance the creaky plot .
movie about a killer who is waiting on death row , and finds an unlikely friend in a prison guard .
the category “classic auteurism” is used by barry keith grant in his film reader on auteurs and authorship . see auteurs and authorship : a film reader , ed . barry keith grant , blackwell , oxford , 2008 .
welcome to new orleans : a . n . s . w . e . r . coalition film series
that said , it’s a decent diversion next to the ludicrous death sentence , in which kevin bacon’s mild insurance man confronts the murder of his teenage son by killing the son’s attacker , which brings the rest of the hooligan’s gang after him — which forces him to go on a rampage , becoming as big and bad a skinhead mutha as any of them . the morality of revenge is barely at issue in a movie that pushes the plausibility of revenge right over a cliff . halloween : b - death sentence : d
is it a horror film , do you think ? so much of the marketing makes it look like an exploitation film , but it doesn ' t feel that way when you watch it , or at least it didn ' t for me . what did you think of the approach taken to the film ' s marketing ?
this earlier poster for the film was replaced by 20th century fox with the darker poster at top of column .
an interview with writer / director boots riley about his incendiary new film ,
sorry to bother you .
a terrifying horror within the walls of the infamous alcatraz prison . the last film ever shot on the rock !
florian gallenberger ' s film
colonia ,
premiering at the toronto film festival , revisits the dark history of the colonia dignidad , a secretive german - founded colony in chile . the enclave ' s legacy remains controversial .
on welcome to new orleans : a . n . s . w . e . r . coalition film series
billy the puppet from the saw series makes a brief cameo as a grafitti - styled painting on a wall . leigh whannell , who plays spink in the film , is one of the creators of the saw series in addition to director james wan . charlie clouser , who provided the music for death sentence also composed the music for the saw series and the tv show las vegas .
in prison four long - sentence inmates planning an elaborate escape cautiously induct a new inmate to join in their scheme which leads to distrust and uncertainty .
a nun , while comforting a convicted killer on death row , empathizes with both the killer and his victim ' s families .
with only six months left of his sentence , inmate frank leone is transferred from a minimum security prison to a maximum security prison by a vindictive warden .
haven ' t seen the brave one yet . it ' s on order from netflix . i ' m told it ' s similar to death wish in theme , but can ' t judge it until i ' ve seen it . evidently it is a vigilante movie , which the movie death sentence is not - - the latter is a revenge fantasy and i suspect those are as old as the human race .
death sentence shows there ' s even more to [ revenge ] than your own downfall . the cycle you get into spirals out of control . perhaps it ' s more emblematic of gandhi ' s statement ' an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind . '
three juvenile delinquents are sentenced to a correctional facility where they encounter gang violence , death , and harassment from staff and other inmates .
polite , unshakingly honest , and wonderfully introspective , brian garfield calmly addressed my death sentence ranting , before rightfully steering our conversation towards other topics , including fiction and non - fiction writing , hollywood , research , and finally to his latest work , the meinertzhagen mystery , just out in paperback .
a man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island , which inspires the man to plot his escape .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
this is exactly what a
death wish
movie by a horror filmmaker should have been . eat your heart out , eli roth .
set in a prison , a death row inmate has a secret and the warden will go to any lengths to get it . things dont go as planned as you would expect . a good action film with alot of good fight . . . see full summary »
boris trbic , “the low - budget australian horror film” , metro no . 144 , 2005 , pp . 143 - 44 .
john wick meets green room . i admire this film even more than either of those , and found myself so on the edge of my seat that i was practically on the floor . though tonally inconsistent at times ( aided by somewhat of a sappy soundtrack ) , the film still knows how to tap into our emotions . call it exploitation , but sometimes a film like this just feels necessary .
the finale is brutal and somehow beautiful with a final confrontation not ending as expected . death sentence was probably the reason that wan got the fast and furious 7 directing gig for summer 2014 and he really proves his action credentials in one long foot chase starting at an office building , going through kitchens and winding up on the top of a parking structure . this is filmed in a series of very long takes by dead silence collaborator john leonetti and really gets the adrenaline pumping . due to the subject matter and its unrelenting bleakness , death sentence is fairly unknown and seems to be a film people don’t return to because it is such a tough watch . however it is far better than most gave it credit for and could be a good indication of what we will be in for next summer .
edward buscombe , “ideas of authorship” , auteurs and authorship : a film reader , p . 80 ( essay originally published in 1973 ) .
nazek : a documentary by ramez kazmouzisrael , 2007 , 52min , usa premierenazek is the first arab senior officer in israel ; she is 48 years old and a mother to four children . being an arab woman and a police officer might have been challenging enough for nazek but serving in the israeli police presents major contradictions and sets… read more »
by the end of my death sentence scripts the hero has learned a great deal , partly in the way paul learns it from irene in the novel , and he withdraws from his vigilantism , having killed no one . that was okay for the original producers ( karen and howard baldwin , who ' d produced several movies including the biography ray about ray charles ) but it didn ' t survive the committees of 20th century fox executives . that was the companies ' decision , and it ' s all right with me ; writers don ' t make movies unless they also direct and / or produce them , and death sentence is not
mine
in any but a distant sense .
yet saw has continued to be pivotal to the marketing of wan’s films and to his identity as an author . moreover , being known as the “ saw guy” has helped wan work as a director in hollywood . this article will argue that one way an author - name is attributed to wan is through the promotional material for his films , particularly the title saw . in order to make and support this argument the official trailers for dead silence , death sentence , insidious and the conjuring will be discussed . the official movie poster for insidious will also be referred to , as will a poster for death sentence made exclusively for comic - con international : san diego ; although this poster is now widely available on a host of entertainment related websites and databases promoting the film ( as are all the other posters and trailers for wan’s films ) .
a german man who fled chile after being sentenced to five years in prison for child sex abuse must serve his sentence in germany . hartmut hopp was part of the notorious colonia dignidad enclave .
author brian garfeild , who wrote the novel the film is loosely based on , said of the film :
while i could have done with a bit less blood - and - thunder , i think it ' s a stunningly good movie . in the details of its story it ' s quite different from the novel , but it ' s a movie , not a novel . in its cinematic way it connects with its audience and it makes the same point the book makes , and those are the things that count .
he also liked that , like his novels , but unlike the death wish film series , it does not advocate vigilantism . garfield further explained in an interview :
i think that , except for its ludicrous violence toward the end , the death sentence movie does depict its character ' s decline and the stupidity of vengeful vigilantism ,
adding ,
as a story it made the point i wanted it to make .
death sentence tells a new story . . . um well . . . it has new characters in very familiar territories . kevin bacon is the father of an extremely happy family . he is a vp at his place of employment and he makes a once in a life time decision that will change everything he knows . seriously , this guy has it pretty…
big list in terms of numbers , not so much in terms of quality . in fact , the best film in terms of updates this week was
andrew sarris , “notes on the auteur theory in 1962” , film culture no . 27 , winter 1962 - 63 , pp . 1 - 8 .
kurt schnellenkamp , co - founder of colonia , was imprisoned in 2013 . the 88 - year - old was sentenced by the chilean state for unlawful detention of minors and sexual abuse . his son klaus , who escaped from the settlement , reported on his childhood in the totalitarian sect in his book
born in the shadow of fear ,
published in 2007 .
i expected more . i thought it was quite slow , and the
brutal
scenes weren ' t brutal enough for this film . it needs more brutality for the effect . for some reason the music choice was absolute shite . the best thing about the film is john goodman and kevin bacon .
what follows is hume ' s decline from everyman to cold - blooded killer . physically , bacon has always been somewhat gaunt , but when he shaves his head , his appearance takes on a skeletal and gruesome look that matches hedlund ' s billy darley . seeing kevin bacon devolve in this way , and the focus that james wan puts on this characterization , gives death sentence a strong core that sets it apart from similar movies . it was easy to dismiss this film in theaters as just another generic thriller or another flick from the makers of saw , but when you revisit death sentence you can easily see that there is more going on in this movie than blood and guts . wan stepped away from jump scares and cheap horror tactics and instead invested his focus on what could happen to any of us if pushed over the edge . granted , this is still a movie and the odds of someone enduring events like this in real life are slim , but the suspension of disbelief needed here is very minor . this film is disturbingly plausible .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
sequel to the 2002 film . this time , heavyweight champ george
iceman
chambers is sent to a russian jail on trumped - up drug charges .
based on brian garfield’s novel — a sequel to the book that spawned the 1974 film “death wish” — mr . wan’s film is a middle - class white man’s payback fantasy , leavened with phony references to class difference . nick goes from pencil pusher to vigilante superhero in record time , racking up killings and personal tragedies en route to a climactic shootout that imitates elements of the “taxi driver” finale , right down to the shaved head , blown - off fingers and gushing neck wound .
the lives of guards on death row are affected by one of their charges : a black man accused of child murder and rape , yet who has a mysterious gift .
[ … ] lastly , the death of the adverb . while i would love to give my two cents on whether or not the adverb’s increasing rarity is [ … ]
like many of the best comedies and tragedies , this weimar - era silent film understands how each mode is often a hair ' s breadth from the other .
i usually think of horror films as movies in which there ' s a supernatural element . under that definition death sentence is not a horror movie . i ' d like to use the term
thriller
although that seems to have been redefined since the heydays of graham greene and john lecarre - - in publishing it still means a story of suspense , but in the movies a
thriller
is more likely a slasher or chainsaw film . i have no patience with those either . i know they attract certain ( apparently large ) audiences .
the program : resistir para existir : la lucha cucapa ( 2007 ) ( resist to exist : the cucapa struggle ) + excerpts from “the battle of mexcio city” ( 2001 ) rage against the machine’s concert dvd with xtras including interviews with zach de la rocha , noam chomsky and subcommandante marcos . + current clips from the indigenous struggles in oaxaca , atenco , etc . + alicia… read more »
death sentence is a wonderfully tight little thriller , the kind of statement cinema an up and coming filmmaker needs to establish his overall eagerness to achieve . it’s clear that , after only three films , saw savant james wan is becoming a compelling cinematic presence . while the gimmicks of his now seminal first film still stand out , the controlled visual splendor he showed in the horribly underrated dead silence shows up here as well . if saw was a film soaked in slimy greens , and silence shades of gray , then sentence is steeped in gritty urban blues . even the bloodshed – and there is plenty – is toned down , tweaked to maintain an aura of desperation and dread . wan wants to establish his own aesthetic goals , reasons why his movies matter more than other game genre selections . while there are those who dismiss practically everything he does , this is one novice filmmaker who has made finding his way a compelling cinematic exercise .
this movie also carries with it a code of ethics , as twisted as they may be . the catalyst for the film ' s events is the murder of brendan hume , carried out by joe darley ( matt o ' leary ) as an initiation into his older brother ' s gang . then , the death of joe leads billy to exact his own revenge on nick hume and his family . in the end , the actions of both sides comes down to the approval of gun dealer bones , played by an always excellent john goodman . bones , who also happens to be the father of billy and joe , determines that his son ' s actions warrant the eye for an eye quest of nick hume . a father allowing the death of his son is a haunting proposition but also one that fits into this twisted world . we have heard crazier things in the news recently that doesn ' t make this seem so outlandish , but the shakespearan tragedy that unfolds in death sentence makes it as dramatic as it is thrilling . it also examines the meaning of morality in a world consumed by death .
explores the origins of the first
frankenstein
car driver , carl
luke
lucas , who died in a race at the beginning of the first film .
death sentence is a realistic film compared to films like falling down and death wish . in this day and age of terrorist threats and mass shootings , it may not be as enjoyable to watch a man gun down countless people , but there is still a place for films like this . the vast majority of people would never act on the impulses on display in movies like this but we all live voyeuristically through these bloodbaths . but , where those vigilante movies show our protagonist gunning everyone down in a single - minded focus , right or wrong , death sentence offers something much more disturbing . kevin bacon is adept at playing an everyman character and in nick hume he gives us a father mourning the loss of a son and dealing with the futility of the justice system . when his son ' s murderer goes free , hume kills him but never looks content to have done so . in most films , that vengeance would be sweet , but here it is bitter as the dead criminal ' s brother , played by tron legacy ' s garrett hedlund , exacts his own revenge and takes hume ' s wife and puts his other son in a coma .
frank perry is an institutionalized convict fourteen years into a life sentence without parole . when his estranged daughter falls ill , he is determined to make peace with her before it ' s . . . see full summary »
bacchanale is a “lost” adult arthouse film from 1970 , released towards the end of the grindhouse era and at the dawn of xxx . the ( surprisingly enlightened ) sex in this film is overwhelmed by a script chock full of low - budget surrealistic pretensions . this creative tact was originally designed to provide enough of a veneer of artistic… read more »
funny , that ' s exactly what i thought when i viewed director james wan ' s update of the vengeance - vigilante story , death sentence , so loosely based on garfield ' s novel of the same name , a direct sequel to his death wish story , that it ' s about a vigilante , but certainly not paul benjamin from the books . wan ' s update is grittier , with concerns far different than the original novel . while the novel queried socialized forms of violence and the system ' s treatment of violent criminals , wan ' s film was a simple slash and burn revenge tale that tried ( and , in my opinion , failed ) to parallel family survival stories - - the father with his suburban family fights to survive against the violent
street
family and vice versa .
years after being shot by his eldest son darius and taking the fall for his crimes , former gangster james
animal
allen serves a life sentence at folsom prison . when a riot breaks out . . . see full summary »
the weekend after labor day is often the worst weekend of the year . let ' s hope that ' s true this year as the overall box office was down to just $ 80 million , which was a drop - off of 32 % from last weekend . on the other hand , it was up $ 10 million from the same weekend last year , which is a great sign for 2007 ' s chances at breaking more records .
[ … ] i posted a “glossary” word and used it in a sentence . i got that out of the way “real quick . ” i posted a link about that phrase above . it’s interesting . i bastardize the english [ … ]
paul schaefer , the ex - nazi corporal who tyranically ruled a chilean cult community , died saturday while serving a prison sentence for abusing children and taking part in the torture and murder of political prisioners . ( 24 . 04 . 2010 )
james wan takes it to the damn streets . after watching all five death wishes over the last five days , this was a pretty jarring change in tone . here is a movie that takes itself seriously while still telling an absolutely ridiculous suburban revenge tale . if the direct comparison to make here is to death wish 2 , then this is definitely a better take on the classic white male vigilante fantasy .
i ' m curious to see what stallone will do with it . i have no idea whether it ' ll be successful at the box - office , but i have a feeling it ' ll be a better film than the original was . the original death wish movie had enormous impact on people , but if you look at it as cinema , it ' s woeful .
you’re a hip director of horror films . you rule the facial - skin - mask - and - severed - limb ghetto , but you crave…respectability . and so , if you’re rob zombie , the former demon metal rock god ? turned ? cult wizard of gore , you follow your two mini - hits , house of 1000 corpses and the devil’s rejects , with a reverently ”ambitious” remake of john carpenter’s halloween . if you’re james wan , who made the original saw , you direct death sentence , a lavishly mounted gloss on the classic death wish . it says much about today’s movie culture that both of these new films could pass for prestige bids .
the closely contemporaneous release of two vigilante movies with more or less the same starting point—a close family member senselessly murdered by inner - city thugs—allows for a fascinating contrast in style . death sentence , from saw director james wan , and the upcoming the brave one , from the more high - toned neil jordan ( the crying game , the end of the affair ) , both reach the conclusion that revenge , no matter how righteous its intent , coarsens the avenger ' s soul . and yet the differences between the two are like chardonnay and rotgut : jordan ' s is a somber , elegantly wrought mood - piece , while wan ' s aims straight for the stomach lining . it ' s tempting to call death sentence the more
honest
of the two , since it ' s less ashamed to paddle around in the muck , but wan often lets his guileless enthusiasm get the better of him .
[ … ] time ago i read a vitriolic comment on my post titled “death of the adverb” ( the writer from australia was quite “incensed” by it ) . while discussing the phrase do it [ … ]
perhaps a more interesting question is what does death wish creator , brian garfield , think of the rocky and rambo star taking on his much beloved work ? he recently told popmatters , he ' s into it .
wan only directed the first saw and merely shares a story credit with whannell on saw and saw iii ( 2006 ) ( although wan did also serve as an executive producer on saw ii [ 2005 ] , saw iii and saw iv [ 2007 ] ) . despite his relatively small input into the subsequent saw franchise , wan is credited , along with whannell , with launching a popular culture phenomenon . “the saw franchise of films” , as james aston and john wallis explain ,
bacon , as usual , is very good even when he ' s slumming , and as a trashy b - movie redo of death wish the movie works well enough for a saturday afternoon with a case of brewskies .
evil voodoo - practicing serial killer shadow gets executed for murdering pregnant women . twenty years later the prison shadow was put to death at has been turned into an experimental women ' s . . . see full summary »
i don ' t know if there ' s a right or wrong way to look at it . the novel was written 30 years ago in a different sort of world . the first thing i did , when offered the screenwriting task a couple of years ago , was to point out that it needed to be updated . the second thing i pointed out was that contractually we could not create the film as a sequel to death wish . somebody , somewhere , still controls those film rights , and neither the producers nor i was interested in testing those waters . ( four sequels to death wish were filmed in the 1980s and 1990s ; all of them starred charles bronson , but they were made by four different companies , none of which exists today . tracking their assets and obligations would be an exercise in frustration at best . )
machete mayhem : brendan is cut down by a gang member armed with a machete early on in the film . nick considers using a machete in response but instead opts for a much more concealable knife .
he was publicizing
death wish
( 1974 ) , his film about a man whose wife is killed and daughter raped . he gets a gun and starts posing as bait for muggers , a middle - aged guy with a bag of groceries . then he shoots them dead . i think he kills about 11 victims ( 17 in the book ) and is nicknamed
the new york vigilante ,
but the homicide rate drops 50 percent in new york , and so a cop cuts him a deal : get out of town . as the film ends , he ' s drawing a bead on a guy in chicago .
in a violent and corrupt prison , decorated cop louis burke must infiltrate the jail to find answers to a number of inside murders . what he finds is a struggle of life and death tied in to his own past .
leigh whannell was born in 1977 in melbourne , australia . he met wan while the two of them were studying film in the media arts program at rmit university in the mid - to - late 1990s .
awards in 1974 , the film was nominated for an oscar for best music , original dramatic score ( jerry goldsmith ) and a golden globe award for best motion picture actor , drama ( steve mcqueen ) .
an extraordinary film / slideshow / discussion celebrating bioregional beauty of one the most biodiverse regions in the world . enjoy stunning photographs , and a breath - taking film of very unusual natural features , creating a complex mosaic of fascinating plant and animal habitats . stay and chat about the shasta bio - region , as well as the klamath - siskiyou bio - region . bio - regional education is the new… read more »
scott tobias of the a . v . club contends the film is
certainly never boring
he felt that director james wan was
too busy jamming the accelerator to realize that his movie ' s spinning out of control .
matt zoller seitz of the new york times said ,
aside from a stunning three - minute tracking shot as the gang pursues nick through a parking garage , and mr . bacon ' s hauntingly pale , dark - eyed visage , mr . wan ' s film is a tedious , pandering time - waster .
owen gleiberman of entertainment weekly felt that
the morality of revenge is barely at issue in a movie that pushes the plausibility of revenge right over a cliff .
conversely , justin chang of variety called the film
well - made , often intensely gripping
. similarly , bill gibron of pop matters felt the film was
a significant movie
and
a wonderfully tight little thriller
. darren amner of eye for film also gave the film a positive review , praising bacon ' s performance in particular :
[ h ] is portrayal is emotional , sympathetic and highly aggressive . as a father he is touching and as a stone - cold killing machine he is even more convincing .
everything that follows will be a spoiler of one sort or another , unless you have already guessed that john , i mean nick , has lost a close family member , obtains a gun that would stop a charging locomotive and goes out for revenge . in the older movies , the killing mostly amounted to the hero shooting people , but
death sentence
is directed by the australian james wan (
saw ,
dead silence
) , who has a much more sensational line in violence .
in the bronson movies , the hero just looked more and more determined until you felt if you tapped his face , it would explode . in
death sentence ,
bacon acts out a lot more , scaring his wife ( kelly preston ) and drawing the attention of a police detective ( aisha tyler ) , who you would think , at a crucial point , would think to ask nick why he has a blood - soaked bandage wrapped around his hand . probably just smashed a mirror in grief .
during wwii , the death camp at treblinka had an escape , causing the commandant at a similar camp in sobibor to vow that his camp would never experience the same thing . but those who were . . . see full summary »
nautical jazz suite ( 34 min . , 2006 ) film collage by hugo ball room from illuminated corridor show with ted brinkley suite for faces ( approx . 1 hour , 2006 - ) by hugo ball room processed film images for improvising musicians histoire ( s ) du cinema ( 1a , b ) by j - l godard ( 100 min . 1988 ) images from these films were viewed by onlookers from the street free… read more »
ilsa is an evil nazi warden at a death camp that conducts
medical experiments
. ilsa ' s goal is to prove that women can withstand more pain and suffering than men and therefore should be allowed to fight on the front lines .
despite the seismic changes in critical fashion during the past half century , auteurism – at its most basic , the idea that there is an author to a film – has been central to the historical development of both popular film and serious film criticism and theory… aspects of auteurism have overlapped with virtually every subsequent critical theory and paradigm . considered radical when it was first introduced , the claim that some directors may express an individual vision , a worldview , over a series of films with stylistic and thematic consistently is now simply common wisdom in everyone’s understanding not only of cinema , but also of other art forms of popular culture , from music to sports to comic books . ( 28 )
full financial estimates for this film , including domestic and international box office , video sales , video rentals , tv and ancillary revenue are available through our research services . for more information , please contact us at research @ urltoken .
shredding his way through both meinertzhagen ' s four - million - word diary and the layers of sensational anecdote that grew up around him , mr . garfield exposes countless self - flattering inflations , from meinertzhagen ' s claim to own darwin ' s pipe to his boasts of having casually killed any number of men with his bare hands . . . mr . garfield manages both to prosecute meinertzhagen convincingly and , by means of his lively prose , to keep us engaged .
- - the wall street journal , saturday / sunday , february 10 - 11 , 2007
[ … ] that she hates hearing drive safe instead of drive safely . some time in the past i wrote on “the death of the adverb , ” and the essay provoked numerous comments , which i need not reproduce here . i only want to [ … ]
precisely because paratexts help us decide which texts to consume , we often know many texts only at the paratextual level . everyone consumes many more paratexts than films or programs . when we move onward to the film or program , those paratexts help frame our understanding and consumption ; but when we do not move on to the film itself , all we are left with is the paratext . hence , for instance , when at a multiplex we choose to watch one of the ten films on offer , we not only create an interpretive construction of the film that we saw ; but often also speculatively consume many of the other nine . paratexts , then , become the very stuff upon which much popular interpretation is based . ( 34 )
still , this is a significant movie , a clear indication that wan will remain a fixture in film for the time being . granted , he’s yet to be great , though saw ’s continuing influence and success suggests otherwise , and it would be nice to see him work within a genre that doesn’t demand stunts , splatter , or suspense . but in a realm where made for cable drek stands as the mainstream movie standard , death sentence gives good gonzo . it consists of some less than airtight plotting , and tends to understate the obvious , but perhaps that’s better than some regressive rambo of the suburbs stance . it definitely resides in the realm of flights of fancy and fiction , though it really wants to represent some measure of truth . unfortunately , the lure of vigilantism is too strong – and too socially acceptable – to avoid…or dismiss .
this movie tells the story of a man who goes undercover in a hi - tech prison to find out information to help prosecute those who killed his wife . while there he stumbles onto a plot involving a death - row inmate and his $ 200 million stash of gold .
see nigel w . smith , “ insidious director james wan : tired of torture porn , ‘i want to make my romanic comedy’” , indiewire 31 march 2011 : urltoken . however , wan and whannell also both acknowledge the obvious influence of poltergeist ( tobe hooper , 1982 ) on insidious and , indeed , the film itself pays direct homage to the hooper / spielberg collaboration . there are also clear attempts to be david lynch - like at times in the film , such as when the character lorraine lambert ( barbara hershey ) recalls a dream she had about a house late at night . in addition , the way supernatural aspects of the narrative are tied to the film’s audiovisual design is reminiscent of proto - blockbuster horror movies such as the exorcist ( william friedkin , 1973 ) .
i know many people on here have posted that this film isn ' t based in reality and i for one am glad ! ! ! we see reality too often day in and day out on the news , and the sad truth of it is , the bad guys usually get away with murder and don ' t suffer any repercussions for it . so it ' s great to see a film that delivers to us what it would be like if justice was served ! director , james wan of the original
saw
movie shows us he is not a one trick pony and can deliver his talents past just the horror genre . kevin bacon and the rest of the cast did a wonderful job delivering a very believable grief stricken family , i would definitely recommend this film !


sonicsgate : requiem for a team is a 2009 documentary film chronicling the history of the seattle supersonics .

the supersonics ( a.k.a. the sonics ) were a professional basketball franchise based in seattle , washington , that was a member of the national basketball association ( nba ) .

the sonics played from 1967 until 2008 , but relocated from seattle to oklahoma city , oklahoma , and were renamed as the thunder .

sonicsgate

watch all of the official sonicsgate bonus features ! http : / / sonicsgate . com .
sonicsgate : how seattle lost the sonics after 41 years . watch the full documentary urltoken # sonicsgate oct 15 , 2009
sonicsgate director jason reid and producer adam brown sit down with paul silvi on northwest sports tonight to discuss the documentary film sonicsgate .
cnbc trailer for the award - winning doc
sonicsgate : requiem for a team
learn more at http : / / sonicsgate . com .
sonicsgate is featured on the show cnbc sports biz with darren rovell before the documentary airs nationally on cnbc in 2012 . http : / / sonicsgate . com .
play david stern off , keyboard cat ! ! ! ( sonicsgate . org )
play howard schultz off , keyboard cat ! ! ! ( sonicsgate . org )
now oklahoma city knows what it’s like to be robbed . # sonicsgate may 24 , 2011
gary payton makes 5 word acceptance speech for sonicsgate webby award . urltoken jun 19 , 2010
gary payton on the 1996 finals vs . chicago and michael jordan [ sonicsgate bonus # 4 ]
seattle sonics – nothing new . check out the sonicsgate documentary to learn how everything really went down .
sonicsgate : online director ' s cut pt . 1 - cz . 1 hd - polskie napisy !
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing sonicsgate near you .
sonicsgate : online director ' s cut pt . 2 - cz . 2 hd - polskie napisy !
george karl on the 1996 western conference finals - sonics vs . jazz [ sonicsgate bonus # 3 ]
“sonicsgate” is a detailed underscoring documentary of politics and finance which ultimately caused the supersonics demise in seattle .
sonicsgate on twitter :
the @ espn classic premiere of
sonicsgate : requiem for a team
has been rescheduled to friday , march 14 at 6 : 00pm pacific time / 9 : 00pm et .
if you don ' t have a strong stomach for that kind of thing , don ' t watch sonicsgate .
urltoken remember when the seattle supersonics drafted kevin durant ? . . . and then seattle was robbed # sonicsgate .
thanks always to sonicsgate for their efforts . i can ' t wait to support you on all your future projects .
forever green and gold : one - on - one with the director of
sonicsgate
- sportscenter . com - espn
seattle sonics move to oklahoma and go to nba finals 3 years later . good grief . # sonicsgate jun 07 , 2012
# favoritenbamoments when the seattle sonics drafted kevin durant ( before the team was stolen ) . @ sonicsgate nov 28 , 2011
just donated : kickstarter – send sonicsgate to denver for the playoffs game 3 vs . okc ! : urltoken apr 18 , 2011
the glove accepts the love for the
sonicsgate
documentary with director jason reid and executive producer camp jones at the webby awards .
iconic : shawn kemp ' the reign man ' seattle sonics . # shawnkemp # reignman # seattlesonics @ sonicsgate # sonics @ bringbacksonics urltoken
adam brown , left , jason reid , center , and darren lund created
sonicsgate ,
a documentary film that premieres tonight .
fortune named howard schultz the “business person of the year” . threw my copy straight into the recycle . # sonicsgate dec 01 , 2011
sonicsgate director jason reid interviewed by ian furness on the blazers pregame show before their game against the team formerly known as the sonics .
coach george karl expresses his shock and disbelief at the supersonics leaving seattle after 41 years . http : / / sonicsgate . org .
okc losing in the finals is sweet justice for sonics fans . long live the curse of the squatch ! # sonicsgate jun 22 , 2012
@ okhumor stating the obvious . that’s why we are mad at howard schultz for selling out the fans . # sonicsgate apr 27 , 2012
urltoken | sacramento mayor kevin johnson , sonicsgate director jason reid , seattle tv reporter chris daniels and sacramento royalty ' s kevin . . .
sb nation seattle spoke with adam brown the producer of
sonicsgate : requiem for a team ,
during thursday ' s sonics rally . brown gave us his thoughts on the rally , chris hansen and the recent national television airing of sonicsgate . see our interview with brown below :
just watched the documentary sonicsgate for the second time and i hope clay bennett and the okc thunder never win a nba championship . ever . urltoken
sonicsgate ( which is now viewable in its entirety for free online ) is the movie that documents just about every step of that miserable process .
looking forward to the seattle smc event next week with @ sonicsgate . ironically it is sponsored by the seattle city council . jun 22 , 2011
hopefully the thunder going to the western conf . finals will help grow awareness that seattle should have a team ! # sonicsgate may 16 , 2011
urltoken | former sonics coach p . j . carlesimo , espn commentator john clayton , sonicsgate director jason reid and longtime seahawks fan . . .
cnbc will re - air sonicsgate in its entirety on friday at 6 : 00 p . m . pt . sonicsgate is not only an obvious must - view for all sonics fans , but a film for all sports fans and how fans are sometimes helpless against the big business of professional sports .
i only allow myself a certain amount of drama every day . today , it ' s between sonicsgate and the nobel prize fallout . tough decision .
urltoken | sonicsgate is a feature - length documentary film exposing the truth behind the supersonics ' tragic exodus after 41 years in the emerald . . .
cnbc fast money discusses the national release of
sonicsgate : requiem for a team
and oklahoma city thunder owner aubrey mcclendon fair use . . .
the sonicsgate crew airs our grievances outside the nba flagship store in manhattan and invites david stern to our ny screenings . go to urltoken . . .
more politics and more proof that in basketball we just don ' t all see eye to eye . much love and respect to my brothers at sonicsgate .
i can ' t wait to see sonicsgate . i ' m sure it will be as fair and impartial as any michael moore or fox news documentary .
@ nw _ mktg _ guy awesome ! have you seen the documentary sonicsgate ? bennett to pay fans $ 1 . 6 mill urltoken jan 22 , 2010
this 3 : 30 trailer for sonicsgate played at the beginning of the april 28th
outside the lines
on espn : urltoken featuring music . . .
i just want to take a moment to give credit to the guys at sonicsgate who are debuting a new project at the seattle international film festival this thursday .
rt @ aschofield425 : @ denvernuggets # sonics fans everywhere have your back . show okc how it’s done . # neverforget # robbed # sonicsgate apr 20 , 2011
with these nominations , “sonicsgate” is also eligible in both categories for the webby awards people’s voice in which fan votes determine the winners . these webby nominations continue to build momentum for “sonicsgate” as the film prepares for a four - day new york city premiere and today announces its special selection for the prestigious park city music film festival .
rt @ cnbcsmart don’t miss the premiere of @ sonicsgate – tonight @ 10p et on @ cnbc . winner of @ thewebbyawards best sports film . apr 27 , 2012
rt @ missingsonics congrats to @ sonicsgate’s jason reid for winning an emmy award as director of “man zou : beijing to shanghai . ” # natasnw jun 17 , 2011
the producers of
sonicsgate : requiem for a team
today announced that the espn family of networks has licensed the north american broadcast rights of the documentary .
new short trailer for the film sonicsgate featuring clips from the film and the music of neema and jake one . watch the full movie free online at . . .
urltoken | sonicsgate director jason reid ( 13 : 38 into the video ) , sports agent leigh steinberg , marcos breton of the sacramento bee , kings . . .
sonics legend gary payton talks about the great basketball fans in the city of seattle and their outstanding support for the team . http : / / sonicsgate . org .
@ sonicsgate @ nba2lou @ espn viewing parties ? really ? it ' s been 6 years . at this pace y ' all will be as miserable as cleveland sports fans
urltoken | the creators of sonicsgate scored prime seats to the denver vs . okc playoff game 3 , showing the nation that sonics fans are still here and . . .
urltoken | 30 - second trailer for
sonicsgate : requiem for a team
( 2012 ) , the critically acclaimed documentary on how the supersonics were stolen . . .
ed keyboardist and self - taught guitarist . he composed the incidental film score for the hit independent film sonicsgate , which was a 2009 webby award winner for best internet sports film and a park city music film festival selection . the re - edited television broadcast version entitled sonicsgate : requiem for a team was shown on cnbc many times in 2012 .
the seattle weekly , camp jones , and reidster reid present part 1 of sonicsgate : seattle vs sonics , documenting the june 16th save our sonics rally at the . . .
even though i covered it pretty hard in real time , thankfully , i had forgotten many of the details of this whole endeavor . but sonicsgate snapped them right back into focus .
rt @ sonicsgate : multiple reports tonight that kings sale to hansen finalized & will be announced monday / tuesday . # nba # sea # sac # rum … jan 21 , 2013
the @ espn classic premiere of
sonicsgate : requiem for a team
has been rescheduled to friday , march 14 at 6 : 00pm pacific time / 9 : 00pm et .
with assistance of former head coach george karl and teammates payton and kemp in the filming of “sonicsgate , ” a want for a basketball return to the city seems to be heartfelt .
director of sonicsgate jason reid stops by kjr ' s studio to discuss the film , nyc , and the recent webby award for best sports film . the radio broadcast was . . .
the official channel for the producers and creators of the webby award - winning documentary film sonicsgate : requiem for a team . check out all the bonus features . the supersonics belong in seattle ! urltoken
but beginning tonight and saturday night , seattle will have that opportunity . before they release their documentary
sonicsgate
free on the internet , the people behind the movie are offering two public screenings .
the sonicsgate crew takes to the road , paying our respects to the old i - 5 rivalry and representing the green and gold in portland . this video is a warning to all . . .
espn classic will air
sonicsgate
for the first time at 9 : 00 p . m . eastern time / 6 : 00 p . m . pacific time on friday , feb . 7 .
sonicsgate was featured on
outside the lines
on espn 4 / 28 / 10 . director jason reid , steve kelley from the seattle times , chris van dyk of citizens for more . . .
“sonicsgate” will screen for four days at the people’s improv theater ( 154 w . 29th street , second floor ) in nyc . the first two screenings are reserved for members of the press and invitation only ; the friday and saturday screenings are open to the public . all four nyc screenings start at 3 : 00 p . m . local new york time . advanced tickets at www . sonicsgate . org .
can’t believe today is the 10 year anniversary of my sonics being ripped away from seattle . i’ll talk with my buddies ( as seen in this pic ) from @ sonicsgate today on @ take5seattle @ king5seattle urltoken
“sonicsgate” director jason reid is also scheduled to appear on espn during an upcoming episode of “outside the lines” to discuss the national implications of the film and how the sonics scandal affects other cities with professional sports franchises .
this documentary exposes the truth behind the sonics ' departure told directly by the people involved . a fascinating piece of investigative citizen journalism , sonicsgate shows why no home team is safe in the world of modern pro sports .
after winning best sports film for our documentary “sonicsgate” in 2010 and having “mr . irrelevant” named an honoree in 2014 , we’re thrilled to have our work recognized again this year by the webby awards , the internet’s highest honor .
“mr . irrelevant” premiered in january and was named a webby award honoree in april . after winning best sports film for “sonicsgate” in 2010 , we’re thrilled to have our work recognized again by the webby awards , the internet’s highest honor .
probably my least favorite thing about modern media . every
scandal
is just word - gate . bountygate , deflategate , sonicsgate etc . watergate was the full name of the hotel . it wasn ' t some scandal about water .
sonicsgate is a feature documentary film exposing the truth behind how seattle lost the supersonics after a heated legal battle in 2008 . the perfect storm of corporate greed and political impotence formed to rob loyal seattle sports fans of their oldest professional franchise .
“sonicsgate” has been selected for the park city music film festival in association with the park city film series , which recognizes “unique and exceptional cinematic efforts . ” the film will screen on may 20 . more info at www . parkcityfilmseries . com .
so , when these e - mails were made public , bennett actually had the nerve to claim ( on video , in sonicsgate ) that when he said he was a
man possessed
he was talking about being possessed with keeping the team in seattle .
in 2010 , at the webby awards gala for films , supersonics career - leader in games played , payton accepted the award for “sonicsgate” as the best sports film . payton was a special surprise guest for the producers and with his trademark charisma , didn’t disappoint .
in 2010 , the film was given the webby award for best sports film . for more information on film , head over to the sonicsgate official website . the movie was recently released on dvd and can be purchased at costco , amazon and the seattle team shop .
national cable tv network espn classic is scheduled to air “sonicsgate : requiem for a team” nine times this weekend , with the first airing on friday , march 14 at 6 : 00 p . m . pacific time / 9 : 00 p . m . eastern time .
sonicsgate , which you can watch for free on their web site , urltoken , the chronicling of the life and death of the seattle supersonics franchise , provides a thorough dissection of what really went down in the emerald city and why the sonics are now in oklahoma city .
colin baxter – co - executive producer : colin is a creative guru who has executive produced many feature documentaries including “sonicsgate : requiem for a team” ( 2009 ) , “k2 : siren of the himalayas” ( 2012 ) and “evergreen : the road to legalization” ( 2013 ) .
nba legend gary payton delivers the 5 - word acceptance speech for sonicsgate ' s best online sports video award at the 2010 webby awards gala in new york city . bring back our seattle supersonics ! go to urltoken to watch the entire award - winning documentary for free .
december 22 , 2009 — seattle , wash — “sonicsgate – requiem for a team , ” the feature documentary film profiling the true story of the seattle supersonics’ tragic exodus from seattle , has been named the “most persuasive grassroots flick” in the dec . 21 issue of sports illustrated .
sonicsgate succeeds mightily at the first three . on the last point . . . i don ' t know what the solution is , but in succeeding in pointing out that nearly everybody was wrong , it ' s hard not to wonder . . . what would have been right ?
yes , i’m still angry . no , i won’t get over it . h / t @ chrisdaniels5 for all his reporting on this issue , @ sonicsgate for the wonderful documentary , @ sonicsrising , @ bringbacksonics and all the other advocacy groups keeping the light on until we # bringbackoursonics urltoken
the portland trailblazers defeated the team which shall not be named ( aka the zombie sonics ) last night , 83 - 74 . it stings a bit watching the old seattle team in action , especially after watching the true story on how they left town ( see the sonicsgate documentary ) .
the result was
sonicsgate : requiem for a team ,
a critically acclaimed , award - winning documentary released on the internet in 2009 . it became a cult success that brought brown and reid awards , attention and helped fans still coming to grips with the departure of the nba .
for those sonics fans out there , check out the new documentary “sonicsgate” located at urltoken . it’s a two hour special focusing on the sonics abrupt departure / theft from seattle and the hands of clay b * nnet . the documentary features interviews with community leaders , reporters , politicians and former players .
( from left to right ) don tremblay , co - owner of t . j . mchugh ' s restaurant , camp jones , executive producer of sonicsgate , jason reid , director , lorin
big lo
sandretzky , adam brown , producer , brian robinson , co - founder of save our sonics .
( mac ) : put the dvd into a computer . once it is in the drive , open a new finder window . click on the disc icon . a few random folders and a sonicsgate _ tv . m4v file will appear . this is an iphone / ipad movie that will play on those devices , itunes , quicktime and various other media players . ( pc ) : put the dvd into your computer . open my computer and look at the contents of the dvd . you should see sonicsgate _ tv . m4v . same thing , it will play in itunes , quicktime , or other media players .
“sonicsgate – requiem for a team , ” the feature documentary film profiling the true story of the seattle supersonics’ tragic exodus from seattle , today announced that every person who attends the film’s upcoming theatrical run at seattle international film festival cinema ( 321 mercer street ) will receive a free dvd copy of the film .
after two sold out preview screenings in october , siff cinema picked up “sonicsgate” for a weeklong theatrical engagement from friday , dec . 11 to thursday , dec . 17 . legendary sonics guard slick watts is scheduled to attend the screening on saturday , dec . 12 . tickets and showtimes at siff . net .
ten years ago today . july 2nd , 2008 . the sonics left seattle . it was , arguably , one of the worst civic , legal , and business deals in # seattle history . credit the folks at @ sonicsgate for creating a historical document of the tale . . . . # nba # keyarena urltoken
“sonicsgate” is free for anyone to watch online at urltoken . the film’s producers have not attempted to turn a profit with this project , wanting only for the world to see the events that caused the tragic theft of their team in the hopes that it will create momentum for the rebirth of the sonics in seattle .
i’ve been talking with the folks over at sonicsgate , the persons who put together the documentary on the sonics departure from seattle . they have a new press release , due out tomorrow . i highly recommend watching this video , sonics fan or not . its a tragic , well told story . got to urltoken .
the film sonicsgate premiers tonight in seattle . our favorite columnist steve kelley previews it : “but beginning tonight and saturday night , seattle will have that opportunity . before they release their documentary “ sonicsgate ” free on the internet , the people behind the movie are offering two public screenings . tonight’s sold - out show will be screened at siff cinema . the movie will be shown again saturday night at pacific place . some tickets still remain for saturday . both screenings begin at 8 p . m . this is the chance we’ve needed to discuss what happened and what went wrong in the final whirlwind season of 2007 - 08 . ”
the sawant campaign is throwing a benefit show featuring ra scion and khingz tonight at chop suey ( 1325 e madison street ) . the sonicsgate producers will also join geologic , kevin calabro and shawn kemp for a mike mcginn for mayor rally on friday , nov . 1 at 95 slide ( 722 east pike street ) .
the creators of
sonicsgate
released a two - hour director ' s cut of their grassroots film for free online in october 2009 , bypassing traditional channels to get their message out to the widest audience possible . the documentary soon garnered widespread critical acclaim and created a new movement to bring the nba back to seattle .
the film has had nearly 300 , 000 views on youtube . it was named
the most persuasive grassroots flick of 2009
by sports illustrated and received a webby award in 2010 for the best sports film . memorabilia featuring the
sonicsgate
logo is a must - have for seattle hoop fans hopeful of seeing the nba return someday .
the 43 - minute documentary exposes the shocking truth behind the sale and relocation of the seattle supersonics nba franchise , which moved to oklahoma city following an intense legal battle in 2008 .
sonicsgate
previously aired nationally on cnbc television in 2012 , and the producers are thrilled to now add it to the roster of films at espn classic .
we know exactly where richard conlin stands in his unreasonable opposition to the sodo arena mou . conlin needs to be fired for his numerous actions against sonics fans and his dismissive , closed minded method of governing . the sonicsgate team is proud to endorse candidates such as kshama sawant and mayor mike mcginn , who actually listen to the people .
the reason the group made sonicsgate , says brown , who served as producer along with reid ( jones was executive producer ) , was to counter the conventional wisdom that poor attendance and lack of local interest caused the move . if a team like the sonics can leave a big market , with a relatively loyal fan base , brown says , it could happen to any other city .
sonicsgate
explores the series of controversial business dealings and embarrassing political failures that led to seattle ' s 41 - year team and its championship history being ripped away from a loyal fan base and a top tier media market . the film features rare archive footage and exclusive interviews with experts and insiders including gary payton , shawn kemp , george karl , sherman alexie and slade gorton .
“this team was built on the backs of sonics fans , ” said adam brown a seattle based producer of the documentary of the franchise and city parting ways entitled “sonicsgate” . brown believes seattle deserves , and will receive , an nba franchise sooner rather than later . “they ( the nba ) ripped it away , and it’s one of the biggest ( sports ) scandals of our time . ”
“the sonicsgate soundtrack features songs by several northwest hip - hop artists including jake one , blue scholars , grayskul , common market , dyme def , grynch , neema , spaceman , wizdom , cancer rising and sir mix - a - lot [ 41 ] . it also features the song
supersonics
by seattle rock band presidents of the united states of america . ( original score by lil kriz ) ”
“ the most persuasive grassroots flick ( of 2009 ) . the makers of sonicsgate , which examines how seattle lost its nba team , felt so strongly about its message ( the team’s fans were screwed by a whole lot of people ) that they gave the movie away on their website . don’t be fooled by the price tag : this pitch - perfect documentary shows the collateral damage when a team leaves town . ”
i can ' t wait to see their whole team at the premier . i am anxious for the to re - engage with sonics fans and also excited to see who will step up to be
the next sonicsgate
and come out of the blue to bring new energy and ideas to this effort . we ' ve had an amazing run of talented young people deciding that they wanted to invest passion and energy in this process .
a five year old sports documentary is getting its second life . for the first time , espn will air sonicsgate , the documentary about the seattle supersonics leaving for oklahoma city and the questionable circumstances therein . the premiere is scheduled for friday , february 7th at 9 pm et . ( update : the film has now been rescheduled for march 14th . ) here ' s more details from a press release from the film ' s braintrust .
april 14 , 2010 — new york , n . y . — “sonicsgate : requiem for a team , ” the acclaimed feature documentary profiling the tragic death of the seattle supersonics , today announced it has been nominated for two 2010 webby awards in the categories of best sports film and best editing . a panel of judges decides the winners , which are announced on may 4 before the webby awards ceremony on june 13 in new york city .
but the original cut was simply a production of fan passion . so when cnbc called last december and began discussions about giving sonicsgate a national audience , there were significant obstacles to overcome . most notable was the need for brown and reid to get permission for all the footage used in the original version . brown said they were paid
just enough
to cover rights costs , add some fancier graphics and get better music in the recut version .
since relocation was denied i have certainly felt their absence . we have not heard a clear message from jason reid and i have barely had time to speak with him about the issue . i am really happy for them to be so busy with other projects . last month they debuted k2 : siren of the himalayas at the tellerude film festival . this thursday and again on sunday the crew that brought you sonicsgate presents evergreen : the road to legalization .
darren lund , editor : darren is an editor and occasional cinematographer with over a decade of experience in filmmaking . his work includes award winning films and music videos such as sonicsgate : requiem for a team ( 2009 ) , man zou : beijing to shanghai ( 2010 ) , k2 : siren of the himalayas ( 2012 ) , evergreen : the road to legalization ( 2013 ) , the finish line ( 2014 ) and mr . irrelevant . . .
jason reid , producer , editor : jason is the principal and founder of 2r productions where he is an award - winning editor , producer and director of independent documentaries , narrative shorts , music videos and commissioned corporate videos . he directed and produced the emmy® award - winning man zou : beijing to shanghai ( 2010 ) , the webby award - winning sonicsgate : requiem for a team ( 2009 ) and webby honorees the finish line and mr . . . .
the film’s producers will distribute free dvd copies to all attendees after the screening , which is the only way the general public can obtain the film in this format . more than 60 , 000 people have already watched the full movie online at sonicsgate . org , and producers plan to make the dvd available for sale sometime in 2010 . for now , director jason reid says they are giving away these exclusive promotional copies to spread the film’s message throughout the local community .
# keephoopalive ! never forget the 41 - year basketball legacy of our region . buy an official sonicsgate shirt and dvd , watch and share the streaming links . stay politically active in support of all efforts to build a modern and sustainable arena facility for nba , nhl , concerts , conventions and community events in seattle . contact your local elected officials and political candidates asking that they support arena efforts benefiting our entire region . with your help , we will bring back our seattle supersonics !
“ediaj” tells the story of small - time hustlers and yoga enthusiasts , quickly accelerating into a hilarious , operatic crime drama involving numerous kidnappings and unexpected pathos . the project features some of seattle’s rising filmmakers and actors , including a breakout performance by nate quiroga a . k . a . buffalo madonna of the notorious rap group mad rad and the acclaimed new indie band iska dhaaf . notable chapter directors include christian palmer ( “william never married” ) and webby award winner jason reid ( “sonicsgate” ) .
nba commissioner david stern’s credibility has been under fire as disgraced referee tim donaghy’s book “personal foul” hit shelves this week . donaghy served time in federal prison for gambling on games he officiated while under control of the mafia . his book alleges that the nba instructs its officials to make certain calls for specific star players and extend playoff series to maximize television revenue . “sonicsgate” is an equally devastating scandal that has been largely swept under the rug , until now . please direct media inquiries to the film’s producers :
sonicsgate was both a significant voice and a major strategic participant in efforts to retain fan enthusiasm after the team ' s departure . they don ' t get enough credit for the subtleties of their messaging , the tactical consideration they applied to every move and the timeliness of their efforts . they stepped up right when our efforts at save our sonics were feeling lost and directionless . a new crew with fresh energy stepping up to fill the gap was amazing . they were so , so smart and effective .
named it
the most persuasive grassroots flick of 2009 .
when
sonicsgate
won the webby award for best sports film in 2010 , the filmmakers brought legendary sonics point guard gary payton with them to accept the award and deliver the customary five - word webby awards speech :
bring back our seattle supersonics .
the film and associated bonus features have received more than two million online views since 2009 . a recut version of the film aired four times on national cnbc tv in 2012 .
a true labor of fan dedication ,
sonicsgate : requiem for a team
traces the history of the seattle supersonics from its early championship era to the politics that led to the franchise ' s relocation as the oklahoma city thunder . the documentary won a webby award for internet achievement in the sports - video category recently . sonics legend gary payton accepted the award on behalf of the production crew . we caught up with director jason reid shortly after the festivities to get his thoughts on the glove and moving on as a fan :
first of all , if you watch sonicsgate through the end credits , you will see that the movie is dedicated to squatch . but it is funny you mention him . we were thinking about tracking down the old squatch outfit and bringing him along to the webby awards with us to accept our award , but we couldn ' t make it happen . last i heard , he was spotted hitchhiking outside of kansas city . i ' d be into him roaming around like the famous chicken . anything we can do to help preserve the history of the seattle supersonics .
sonicsgate : requiem for a team is , as jones has put it , a
digital primal scream
that details the franchise ' s history in seattle , the sale of the team from barry ackerley to starbucks magnate howard schultz , and from schultz to bennett , and the ultimate machinations that led to the team ' s move to oklahoma city . no one is spared , from local and state government officials , to schultz , to stern . bennett , obviously , gets hit pretty good , but also is given props for simply acting as a businessman would .
dope ass documentary style flick for bball fans . personally as a person from a big market city like ny where you never ever have to worry about the yankees or the knicks , or giants ever leaving , i really really enjoy the drama , pain , agony , back stabbing , & deceit which goes into the pro sports team ownership employ to leave the state they dont want to be in anymore for a better situation ! fans forget these teams are nothing more than toys of the wealthy that generate money . the relationship is a business one . this is an excellent flick ! sonicsgate : requiem for a team
we made sonicsgate to bring the nba back to seattle ,
reid said .
i think it ' s the nba who set this precedent . they took a stand here in seattle , and they said no team is safe . if they aren ' t making money , we will move them to a different market if there ' s a willing owner , and we will allow for that . and so the rules have been set . the stage has been set . we ' re just fans . we ' re pawns in their game . all we can hope for is ( the ) nba back in seattle .
with a mission to educate the public about the plight of all sports fans in the modern era , the film dissects the modern business of professional sports , nationwide public subsidy of arenas , corporate malfeasance , political impotence and the true helplessness of die - hard fans toiling against these powerful forces . espn’s bill simmons , author of the # 1 new york times bestseller “the book of basketball” recently wrote : “the sonics were stolen from seattle – literally , stolen , and if you don’t believe me , watch this movie . ” ( saturday , oct . 31 , 2009 , espn . com ) . more reviews at sonicsgate . org / reviews .
adam brown – co - producer , co - editor : adam serves as the co - producer and marketing director for the film . adam won a webby award as producer of the documentary “sonicsgate : requiem for a team” ( 2009 ) . he has also produced many music videos , commercials and documentaries including “k2 : siren of the himalayas” ( 2012 ) , “evergreen : the road to legalization” ( 2013 ) , “the finish line” ( 2014 ) and “mr . irrelevant” ( 2014 ) . he most recently produced “backfire : how to destroy a presidential candidate” ( 2016 ) for espn films / fivethirtyeight . adam owns film production company lucid visual media .
is this a tale of disenfranchised and powerless sports fans ? or is it a tale of one city wronged by another ? this matters . the first story is universal . the second one is a seattle - only story . sonicsgate makes one big mistake , in my estimation , in this regard . when clay bennett is on the screen , as often as not there ' s essentially the hokiest jaw harp music imaginable - - the message is that he ' s dumb because he ' s not from seattle , and it doesn ' t wash . he outmaneuvered everyone and got his team against long odds - - he ' s clearly not dumb .
i was a life - long sonics fan , having grown up south of seattle . with the sonics being stolen away , the nba is dead to me . this movie is an excellent look at how easily egos , short - sightedness , ignorance and pettiness conspired to rob seattle of something that truly contributed to the city ' s culture , pride and , yes , economy . my only qualm with the film is that it isn ' t the original , full - length version from sonicsgate . i still give it five stars , but it would have been nice for the dvd to have the full - length film as well . still , an excellent piece of work .
as a st . louis rams season ticket holder for several years , i was interested in comparing the circumstances that led to their departure with the sonics ' departure to okc . there were many similarities ( greed for a bigger & better arena , corruption in the hierarchy of the league office , etc . ) . if anything , i wish
sonicsgate
would have provided more in - depth coverage and interviews . that would have turned this 45 minute documentary into a very reasonable 60 minute documentary . overall , it was well done , but painful to see how some owners / leagues really don ' t care about their fans if they believe more money can be made in another city .
i am still an avid fan of the nba , despite what happened in seattle . in fact , i still subscribe to league pass and am in a 20 - team fantasy league with many of the guys who put together sonicsgate . it is , and always will , be my favorite sport . i tried to attach to the blazers because they have guys with seattle ties ( nate mcmillan , brandon roy , martell webster ) and geographically are closest team to seattle , but it wasn ' t the same as rooting for the sonics . so i drifted , following denver , memphis and a few other teams , until i finally decided to just root for overtime . it ' s much easier .
darren lund – editor : darren is an editor and cinematographer on many award - winning films including “sonicsgate : requiem for a team” ( 2009 ) , “man zou : beijing to shanghai” ( 2010 ) , “k2 : siren of the himalayas” ( 2012 ) , “evergreen : the road to legalization” ( 2013 ) , “the finish line” ( 2014 ) and “mr . irrelevant” ( 2014 ) . in addition to editing documentaries , music videos , live concert films and commercials , darren has also worked as a director and editor of live events on a weekly highlights show for fsn / root sports . he most recently edited “backfire : how to destroy a presidential candidate” ( 2016 ) for espn films / fivethirtyeight .
the new version was made specifically to fit in a 60 - minute tv slot ( 43 - min run time ) . this is the only version that is available to purchase . proceeds go toward recovering the costs that went into producing the film , dvd and website . the original 2 - hour director ' s cut released in 2009 is not available on dvd . sonicsgate : requiem for a team ( 2012 ) features new interviews , unearthed archive footage , new evidence and completely revamped graphics in a fast - paced story that pulls no punches . the dvd also contains a digital copy of the film with seven exclusive bonus features starring gary payton , shawn kemp , george karl , jeff ament , sherman alexie , kevin calabro and more !
the success of sonicsgate is an encouraging story about the power of a grass roots movement in the sports world . it began in 2009 as a free online film and has now traveled slowly but surely to the largest sports company in the world , winning several awards along the way . to see the film come to espn is a big day for the producers of the film and for seattle basketball fans hoping to get their team back . although this will be the second airing on national television , there ' s a big difference between airing on cnbc and airing on espn , even if it is the classic network that has seen distribution drop over the years . and it will provide another boost in awareness for the cause of resurrecting the sonics .
jason reid – producer , editor : jason is the principal and founder of 2r productions where he is an award - winning editor , producer and director of independent documentaries , narrative shorts , music videos and commissioned corporate videos . he directed and produced the emmy® award - winning “man zou : beijing to shanghai” ( 2010 ) , the webby award - winning “sonicsgate : requiem for a team” ( 2009 ) and webby honorees “the finish line” and “mr . irrelevant” ( 2014 ) . he was also the producer and editor on “k2 : siren of the himalayas” ( 2012 ) , “evergreen : the road to legalization” ( 2013 ) . he most recently directed and produced “backfire : how to destroy a presidential candidate” ( 2016 ) for espn films / fivethirtyeight .
they have often been misinterpreted by the league . i ' ve heard them described as
an anti - nba terrorist organization .
and know that in some ways we pay a price for the perceived conflict between the fans of seattle and nba leadership . this attitude totally disregards their overwhelming message that they were taking desperate actions based on their love of the product and desire to bring the nba back . while i am sure that there are people in the league office who don ' t like being constantly reminded of their own failings and the botched execution here in seattle . what they don ' t understand is that the stark honesty with which sonicsgate approached the situation was an essential component to help us all process the pain and move forward . we could not have done it otherwise .
richard conlin has proven to be smug , short - sighted and out of touch with the citizens of seattle during his 16 - year reign on the council . he needs to be removed from office to send a message that entrenched politicians aren ' t untouchable when they go against the will of the people . i believe it is important to have new blood with a healthily dissenting voice on the council . although sawant has not taken an official position on the sodo arena mou , her campaign shares in our outrage that seattle was robbed of the sonics by powerful , corrupt forces and that many local politicians , including conlin , own a share of the blame . the sawant campaign has met directly with the sonicsgate team and will maintain an open dialogue on this issue . we believe seattle ' s citizens will have a real voice in her administration . living wage jobs and the enjoyment of sports are both rights we should enjoy in our community .
the stadium financing game is messed up and wrong all over this country . it ' s a national battle , but , as it pointed out in sonicsgate , it ' s fought locally . you ever play risk ? all over the map , it ' s 60 armies going against one little army after another . whatever city doesn ' t feel like paying , the big army can march over there and pick them off . the cities are vying against a bigger opponent , and instead of working together they work against each other , with predictable results . throughout the documentary , people like ross hunter and the people from citizens for more important things make principled arguments that say , in essence , we can ' t pay for a stadium when we don ' t have enough money for good schools . hard for anyone to tell them they ' re wrong . however , like a lot of people with strong ideals , they may lack pragmatism . . . when the ceo of microsoft has his checkbook open ready to fix up your stadium , you play ball .
i think that the move of the sonics was a perfect storm of not only bad luck , but political malfeasance , corporate greed , lies and betrayals , and promises broken . i also believe that the nba set a very dangerous precedent with how the handled the situation in seattle , the precedent that no team is safe , especially mid to small - market cities . if it could happen to seattle it could happen anywhere . we had 41 years of history , a championship , and despite what the nba and clay bennett want you to believe , we have an amazing fan base who supported this team through a string of bad owners and years of mediocrity , which ultimately led to the sonics drafting kevin durant .
how did you first get in contact with gary payton ? walk us through how you prepared to get him to accept the award and deliver the acceptance speech at the awards ceremony .
we spent months trying to track down gary payton for the film before finally getting ahold of him through his agent [ which was ] only after they had seen our trailer for the film , only a month before the premiere . gary said he would be willing to do the interview if we could be in vegas the next day . we promptly booked a flight and the next day we were at gp ' s house ! we decided that we ' d stay in town that night - - just in case he wanted to go out on the town . sure enough , as we were about to leave he asked ,
what are you guys doing tonight ? wanna come out to my fantasy football party at the mgm grand ?
giddy as schoolchildren we quickly accepted his invitation .
we ended up hanging out with gp , his wife monique , and their friends and family for the whole night , and everyone had a blast . so when the webby awards came up , we asked him if he would be willing to deliver our five - word acceptance speech and he was more than happy to come to nyc to help the cause .
in the limo on the way to the event , and then again at our table before going on stage with his wife and daughter . they kept on giving him unsolicited advice to which gp , playfully reminiscent of his trash talking days on the basketball court , assured them that he had the five words down .
) and deliver the message that everyone associated with the film , the sonics , and the city of seattle wanted to hear : bring back our seattle supersonics .
the success of the sounders has been fun to watch , but for me it in no way replaces the sonics and nba basketball . that ' s my sport , that ' s where my love is . soccer is great and i ' m really happy that so many people in seattle have embraced it , but i want to see lebron james , kobe bryant , and the other great nba athletes playing in my town during the cold , rainy winter months .
i think the success of the sounders though is a testament to how great a sports city seattle is . if we can support the sounders at this level , i have no doubt that when nba basketball returns to this market , it will be embraced with the same excitement .
i think there are still bridges to mend between the nba and the city of seattle , but if a new owner steps up ( say , microsoft ceo steve ballmer ) , i think they will be embraced with open arms . it would be a civic gesture on their part to restore the history and legacy of the seattle supersonics and i feel like that ' s what everyone wants , so i don ' t think it will be as hard as it seems .
that being said , i think the nba , not necessarily the new owners , has a lot of work to do in this community . david stern insulted this community for years in the way he handled the sonics situation and there are a lot of people who want nothing to do with a league run by someone who disrespected our fan base in the way that he did . i think a formal apology and addressing this issue directly by the league and david stern could go a long way to restoring people ' s faith in the league .
seattle supersonics - - always and forever ! we need to restore the history ( including the name ) of this great organization and as long as it ' s in the greater seattle area , they will be known as the seattle supersonics . period .
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the seattle skyline , in a photo taken from the upper queen anne neighborhood , shows the area where key arena sits .
he remembers the day in olympia , the state capital , when the seattle supersonics were trying to convince the washington state legislature ' s ways and means committee , one last time , to build a new arena . otherwise , the sonics - - the newly - bought - by - clay - bennett - from - oklahoma - city - sonics - - were almost certain to leave town , and everyone knew it , even if bennett was swearing he hadn ' t yet made up his mind . of course , big lo was there . big lo was always there .