At The Death House Door
UPDATE: At The Death House Door is airing on IFC on Monday September 1 at 9 PM, with other airings to follow.
Speaking of famous boyfriends…I recorded At The Death House Door when it first aired, but I postponed watching it; I wanted to have it to look forward to, because I dig Steve “Hoop Dreamy” James movies the most, and when I get to the end of one, it bums me out, because it’s over.When Skyrockets told me he had an interview with James and co-director Peter Gilbert, I Elaine Benesed “Get OUT!” and then immediately started peppering Skyrockets with questions to ask James off the record.Questions like, “Will you be my non-sexual documentarian Valentine?”
This is not the most dignified sell James has ever received, I’m sure, but I watch a lot of documentaries, and my gooby squeeing aside, the man is a Hall of Famer.
At The Death House Door is about Carroll Pickett, retired chaplain of the “Walls” unit at the prison in Huntsville, TX.Walls is Death Row, and Pickett saw dozens of convicts through their final hours, taping his recollections on a series of cassettes and coming to doubt the righteousness of capital punishment.It’s also about Carlos De Luna, executed for a crime that almost everyone agrees he didn’t commit, and the effects that injustice had on his family and on Pickett.
And it’s about what a Steve James documentary is always about: the little frail weeds with the tiny purple flowers that can push through the heaviest pavement.No matter what failure he’s pointing his camera at — of the system, of the family, of sense and reason — he’s also finding people who still try to do the right thing, who still hope.Hoop Dreams is a great example, and a great movie that got jobbed by the Academy, but James’s lesser-known film Stevie is an even better one; it’s not easy to watch, and after half an hour, every appearance of Stevie himself onscreen causes physical tension.But seeing the life his half-sister Brenda has made for herself, or listening to James’s wife Judy trying to untangle the issues, leavens that apprehension and bleakness.James’s gift is for showing situations that might seem thoroughly unsalvageable and then introducing us to the people who populate those situations, who tell us, “It’s not just you; we see it too.We live here.We try every day.”
James’s films run long — At The Death House Door is an exception, coming in under two hours — but it’s mindful length; each shot, even autumn-foliage B-roll to pass the time during a voice-over, is careful but not precious, and his production team is fantastic at atmospheric sound.It’s the best kind of documentary filmmaking: a story you don’t know yet, about people you feel like you do know already, and it stays out of its own way.
In other words, Steve James is extremely good at what he does, and I wish he would do it more often, so I could watch the results.But what he does takes time, and because he is my non-sexual documentarian Valentine, I understand.(James himself discusses the challenges of “longitudinal” filmmaking on IFC.com.)At The Death House Door apparently isn’t airing again on IFC this month, which is odd and annoying, and it’s not on Netflix or for sale anywhere that I can see.I’ve emailed IFC to ask when it’s on again, and I’ll post an update when I hear something, but in the meantime, if you haven’t filled up on Steve James’s documentaries, go do that.It’s worth your while.
originally posted July 7, 2008
Tags: documentaries ethical dilemmae famous boyfriends friends Hoop Dreams movies politix Steve James Stevie TV
Yeah, Steve James! Go Salukis!!
I haven’t seen the film, but I did listen to an interview that Carroll Pickett gave on WHYY/Fresh Air. It was a very interesting program, but also hard to listen to at times what with all the contradictions in the system and the difficulties in ministering to the condemned. Here’s a link to the interview.
I really want to see that movie.
@Jena — thanks for the link. I love Fresh Air — I’m going to listen to the interview now.
Darn – I wanted to see that and missed it! Hope they will re-air it – I will keep checking back to see if you post an update. I used to work as a paralegal to a criminal defense attorney and came away with the belief that the death penalty is wrong – too many defendants can’t afford to pay for all the experts needed to mount a defense when the government decides you have committed a crime and they are going to try to kill you as punishment.
The programming dept. reports that it’s not airing again in July or August; the rep will get back to me re: the September sked, but your best bet is probably to snag it on eBay, where it’s about $3 plus shipping.
Damn. I was supposed to review this for Hot Docs in the spring and the copy the PR people sent over was damaged – wouldn’t play properly either in my DVD player or my computer. Eventually I realized I was missing too much and gave up, but what I saw looked fascinating. I wish I’d managed to make it to the festival screening. I can’t imagine it won’t eventually be available to rent on DVD; it’s essentially a “new release” still.
Tell Skyrockets “awesome job!!!” I watched the YouTube and was quite impressed. And I wonder why I never get anything done at work…
I was out walking the dog with my husband a few weekends ago when we walked past a relatively broke-down looking house. I didnt’ really pay much attention until I saw a ratty white piece of paper that said “Kartemquin Films, please enter on Wellington”, at which point I went into a full-blown apoplectic fit, howling unintelligible things about Hoop Dreams, leaving my husband totally perplexed (but excited to mock me later).
I’ve walked past a few times since then, hoping to see someone coming or going, but I never do.
This is a pointless comment, but I thought maybe someone here would appreciate my complete dorkout over realizing they’re in our neighborhood.
Hey, y’all, it turns out that this is available for download on iTunes for $3.99, if you don’t mind watching it on your computer. I stumbled across it when I was in the TV Shows “department” and clicked on the IFC ad at the top of the screen. (FYI, I could NOT see it when I clicked the IFC link in the “networks” list, so either follow the ad or do a power search.)
I watched Stevie because of a comment you made about it a couple of months back, and goddamn. That was so many different kinds of heartbreaking. I’ll definitely be checking this one out.
Just scheduled it on my DVR – thanks for posting the update!
I was planning on canning peaches today (I have turned into my mother AND my grandmother). I read this and then found out IFC was showing it in about an hour. Thanks for bumping up this post. It is being shown again on the 16th at aroung 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. eastern and then on October 1, too.
So I was glad I had something creative to do after watching this. I think I’ll always try to cook after depressing documentaries, which I love, to stop myself from wandering desolately around the house afterwards.