Glass Shield Charles Burnett Digital Life VHS

Glass Shield
starring: Michael Boatman, Lori Petty, Erich Anderson, Richard Anderson, Bernie Casey
directed by: Charles Burnett

Used Price: $0.37
Collectible Price: $11.99
Third Party New Price: $1.09

Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786303865508
Format: Color, NTSC
ISBN: 630386550X
Label: Walt Disney Video
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Walt Disney Video
Release Date: October 10, 2000
Running Time: 109 minutes
Sales Rank: 2390
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Theatrical Release Date: June 02, 1995

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:
Eager rookie J.J. Johnson (Michael Boatman) is the only black officer in a Los Angeles sheriffs' substation. He soon comes up against ingrained racism, corruption, and violence on the force as he tries to fit in. A young black man (Ice Cube) is pulled in as a murder suspect after a wealthy man's wife is shot in a botched armed robbery. Boatman and Deputy Fields (Lori Petty) soon realize that the facts in the case don't add up and dig a bit deeper. They soon find a maze of deceit that extends upward from the sheriffs to L.A. city government. Though slow and rather convoluted, this film has an absorbing story worthy of Joseph Wambaugh and an interesting cast to hold viewers' attention. Blaxploitation vet Bernie Casey excels as Ice Cube's defense attorney, and Boatman is fine as the wide-eyed Johnson. Director Charles Burnett infuses a sense of dread and foreboding into sunny Los Angeles locations and well-lit convenience stores that turns the rules of dimly lit thrillers upside down. He also does a fair job of capturing the macho-cowboy mentality of the all-white sheriffs, complete with styled hair and heavy mustaches. Considering the timely subject matter, this film could have easily become heavy-handed cop opera, but the character development and performances are strong enough to lift it above the level of invective. After all, it's a scenario that's all too believable in light of late-1990s events. --Jerry Renshaw

Digital Life Reviews

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- A deserving special edition for this movie
Charles Burnett is one of America's most underrated filmmakers working today. Unlike his African-American contemporary, Spike Lee, he is not an outspoken personality in his own right, preferring to let the work speak for itself. In many respects, his films are self-aware in terms of social conscience as John Sayles' own work. As a result, Burnett also finds it hard to get his movies widely distributed. The Glass Shield was his attempt to reach a wider audience by having Miramax distribute it. Sadly, like Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, it was subjected to the same lackluster release by Miramax head honcho, Harvey Weinstein and promptly disappeared.

Stylistically, Burnett is not as in-your-face as Spike Lee, preferring to let the content and the characters deliver his message. That's not to say his films don't have their own style-The Glass Shield is a well-shot movie (adopting a colour scheme that reflects ... Read More

Rating:

- A cop movie anyone could love
One of the most acurate portrayals of american police departments in the good ole USA. A good story told from a real perspective. Intense drama,lying racist cops,and brilliant African-American & Latino lawyers. The story follows two naive young rookie cops, a black male and a white female, who learn a hard lesson about trying to join an all white male police department they really don't belong in. The only other accurate potrayal of dirty cops on film, that I know of is "Dark Blue" with Kurt Russell. Check it out.

Rating:

- Great Little Gem
I liked this modest budget cop thriller movie very much. A great ensemble cast was assembled with well known and recognizable actors (including Ice Cube, Lori Petty, Michael Boatman, Michael Ironside, M. Emmett Walsh, Elliot Gould) for reportedly very little money. The production values are also top notch for a low budget film. The Director, Charles Burnett, a MacArthur "Genius" Grant award winner and the writer-director of the acclaimed "To Sleep With Anger", apparently attracted top talent and key crew people for this film.

Although there are no big, expensive stunts, there is plenty of suspense and drama. The film is supposed to be based upon true events and stories, making it more realistic and compelling.

I highly recommend this film.

Rating:

- Highly Recommended.
This movie was pretty good. I started watchin this movie with my friends and they said it was a LA CONFIDENTIAL ripoff. I think that it wasn't and i think it was awesome.

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