On DVD: Big Easy to Big Empty: The Untold Story of the Drowning of New Orleans

Directed by Greg Palast

Hurricane Katrina is a popular subject right now for documentary filmmakers. Go to any film festival, and you will see several, both long and short form, on the subject. Is this one of the good ones? The Disinformation Company recently released Big Easy to Big Empty: The Untold Story of the Drowning of New Orleans on DVD and I gave it a spin in the DVD player.

The Movie

Reporter Greg Palast and producer Matt Pascarella went to New Orleans, LA on the one year after Hurricane Katrina to see if there was any progress in repairing the damage to residences and business and to see if people were moving back. They discovered it didn’t look much better and the city was a virtual ghost town.

Palast visits the location where displaced citizens live in FEMA trailers, surrounded by barb wire and fences. Residents complain that the only bus that comes to this area only stops at Wal Mart and doesn’t provide adequate transportation to find employment.

Palast interviews residents of a housing project that were removed forcibly from their residences, despite the fact that the flooding or storm did not damage their property at all. And now, a year later, their windows and doors are boarded shut and they are not given the opportunity to move back in or retrieve their belongings, even though there is no damage whatsoever to the property itself. The residents believe that the city would like to turn the area into an “upscale” condo property and replace the predominantly African American residents with “white Republicans”.

I have two major complaints about the film. First, the length: the film is only 30 minutes long. Secondly, I prefer documentary filmmakers to be behind the camera, not in front of it, hamming it up. Palast seems a bit infatuated with himself, his voice and his fedora. If you want a lot of screen time, don’t become a documentary filmmaker, become an actor. If you look at the greats of documentary filmmaking, Albert and David Maysles, Frederick Wiseman, and many more, they stay behind the camera and off screen, letting their participants and stories take center stage.

I digress. The movie is touted as revealing images and stories not told on CNN or other mainstream news media. As I am a rabid news junkie and documentary film fan, that statement didn’t hold true for me. While the stories and revelations in this film are emotionally profound and moving, there wasn’t anything revealed or discussed in the film that was unfamiliar to me.  

So, is Big Easy to Big Empty: The Untold Story of the Drowning of New Orleans worth the purchase price? In my opinion, no. It might be worth adding to your Netflix queue, but I would add the superior Hurricane Katrina documentary film When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts directed by Spike Lee before this one.

4/10

The Video

Big Easy to Big Empty: The Untold Story of the Drowning of New Orleans is presented in widescreen. The transfer is decent and the colors are as vibrant as a low budget documentary film allows.

7/10

The Audio

Big Easy to Big Empty: The Untold Story of the Drowning of New Orleans is presented in stereo. The dialogue is clear throughout.

7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features

Big Easy to Big Empty: The Untold Story of the Drowning of New Orleans is presented in a standard amaray case with artwork appropriate for the film presented.

There is a plethora of bonus features to explore on this release. In fact, the bonus features clock in at a total of 60 minutes, much longer than the film itself.

Tomorrow’s New Orleans: Whose City will it be? Is a 30 minute conversation, moderated by Amy Goodman with Greg Palast.

An audio excerpt on Katrina and New Orleans from Palast’s book Armed Madhouse if offered for your perusal.

There is an extended interview with the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center regarding their efforts to rebuild the city. There is also a booklet featuring a story by Greg Palast on his difficulties with the United States government in making this film.

A slideshow is also offered for your viewing pleasure.

8/10

Overall ( Not an Average) 5.5/10

Suzie Lackey

Review

The Movie 4/10

The Video 7/10

The Audio 7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 8/10

Overall ( Not an Average) 5.5/10