OT: Our Town (2002)

OT: Our Town (2002)
Play Trailer and Clips
Member Rating:  
The Los Angeles community of Compton has become infamous thanks to news reports and rap music lyrics that have portrayed it as an African-American neighborhood brought to the edge of destruction by corruption and black-on-black crime. In 2003, a handful of students and teachers at Compton's Dominguez High School decided to do something that hadn't happened at the school in more than 20 years -- put on a play. When it became obvious that the financially strapped school (which had recently canceled its football program) couldn't provide a budget for sets or costumes, the students did what money-conscious high-school theater departments have been doing for decades -- they staged Thornton Wilder's Our Town, a drama commonly performed without the use of sets or large props. But what would Wilder's allegorical story of life in a small turn-of-the-century Midwestern hamlet mean to kids in Compton? And would the inexperienced students and faculty be able to bring it off? OT: Our Town is a documentary which looks at Dominguez High's brave experiment and the people who struggled to make it happen. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

 Read More


Starring:
Catherine BorekKaren Greene, (more)
Director(s):
Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Format(s):
DVD
View All Versions to rent and buy
 
 
 
 

Synopsis of OT: Our Town

The Los Angeles community of Compton has become infamous thanks to news reports and rap music lyrics that have portrayed it as an African-American neighborhood brought to the edge of destruction by corruption and black-on-black crime. In 2003, a handful of students and teachers at Compton's Dominguez High School decided to do something that hadn't happened at the school in more than 20 years -- put on a play. When it became obvious that the financially strapped school (which had recently canceled its football program) couldn't provide a budget for sets or costumes, the students did what money-conscious high-school theater departments have been doing for decades -- they staged Thornton Wilder's Our Town, a drama commonly performed without the use of sets or large props. But what would Wilder's allegorical story of life in a small turn-of-the-century Midwestern hamlet mean to kids in Compton? And would the inexperienced students and faculty be able to bring it off? OT: Our Town is a documentary which looks at Dominguez High's brave experiment and the people who struggled to make it happen. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:
77 mins

Complete Cast of OT: Our Town


Director(s):
Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Producer(s):
Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Categories:
DocumentarySpecial InterestMusic & Performing Arts
OT: Our Town Awards:
  • 2003 - New York International Latino Film Fest - Best Documentary
Looking for special editions of OT: Our Town?
See All Versions
Subtitles:
Check All Versions
Closed Captioning:
Check All Versions
 
 
 
 

BY MAIL

Monthly Subscription 
NEW! 7 - Day Rental
No subscription required. Usually ships in 24 hours.
 
BuyPreviously Viewed   $6.39
(disc only)  
Previously Viewed   $7.99
(disc, case & artwork)

New  $11.99
 

IN-STORE

 

What's Your Take?

Add to FavoritesIn Favorites  |  Share:     Email to a friendShare on FacebookShare on Twitter
YOUR REVIEW
WRITE A REVIEW
 
1000 
 
Member Reviews
 
J. T. V.

The previous review seems to be for a totally different movie. OT:Our Town is about kids in Compton California putting on a high school play. Lots of things about their experience will remind you of your own high school productions and your own high school friendships. (I hope that the kids in the movie don't lose touch with each other the way that all of mine seem to have.) The DVD extra footage is very enjoyable. Even if you don't generally like documentaries, give this one a try. I also enjoyed "MANITO" which is another offering from filmmovement.com

Yes   |   No

 
Courtney J.

SAN FRANSCISCO EXAMINER: Sometimes the best documentaries earn their wings by debunking certain urban myths, such as the one that insists that Southern California's Compton breeds nothing but violence and gangstas. With "O.T. Our Town," filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy journeys to Manuel Dominguez High -- where basketball is the breath of life -- and records the efforts of a brave band of individuals who prepare to stage Thornton Wilder's "Our Town," the school's first play in over 20 years. They have no budget and no stage and memorizing Wilder's old-time dialogue proves to be a challenge for some kids. But the film slowly becomes one of the most truthful "backstage" films in ages, as well as a hugely inspiring portrait of human persistence. Some of these kids literally flower right before our eyes. By: Jeff Anderson

Yes   |   No

 
David S.

Stuck with each other, is their love? Yes these characters are a family and do love each other, the grandma donot know how to raise them she would just like to keep her favorite child and the other two can go. But she can not just give them up to welfare. This story is told from the oldest boy view he thinks he is cool and in control but he is just breaking his grandmas heart. I can see this story being true and needing to be said, and I was glad to hear another case like this, yet the hidden love make this one special.

Yes   |   No

 
Read All 3 Reviews