Daniel Haro Movies
- 1993
Edward James Olmos was directing American Me, a movie about gang violence in his real-life old neighborhood in east Los Angeles, and he also produced and narrated this documentary. In order to produce either movie on location, complex negotiations with the many rival gang factions were required. Here, residents and gang members of all kinds are interviewed about their lives, their plans, the future they see for themselves and their relatives, etc. None of those interviewed pulls any punches. Similarly complex negotiations enabled the documentarians to interview gang members serving time in Folsom Prison. The cumulative effect of these images and interviews may be more powerful than Olmos' feature movie, or even the classic cautionary documentary about juvenile crime, Scared Straight. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
Edward J. Olmos made his directorial bow with the powerhouse crime saga American Me. Olmos stars as street-gang leader Santana, who during his 18 years in Folsom Prison rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful, crime-free life. But his old gang buddies force him back into his old habits. The omniprescene of the "Mexican Mafia" in the southwest is sufficient to make this film a daunting, demoralizing experience. Upon its release, American Me received a lot of press play due to the fact that Olmos shot his Folsom sequences on location, using actual prisoners as extras and bit players. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edward James Olmos, William Forsythe, (more)
Sammy Bodean is the newest, most promising recruit according to the advertisement of the California Angels--and has to prove it come game time. Following the team's sale to young business whiz Gil Lawrence (Terry Kinney), ex-player Virgil Sweet (Edward James Olmos) has to prove himself as the team's talent scout to keep his job. Via a car break-down near a small farm-town in Idaho, Virgil stumbles across young Sammy Bodean (Jeff Corbett) who performs mean pitching skills in a rural sandlot. After bringing Sammy to LA where he pitches out the team's best, owner Gil begins a massive media campaign in which he appears in a press conference and not only brags of the boy's talent but of his intention to feature him--without warm-up or orientation--in the big game the following week. Virgil, though promoted to assistant manager, is upset at Gil's exploitative measures to save the slagging Angels at the expense of Sammy. Game day arrives and the pressure is on to keep the other team swinging, which causes young Sammy to choke. Or not. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edward James Olmos, Lorraine Bracco, (more)
