Product Description

Mary J. Blige and Q-Tip, two of hip-hop's hottest recording artists, star in this heart-wrenching family drama about an innocent man's struggle to live and survive behind bars.

DVD Features:
DVD ROM Features
Interactive Menus

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #68951 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2003-01-14
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 94 minutes

Features

• Mary J. Blige and Q-Tip, two of hip-hop's hottest recording artists, star in this heart-wrenching family drama about an innocent man's struggle to live and survive behind bars.Running Time: 94 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R Age: 794043613326 UPC: 794043613326 Manufacturer No: N6133

Amazon.com
Like Chicago, Prison Song is a musical set behind bars, but there's no dancing and minimal singing. Elijah is a talented 10-year-old photographer. His mother (R&B diva Mary J. Blige) works at a fast food joint and dreams of becoming a lawyer. The sky's the limit until Elijah, his mother, and his mother's boyfriend (Harold Perrineau) are all locked up for various offenses. The story picks up several years later as Elijah (now played by A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip) is accepted to college, but ends up in prison after accidentally killing another group home resident (rapper Fat Joe). Prison Song was cowritten and produced by Q-Tip and Darnell Martin (I Like It Like That) and plays like an extended episode of Oz (in which Perrineau played a key role). Blige's "Mom's Song" is the musical highlight, and Elvis Costello appears as Elijah's teacher and lawyer, but does not sing. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Movie with a message
Q-tip, Fat Joe, and Mary J Blige give good performances, especially Q-tip. His character has it all going on in the inside and is very quiet on the outside but I still got completely absorbed in what he was going through. The musical sequences blend well too. Just when you're about to punch a wall because of what's happening to the characters, somebody lets loose with a song that expresses the emotions that the movie is bringing up. Mary J. Blige is the queen of from-the-heart songs, and Fat Joe has a rap cameo that slides seamlessly into the scene.

Aside from the individual elements, the movie takes aim at one of the worst qualities of our society, the lousy deck dealt to black men growing up in urban city neighborhoods. It dramatizes - but not by much - the way that opportunities are systematically stripped from you in a society where you're rarely respected or afforded the benefit of the doubt. Definitely a worthwhile movie.

Only one thing - I missed the first five minutes of the movie, and suspect I was better off for it. The beginning lists some stastics that indicate the direction the plot will eventually take, and lends a more moralizing, heavy tone to the movie. Without the intro, the movie stands well by itself and affects you without telling you how you should be affected.

One of The Best
The BET movie Prison Song was one of the best movies I've ever seen before. I was wondering, why wasn't the movies put into theatres all across the world, this movie was a huge hit for Bet. This question is for anyone out there who may know the answer, exactly how can I get the soundtrack to Prison Song. I know it's on Tommy Boy records but thats all I know. If someone has any information please contact me via e-mail, Chung220@aol.com. Thanks

One of the Better Examples of a Prison Film
I saw the edited version of this film which did little justice to the actual film which I found to run like a stage play not to say that this is a bad thing. Prison Song is one of the better examples of films on the "prison" theme. I would say the best one was perhaps the classic Cool Hand Luke, but in post-modern times we have OZ which some of said has lost some of it's focus. Though Prison Song is not as in depth as perhaps OZ is, it's still worth at least a rental. For those who are irritated by musicals, you may want to consider renting before buying. If you do purchase this film, you won't be disappointed.