Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Sanjeev Waters A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

thejcowboy22 Your found by authorities with blood on your hands and accused of murder. Your apprehended and thrown in locked cell. You don't know what the commotion is about and to make matters worse your deaf and mute, you can't communicate with anyone. This is the tragic story of the life and troubled times of Donald Lang. A deaf loading dock worker from Chicago who frequented neighborhood bars and dens of iniquity with his earnings. One faithful night Donald walked off with a prostitute. Moments Later Donald was found by police in an alley over the dead prostitute's body. A deaf mute but not like most with his misfortune. Donald was born deaf and at the critical age of six was about to embark on a school for the deaf to learn how to sign, lip reading, read and write to communicate with the outside world.Due to untimely circumstances, Donald's parents split up and with financial burdens were unable to send the boy to the deaf school rendering him illiterate,irresponsible and over protective leaving him unprepared in life and in this case murder. Unable to stand trial because of an earlier supreme court decision that a defendant must understand the charges against him and have the ability to aid his attorney in his own defense, poor Donald lacked the skills to even form a simple sentence. Enter Deaf Attorney from the State of Illinois, Lowell Myers An extraordinary individual highly educated with numerous credentials. A Masters in Business Administration, B.A in accounting, C.P.A. and a Law Degree.Mr. Myers being a tax attorney and CPA was a ground breaking advocate for the hearing impaired in the State of Illinois. Getting legislation passed for the deaf in fraudulent business contracts and phony real estates deals manifesting into law that an interpreter be present when signing any contract involving a deaf person. Also Myers lobbied for the Deaf to obtain Drivers licence in the State of Illinois emphasizing that a deaf driver has a deeper concentration at the wheel and does not get distracted. With Donald Lang in Jail, Lowell Myers fought for his right for due process. It took a few years but a trial was finally held. This challenging made-for-TV movie gives us an unprecedented look at a person who can't fend for himself. LeVar Burton as the frustrated Lang, makes great use of pantomime throughout with his physical gestures borrowed from his role as the captured slave Kunta Kinte in the famous "Roots" series. Personally I feel that this was Paul Sorvino's finest role and I've seen quite a bit of his work. The concentration of his fractured speech emulates a deaf person's voice perfectly and consistently through out the movie. Brian Dennehy as Lang's boss does a fine job in a supporting role. I watched and most importantly learned about two separate individuals both branded with deafness. Guilty or innocent? I learned a great deal from this movie. Other movies like Amistad and Johnny Belinda also feature court scenes with persons who could not defend themselves due to hearing loss or language barriers.

crimefile I knew Donald Lang between the two killings. He was kind, bright, very strong and hard working. He had ape like qualities that Lavar Burton could not emulate, nor should he have tried.Lang was always being victimized by pimps, whores and scumbags wandering the ghetto. Lang had a sense of honor, justice and compassion that his tormentors did not have.I believe he was a lot smarter than most people thought and could understand volumes. He communicated with me by grunts and pointing. I could swear he could understand what I was saying to him.The only time anyone cared to teach him sign language and communication skills was to try him for murder. That never happened. I don't know where Lang is today but I know he's not in the Illinois prison system.He only needed a better understanding of how to deal with the evil people in the world. I really think that he felt that killing people who would rob him was okay. His world was truly a jungle and the laws of the jungle applied to him.Lowell Myers was a fine man. Sorvino did not look like him but captured all of his humanity in the film. Someday I'd like to talk to him about this film. I had a chat with Brian Dennehy who played Lang's boss earlier in his career. It's a great story and should be released on DVD someday. A jail guard from the Cook County jail named Cheserleigh played himself in the film. He too knew Lang

Bert Taras This was an excellent film in so many ways. The acting, the directing, the use of actual facts regarding the legal system and the obstacles faced by handicapped persons (in the form of the deaf characters portrayed by LeVar Burton and Paul Sorvino). I saw the movie when it first appeared on television several years back and then a few years ago it was broadcast again late at night and I taped it. When I watched it again I was once more moved close to tears by the things which Burton's character was forced to endure.On a side note, one of the things this film did unintentionally was to give me the ability to learn how to communicate better with my family members who were hard of hearing. Watching Sorvino as Lowell Myers I paid close attention to how he would carefully form each word and feel the words vibrate along the back of his ears and through his throat and lips. I had an aunt with whom communication for me had been very difficult until I learned to do this, along with looking directly at a person when speaking. Admittedly to speak in such a manner, since it is slower and each word is carefully formed can at times sound mechanical but I cannot argue with the positive results. I have also used a similar method with communicating with people who are just beginning to learn the English language and again it is successful.

Elainarain I saw this movie tonight for the first time since 1979, when i was a little girl, it was powerful then, and it still is. It still has the ability to make me cry....the ending still has me puzzled. I highly recommend this movie..it gave me a new respect for those of us, who are living with overwhelming disabilities, and still surviving like champions. BTW, Levar Burton is a helluva an actor! Bravo!!! Elaina