Paradise Lost: The Child Murders At Robin Hood Hills / Revelations: Paradise Lost 2 [1996] (NTSC)

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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: Exempt Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0801061600495 Label: Warp Manufacturer: Warp Number Of Discs: 2 Publisher: Warp Release Date: 2005-06-27 Studio: Warp
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Free the WM3! Comment: You have to watch this doc. A huge miscarriage of justice, caught on film. The case is still ongoing, making the film as important now as it ever was. Free the WM3! Customer Rating: Summary: Two great documentaries that are both fascinating and horrifying Comment: These documentaries are about the brutal murders of three eight year old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. When three teenage misfits are arrested, we appear to be following a clear-cut story of the aftermath of a crime, but what is slowly revealed is a much darker tale of sloppy police work and a painfully obvious rush to judge three young men based on almost nothing more than their appearance and interests. At the centre of all of this is Damien Echols, the oldest of the three arrested youths. He is intelligent and articulate, but he wears his outsider status with pride and, as a result, carries himself with a sense of aloofness and arrogance. What prevents you from simply taking the side of the accused in this situation is Echols himself, and when he states - despite continuing to protest his innocence - that he wants to be remembered as 'the boogie man of West Memphis', the waters become very muddy indeed. The sense of empathy you feel for the jury, who must have been utterly confused by this young man who is so very different from them, means it is never easy to decide where your sympathies lie. It is a great credit to film makers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky that they never guide you in this decision. They have an uncanny ability to sit back and let events unfold, never trying to impose a clear view on the guilt or innocence of the boys on trial. That is your decision to make, and even after the first film has reached its conclusion it will not be an easy choice. The second film, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, picks up the story six years after part one. The events revolve around Echols's latest appeal, but, as with the original film, things quickly become more complex. A new development here is the interest in the case sparked by Paradise Lost itself. Many well-meaning people from all around America have seen the film and formed a support group with the intention of freeing the 'West Memphis Three'. The second major aspect is the focus on another possible suspect, a man with a very checkered past who was, bafflingly, never even considered as a potential murderer by the police. Given the almost complete lack of evidence against the accused teenagers (the prosecution's case rested largely on the jury's perception of the accused as freaks and outsiders), it is at once fascinating and horrifying to see how many corners can be cut by trained professionals, even when in connection with such a heinous crime. This one is recommended to all documentary film fans, especially if you have any interest in the flawed workings of America's legal system. Customer Rating: Summary: A Terrifying portrait of our corrupt legal system... Comment: This is a very well made documentary that, despite its length, manages to keep your attention all the way through. It manages to be horrifying, emotional, and incredibly revealing. It contains trial video, interviews with the suspects, the families of both suspects and victims, and very definitive shots of the murder scene. I was astounded to witness as one of the first shots, the dead bodies of the three young boys, it was a very powerful opening and very impartial as it makes sure it starts your journey in exactly the same place as everyone who was there at the time, enabling you to feel the raw emotions of this terrible tragedy before you see the suspects. The documentary does seem to sway more to the side of the defence as the case progresses as we get to see the consultations between the defence attorneys and the three teenage boys accused of ritual murder. This might seem like a tactic by the film makers in an attempt to throw an 'innocent' possibility into the mix, but as seen in the second part, there are many people that believe this to actually be true and are currently campaigning to get them out. The movie really evokes emotion through the trial verdict, seeing the very little amount of evidence, if it can even be called evidence, be enough to convict these kids, even send one to death row, is very disturbing, and most of the evidence points in other distant directions. Despite whether or not these boys are guilty, the prosecutors had nowhere near enough actual evidence to convict them, and bring purely speculation. It is exceptionally enraging to see such legal bias existing in the present day and it is difficult to not feel fairly scared that this is always a possibility. It is revealing in the sense that it shows the inefficiency and bias within the community and specifically the police department. The fact that it tells how a police officer 'lost' blood samples that could have connected another man to the case, the fact that the movie makers had to give a possible murder weapon to the police, it brings out their inefficiency. The fact that the boys were chosen as suspects merely upon the way they dress and the music they listen to, demonstrates the pure bias of the community. This documentary is also efficient in bringing to our attention the murderous instincts of the murdered boys' families; their readiness to pick up a gun and kill without remorse is horrifying but so believable of their characters. The documentary and the defence even bring a possibility of one of the victim’s stepfathers being the murderer, and his inconsistent testimony and violent nature give this possibility some ground. However people feel about the guilt or innocence of the boys convicted of this murder, this movie reveals the truth, there was nowhere near enough evidence to convict them and it is criminal that that bias verdict is standing even to this day with appeals being constantly denied. We see that the minds of West Memphis are made up even before the trial begins. Customer Rating: Summary: Shocking Comment: Like many others, I had read snippets about this case in NME and other 'alternative' publications. It was only when the DVDs were released that I took more interest in the case. I won't go into the ins and outs of the case now, but you can read about it on the website made by their supporters. The documentaries themselves are harrowing. The first one opens with the murder scene and police video of the boys' bodies; this is disturbing stuff. Unfortunately you get to see more photographs of the victims, but this isn't to shock, this is simply to aid the narrative. After the first documentary, I could see why people still weren't sure of the boys' guilt. The documentary's style is deliberately unbiased (the film-makers simply set out to make a documentary about 3 boys they believed probably were guilty) and the narrative is guided by the people involved, not a 'voice of god' telling you what to think. The second documentary is deliberately biased. The film-makers believed that the Memphis Three were innocent and therefore set out to make a documentary suggesting this. Again, there is no voice-over, so you are able to make up your own mind (my partner still doesn't believe all three boys are innocent, even after watching the documentaries) but it is very much in the favour of the WM3. Brilliantly crafted. Customer Rating: Summary: horrific crime, horrific circumstances Comment: i watched these documentaries not knowing anything about the case & there is no way that the 3 people serving time are guilty of this murder. The crime itself is scary & knowing that 3 innocent people are doing time is scary but the scariest thing about these documentaries is the real murderer is staring you in the face the whole time. More Reviews