The Corner

Based on David Simon and Edward Burns' book, The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood, about an actual open-air drug market on a corner in a rundown section of Baltimore, this harrowing 2000 HBO miniseries uses real stories and real names to not only depict how drug abuse and poverty ravage inner-city families and neighborhoods, but also show how these people and communities still manage to maintain a sense of humor and hope for the future. Devastatingly clear-eyed and frank, these six one-hour episodes--which won multiple Emmy awards--follow a year in the lives of Gary and Fran, both addicts; their son, DeAndre, a high schooler and a dealer but not yet a user; and their friends, lovers, and acquaintances, all of them grappling with drugs in one way or another: as users, enablers, pushers, victims, and/or survivors. Best known as an actor, Charles S. Dutton is intimately familiar with these streets--he grew up on them--and as a director he shines a fierce and uncompromising light on both the nightmare of daily life and the optimism the residents struggle to sustain. Sporting a solid DVD transfer and Dolby Digital stereo sound, but no extras, this is highly recommended. (M. Johanson)