A Day in the Death of Donny B
Encyclopedia
A Day in the Death of Donny B is a 1969 American
short docudrama
written and directed by Carl Fick
and shot in cinéma-vérité
style. Mostly considered an anti-drug film, it was made for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
. The film follows its protagonist
, Donny B, a young black man who appears to be a heroin addict, as he makes his way through the cruel ghettos of New York City
. He tries to score money for his next fix by stealing hubcaps, purse-snatching, panhandling, and engaging in street gambling
.
The short film's soundtrack mostly consists of voice-over
s of his parents despairing over his future, former addicts describing the junkie lifestyle, and cops informing the audience of the consequences of illegal drug use and addiction
. Through the run time of 14 minutes, a blues
-like tune plays over the footage and voice-overs, with vocals that come in and out during the film, narrating Donny B as he does wrong.
company Terpsichore Collection Inc. was reportedly in talks to restore
the film for a special edition DVD
which would contain other important or rare short films. On April 25, 2007, a preview was released on Terpsichore's website. It shows little of a restoration, although it does confirm the making of the DVD.
It is in the public domain
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
short docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
written and directed by Carl Fick
Carl Fick
Carl Fick is the director of several documentaries including the Cannes award-winning A Day in the Death of Donny B and the author of two novels, The Danziger Transcript and A Disturbance in Paris. The Danziger Transcript was published in hardcover by Putnam in 1971, and in mass market paperback...
and shot in cinéma-vérité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
style. Mostly considered an anti-drug film, it was made for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with improving the quality and availability of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability, and cost to...
. The film follows its protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, Donny B, a young black man who appears to be a heroin addict, as he makes his way through the cruel ghettos of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He tries to score money for his next fix by stealing hubcaps, purse-snatching, panhandling, and engaging in street gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
.
The short film's soundtrack mostly consists of voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
s of his parents despairing over his future, former addicts describing the junkie lifestyle, and cops informing the audience of the consequences of illegal drug use and addiction
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
. Through the run time of 14 minutes, a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
-like tune plays over the footage and voice-overs, with vocals that come in and out during the film, narrating Donny B as he does wrong.
DVD release
Film preservationFilm preservation
thumb|300px|Stacked containers filled with reels of [[film stock]]The film preservation, or film restoration, movement is an ongoing project among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images which they contain...
company Terpsichore Collection Inc. was reportedly in talks to restore
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
the film for a special edition DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
which would contain other important or rare short films. On April 25, 2007, a preview was released on Terpsichore's website. It shows little of a restoration, although it does confirm the making of the DVD.
It is in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.