Hollywood High is a 2003

2003 in film

The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...

 documentary television film about the depiction of drug addiction in film. It was directed by Bruce Sinofsky

Bruce Sinofsky

Bruce Sinofsky is an award-winning documentary film director, who began his career at Maysles Films.Sinofsky was born in Boston, Massachusetts. As Senior Editor for Maysles, he worked on commercials and feature films until 1991, when he and Joe Berlinger formed their own production company,...

, and features appearances by Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. He attended Harvard University to study film theory and the American Film Institute to study both live-action and animation filmmaking...

, Jared Leto

Jared Leto

Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...

 and Hubert Selby Jr

Hubert Selby, Jr.

Hubert "Cubby" Selby, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His best-known novels are Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream . Both novels were later adapted into films within his lifetime....

. It was originally aired on AMC on March 31, 2003.

The Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

said that the documentary "examines how the seductive highs and excruciating lows of drug use have evolved on-screen during the last 60 years" and that "it offers plenty for movie fans to think about." The Cincinnati Enquirer called it "a surprisingly well-crafted and honest documentary" containing interviews with "some frank people who have something to say." The Columbia Companion to American History on Film calls it "particularly acute in its analysis of Hollywood 'drug movies' from Reefer Madness

Reefer Madness

Reefer Madness is a well-known 1936 American propaganda exploitation film revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try "marijuana" — from a hit and run accident, to manslaughter, suicide, attempted rape, and descent into madness...

(1936) to Requiem for a Dream (2000)."