“RAISING HELL: THE LIFE OF A. J. BANNISTER” (1995)

A 90-minute documentary film on the life of A. J. Bannister, who had served thirteen years on Missouri's death row. Through painstaking research and reconstruction, the film mounts a compelling argument to show that Bannister, who never denied shooting his victim, did so during the course of an argument and not, as the state argued, as a paid assassin. The film follows Bannister, his family and the family of the victim, as the state sets an execution date and the countdown begins.

Produced in association with THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL (USA), BBC (UK), FRANCE2, YLE-TV2 (FINLAND) and licensed to numerous other international broadcasters.

·        Non-theatrical distribution in the USA by FILMAKERS LIBRARY INC.

 

Awards & festivals

·        Chicago Film Festival 1995, Silver Plaque, social/political documentary

·        International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam, 1995, finalist

 

Reviews

Overwhelming. This is an exemplary film.

le parisien (france)

 

“Raising Hell” could be a feature film, full of suspense that is well conveyed. It is, however, a true story about death row and the American justice system....

info matin (france)

 

A documentary that proceeds like a feature film, with characters, action and suspense.

tele 7 jours (france)

 

The evidence presented and the technique of the documentary give the feeling of being absorbed in an American feature film

telerama (france)

 

The film proceeds like a thriller.

demari (finland)

 

An agonising thriller of a documentary. It peaks in the gathering of Bannister’s family outside the prison to wait for the execution. The story is also a testimony to the power of the documentary. It is very difficult to persuade the judicial system to reconsider its actions unless it is faced by publicity media such as this film.

suomen kuvalehti (finland)

 

This extraordinary film...tells the story of Alan ‘A. J.’ Bannister, who has served 12 years on Death Row in Missouri. The story of his life and crimes is told in mesmerising detail and grips like a good novel....

daily mail (uk)

 

Stephen Trombley’s excellent and disturbing new documentary Raising Hell delves into the case of one of the American death-row prisoners featured in his film The Execution Protocol.

the independent (uk)

 

Proving that real-life court cases are far more interesting than fictional courtroom dramas, this documentary concerns a convicted murderer on death row who was saved from death two hours before his scheduled execution as a result of evidence uncovered by the documentary’s director, Stephen Trombley.

the mail on sunday (uk)

 

This is a harrowing portrait.

today (uk)

 

Stephen Trombley’s quietly melancholy film traces Bannister’s drift from model Illinois boyhood to petty crime and the accidental killing that led to his conviction for capital murder.

the sunday telegraph (uk)

 

Stephen Trombley’s compelling film charts the slippery path (via bad company and petty crime) that led the coolly articulate Bannister to a botched killing and a death sentence.

the times (uk)

 

The most absorbing and accessible movie in the Trombley series.

boston globe (us)