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Post by jericho79 on Apr 22, 2013 19:20:14 GMT -5
Hey
guys. Back in the 90’s, I was an avid viewer of America’s Most Wanted
on Fox. I would also catch Unsolved Mysteries during the Robert Stack
era on NBC. However, I don’t watch either show as religiously as I used
to now that both have moved to cable.
I love the documentary film style that UM and AMW use to present reenactments
of crimes. Such professional dramatizations seem to add a “real-life”
aspect to unsolved cases that would otherwise be communicated via a
reporter’s words during local news broadcasts. They serve as perfect
visual aids in visualizations regarding how the crimes actually
occurred. Plus, they allow the viewers to get into the minds of the
victims, the perpetrators, the law enforcement officials, and the family
members.
Personally, however, I think there is a difference between the quality of reenactments
featured on UM and the quality of those featured on AMW. And I confess
that AMW has an edge over UM in “drama” department in regards to crime reenactments.
To me, UM’s reenactments are extremely low-budget. For one thing, UM’s segments don’t seem to run too long. The dialogue in the reenactments is pretty sparse. And it appears that the reenactments
were filmed using an old camcorder. Overall, on UM, the dramatizations
are visibly tame, and the production values are seemingly subpar at
best.
On the other hand, AMW puts a lot more into its reenactments.
Their segments tend to run a lot longer, often incorporating at least
one commercial break. Every reenactment presents some form of backstory
to an unsolved case. And every reenactment appears to be following a
detailed script. In addition, AMW’s high-end production makes each
reenactment seem considerably polished and cinematic.
In short, watching a reenactment on AMW is similar to watching a summer
blockbuster movie, or an episode of SVU or CSI.
An example of this is AMW’s provocative and sensationalized approach to
depicting violent crimes against women. AMW seemingly goes to
significant lengths to make all the rape and sexual assault scenes look
as graphic as possible.
I’m sure there are true crime fans here who have watched both UM and AMW
over the years. So I was hoping if anyone here similarly thinks that
AMW’s crime reenactments are better produced than UM’s (at least when AMW was still on Fox).
Do you guys think that AMW’s reenactments are more dramatic and sometimes more over-the-top than UM’s?
Thanks guys!
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Post by Scumhunter on Apr 22, 2013 19:24:47 GMT -5
AMW's re-enactments suffered a bit of a decline in quality on Lifetime (there were still some great ones and I actually thought it was a better show than the 2010 and 2011 years on Fox), but on Fox I would say they had a more "realistic" feel than the ones on UM. There are many memorable re-enactments over the years and I can't say the same for UM. UM's felt cheesy. AMW's felt more movie-esque on Fox.
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Post by jscurious on Apr 22, 2013 19:51:13 GMT -5
I always thought AMW reenactments were the better, they really make people think about personal safety issues,
as well as give a real desire to put these criminals where they belong. There is nothing quite like the idea ; that could have been my
child or my spouse. I know I checked my deadbolt a couple of times during the shows !
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Post by jericho79 on Apr 25, 2013 21:42:29 GMT -5
Thanks guys.
By any chance-
Would you happen to know who AMW gets to reenact these crimes for their broadcasts?
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Post by Scumhunter on Apr 25, 2013 22:58:28 GMT -5
Thanks guys. By any chance- Would you happen to know who AMW gets to reenact these crimes for their broadcasts? Not entirely sure but I have a friend that was in a re-enactment that got the gig through an L.A. casting director. So I know some must be done through advertised casting calls. Also, if you notice AMW tends to often use the same actors in multiple re-enactments. Probably helps budget-wise. |
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Post by jericho79 on Apr 27, 2013 18:01:19 GMT -5
Not entirely sure but I have a friend that was in a re-enactment that got the gig through an L.A. casting director. So I know some must be done through advertised casting calls. Also, if you notice AMW tends to often use the same actors in multiple re-enactments. Probably helps budget-wise. I always figured that AMW gets struggling actors and actresses who failed acting school to be in its re-enactments. Would you agree? I say this because the re-enactment actors and actresses are never mentioned in the show's closing credits. So I feel that these actors and actresses don't get paid much for their participation. |
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Post by Scumhunter on Apr 27, 2013 19:27:31 GMT -5
Not entirely sure but I have a friend that was in a re-enactment that got the gig through an L.A. casting director. So I know some must be done through advertised casting calls. Also, if you notice AMW tends to often use the same actors in multiple re-enactments. Probably helps budget-wise. I always figured that AMW gets struggling actors and actresses who failed acting school to be in its re-enactments. Would you agree? I say this because the re-enactment actors and actresses are never mentioned in the show's closing credits. So I feel that these actors and actresses don't get paid much for their participation. Well, Edie Falco of Sopranos fame started out as an actress in an AMW re-enactment. I wouldn't say they are "failed", but obviously actors who haven't gotten big breaks as of yet, so the "struggling" part is probably somewhat true- although any non-famous performer of any sort could be defined as struggling in a sense. Obviously A-listers aren't going to do the re-enactments since those are expensive enough as it is. No idea how much they get paid, but I'm assuming they must get some sort of residual. |
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Post by jericho79 on Apr 29, 2013 20:22:53 GMT -5
By the way, has AMW ever listed the re-enactment actors' names in its closing credits?
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Post by Scumhunter on Apr 30, 2013 5:53:56 GMT -5
By the way, has AMW ever listed the re-enactment actors' names in its closing credits? I don't believe so. I think just imdb lists some actors. |
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Post by jericho79 on Apr 30, 2013 20:33:14 GMT -5
First thing-
Why didn't AMW list re-enactment actors' names in the closing credits?
If these actors came from casting calls, you would think that AMW would credit them.
Second thing-
What did you think of the acting in AMW's re-enactments during the early 90's?
This was back when AMW labeled each of their reenactments with cheesy titles. Remember that?
Third thing-
Back in the 90's, I remember watching a particular re-enactment involving a sex crime. The female victim in this case was rather heavy-set in real life. However, in the re-enactment, AMW showed an underwear scene in which a slender actress portrayed the female victim.
Does it surprise you that AMW did that?
You would think that AMW would choose actors and actresses that at least resemble the real-life victims and perpetrators.
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Post by Scumhunter on May 1, 2013 6:42:02 GMT -5
First thing- Why didn't AMW list re-enactment actors' names in the closing credits? If these actors came from casting calls, you would think that AMW would credit them. Second thing- What did you think of the acting in AMW's re-enactments during the early 90's? This was back when AMW labeled each of their reenactments with cheesy titles. Remember that? Third thing- Back in the 90's, I remember watching a particular re-enactment involving a sex crime. The female victim in this case was rather heavy-set in real life. However, in the re-enactment, AMW showed an underwear scene in which a slender actress portrayed the female victim. Does it surprise you that AMW did that? You would think that AMW would choose actors and actresses that at least resemble the real-life victims and perpetrators. As to why they didn't list them, no idea unless it was for time constraints. As we've discussed, the actors probably don't exactly make a bonanza although I'm assuming they get residuals. I mainly started watching AMW in 1996, but from what I've seen on YouTube, I'd say the re-enactments were a tiny bit cheesier than the later years but still realistic and hopefully that doesn't sound contradictory. Even watching those it seems like AMW made their best efforts to make them informative and make you want the criminal to be caught. Doesn't surprise me they had a slender actress portray the victim. As terrible as it sounds, I don't know how many heavy set actresses there are out there for AMW in the first place. To use modern examples, they did have a heavy set actress play fugitive Janet Barreto, who is 390 pounds (obviously hard to find a 390-lb actress but the actress was at least noticeably heavy set), in 2009. But maybe and it's just a theory they might think it's insulting if a heavy-set person plays the victim? Another modern example is last year the victim of fugitive Mauricio Beltran-Trejo was a heavy-set woman, but the actress who played her was much thinner. |
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Post by jericho79 on May 5, 2013 22:03:37 GMT -5
Also, ass the
OP, I feel the need to address something. And I was hoping if you guys
could give your take on this.
Do you guys think AMW goes too far with its graphic reenactments?
For example, back in the early 90's, I remember how AMW aired a case
involving a serial rapist. (I don't recall which case it was, since it
was over 20 years ago.) The reenactment explicitly showed the suspect
actually tearing off a woman's clothes inside a car. The victim managed
to escape, but the suspect drove away with the victim's baby still in
the car. And before the commercial break, the reenactment showed the
victim in tattered clothing with her underwear exposed.
That's what I meant when I said in my OP that AWM's reenactments of rape and sexual assault scenes are noticeably graphic.
I never saw UM going to those types of extremes in their reenactments.
Instead, UM relies more on certain
elements that turn on "the creep factor".
Sometimes I believe that AMW airs these strikingly graphic reenactments in order to draw in ratings.
What do you guys think?
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Post by theajm on May 23, 2013 18:31:47 GMT -5
I believe it works though. Quite graphic but it gets exciting in the sense that its pretty accurate.
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