Life of Crime 1984-2020

Incredible documentary. Maybe the rawest, unfiltered & emotionally charged films I have ever seen. This should be mandatory viewing in the education system. This will change the way you view addiction, the legal system & humanity as a whole, Jon Alpert's commitment to the project over a 35+ year period is something to be witnessed. How this is not getting the mainstream attention it deserves is beyond me, a truly must see film.

This documentary really hit home and showed the beginning to end struggles of drug addiction. Should be shown to kids in school in order to truly scare them straight away from drugs.

This is the final film in a trilogy of documentaries that was made over several decades. It follows three main people as they engage in small-scale crime, become addicted to drugs, do some prison time, break the cycle, relapse, and on and on in a distressing and depressing cycle.

As the title implies, events play out between 1984 and 2020, but the structure does warrant a disclaimer. The years between 1984 and 1998 were detailed in the first two Life of Crime films, which means that the first hour of this third film contains tons of footage that people who've watched the first two movies will have already seen.

I hadn't watched the first one in years, so I appreciated the 1980s years getting recapped, but I zoned out a little during the 1990s scenes, because I'd seen it all just hours beforehand. Because the first hour is a good recap, it might be worth just watching this final film for anyone interested in the series. Or for anyone who really doesn't want to miss anything, watch parts 1 and 2 (about three hours in total) and then skip the first hour of this two-hour documentary.

There's another disclaimer when it comes to watching this documentary: it's extremely confronting. The first two were tough to watch, but the scenes of drug use in this one were more graphic, and there's one very gruesome scene towards the end that's a difficult sight to comprehend. It's not there just for shock's sake, and serves a purpose, but it's very disturbing.

In covering so many years and showing all the cycles the subjects go through, this is definitely the most emotional of the bunch. I was willing to go easy on the recap-heavy first hour because of how brutally effective and well-made that second hour was, and how it made for such a strong ending.

All in all, these three films might be some of the best documentaries about crime, addiction, and the problems with many US institutions out there. It's hard but important viewing, and I don't think I'll forget it soon (even the comparatively less distressing first film stuck with me, and it's been about five years since I saw that one).

The documentary gives a very dramatic informative insight into the lifestyle of criminals in New Jersey and what they had to do in order to survive. It showed that once you get into a life of crime it is very difficult to get out of it regardless of your once normal life.

For someone who wasn't even born in the 80s or 90s; it's fascinating to see what life was like in New Jersey back then.

I recommend y'all watch this beautiful time capsule of a docu movie.

Probably the most incredibly raw, emotional and tough to watch documentary in tv history. It is filmed beginning in 1984 and takes you on a 36 year journey following the lives of three people up until the year 2020. I can't stress enough the importance of this film as a tool to show troubled teens what will happen if they choose a life of crime and drugs. I had to take a moment on several occasions because it was so graphic and troubling. Fair warning: this is not for the meek. Watch at your own discretion but prepare yourself. HBO proving once again why they are still the premier premium service.