Ed Murrow
Added 9/12/2009
I have the complete Ed Murrow collection, and I must say this portrays him and his fight with McCarthy very well, the good thing is it cut McCarthy,s venomous speech against Murrow to the nitty-gritty, making it more understandable, without the rambling that went on and on. I know I will watch it more than once.
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Good Night And Good Luck Movie Review
Added 9/12/2009
Good Night, And Good Luck. looks at the early years of television and journalism principles; specifically the on-air clash in the 1950's between Edward R. Murrow of CBS and Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. With an outstanding cast, including McCarthy himself through archival footage, this film comes alive with intense emotion while depicting the historical See It Now shows and journalism integrity.
Sen. Joseph McCarthy abused his position of power when he claimed many U.S. citizens were Communist Party members. By instilling fear he was able to cripple people's lives with uncorroborated hearsay evidence. Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) decided to report the known facts of McCarthy's tactics on his show with the assistance of his right-hand man, Fred Friendly (George Clooney). With Murrow's strong following he was able change the course of history.
The film was produced in black and white and with impeccable acting and props I felt I was living through the events and they unfolded. Of course it must have been much more extraordinary back then; but, having not grown up in that time this is the closest I will ever come to understanding the impact of those events.
You do not need to be a history buff to enjoy this movie. A little light reading would not hurt though if you are not familiar with Murrow and McCarthy; I found it useful to have my computer at hand to lookup up some lesser known people I was curios about (but didn't need to know to have the film make sense).
David Strathairn did an excellent job portraying Murrow right down to the infamous Camel cigarette always in hand. The additional cast of George Clooney, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., and Frank Langella all showed their talent on the screen. I was particularly impressed with Ray Wise who played Don Hollenbeck - his superb (although small) role with stay with me for a long time.
9 out of 10 - Rated PG - Watch this one for the historical importance and amazing film making.
Dain Binder
Dain's Movie Reviews
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Masterful Recreation of Historical Drama
Added 9/3/2009
This is a thoughtful, intelligent drama, very well written and executed. George Clooney and co. masterfully recreate the atmosphere of the McCarthy era; there is a palpable fear throughout. He never "dumbs down" this important piece of history for the sake of more box office. The weaving together of archival footage with scripted drama is also tremendous. The pace does crawl at times, yet that doesn't detract from the story. Strathairn's Murrow shines brightly through the ever-present cigarette smoke, and I also enjoyed Langella's William Paley immensely. Seeing him here after recently viewing Frost/Nixon reinforces that my appreciation of his talent. I love Robert Downey Jr. and Patricia Clarkson; I'd liked to have seen more of them in this movie. The Liberace footage had me laughing out loud. Its an excellent addition, and it cleverly illustrates what Murrow had to endure in order to keep his job.
In the same vein with All The President's Men, this movie reminds us of the proper role journalism plays with government. Investigatory journalists, like Murrow, must ask the tough questions, even with the threat of retaliation and smear tactics. The people deserve nothing less than the light of truth. It is no coincidence that an anti-McCarthy movie was produced by the Hollywood left in light of their disgust with or loathing of the Bush administration's tactics in the war on terror. Although I believe that Hollywood should avoid overt political statements, as an historical recreation, this film succeeds impressively.
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Cassius was right, the fault dear Brutus is not in our stars, but in ourselves
Added 7/30/2009
Cassius was right, the fault dear Brutus is not in our stars, but in ourselves
"Good Night, and Good Luck." is about broadcaster Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) and the role he played in bringing down Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (himself, in archival footage). Senator McCarthy exploited the atmosphere of fear during 1950's America, the height of the cold war with Russia, then called the Soviet Union, claiming to have lists of Communist spies in government, and later, claiming that the Army was infested with Communist spies. If anyone questioned him, he would attack them as being a Communist, a Communist Sympathizer, or a Fellow Traveler. Murrow was not a Communist, a sympathizer, or a fellow traveler, but he did oppose the methods and tactics used by McCarthy.
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Edward R. Murrow: We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
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Though there was groundswell of opposition to McCarthy among print journalists, no one on Television news was bold enough to take him on until Edward R. Murrow. Television proved an effective weapon against the Senator. After the program challenging him aired, he demanded equal time. He spoke for 28 minutes, but the longer he spoke, the more he seemed unhinged, and the less people thought of him. When ABC aired the McCarthy/Army hearings (Murrow was on CBS) that finished him. He had really gone too far, accusing the Army of harboring numerous Communists. As President Eisenhower quipped, McCarthyism became McCarthywasm. The Senate voted to censure him, one of the few times in history that has happened. Though he was not thrown out of office, he was stripped of his committee chair, and yielded little influence thereafter. He died still in office a few years later. Some say the illness was brought on by acute alcoholism.
"Good Night, and Good Luck." is not so much about McCarthy, but about Murrow, and the pressures brought to bear on him, by CBS, and also by McCarthy. It is not a biopic of Murrow, but focuses on the period when McCarthyism was in full flower, and also, as bookends at the beginning and end of the film, it has Murrow railing against using the medium of television merely to entertain, distract, or to insulate the viewer from reality:
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Edward R. Murrow: We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.
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It is a period piece, and everyone smokes like a chimney, especially Murrow. Tobacco companies sponsor the show, and good use is made of a period commercial, with the irony of one cigarette company claiming to be the "thinking man's cigarette." Murrow smoked a different brand, but he would put it in his sponsor's box.
"Good Night, and Good Luck." was a successful film, in oh-so-many ways. You could say that it didn't make much money, but it was made for only seven million. It made $54,641,191 in combined foreign and domestic box office returns, according to boxofficemojo dot com. It returned the initial investment more than sevenfold. George Clooney believed in this project so much that he only paid himself a dollar, as writer, director, and actor. He also mortgaged his own home to get it made. I think one of the reasons the picture appealed to him was because his own father was a news anchor.
Though GNAGL didn't win an Oscar, it did get nominated for six, including best picture. It was one of the best reviewed films of the year, for independent films in limited theatrical release. It was the first film released entirely in black & white since The Elephant Man. Director George Clooney artfully combined archival footage with newly shot film. The film is a master class in how to make a great looking film on a low budget. There are so many clever technical feats, but they are pulled off flawlessly. Clooney makes it all look so easy.
There is also some great acting by George Clooney, Patricia Clarkson, Robert Downey Jr., Frank Langella, Ray Wise, Jeff Daniels -- and Dianne Reeves fronts a jazz group that acts as a kind-of Greek chorus, commenting on the action -- but the performance by David Strathairn is stunning, and the film's centerpiece. The fact that he nailed most of his scenes on the first take also helped bring this film in under budget. Straithairn is one of Hollywood's best kept secrets, but his relative anonymity allowed him to inhabit the role, without the distraction of seeing some celebrity up on screen pretending to be someone.
Clooney has really achieved something here, as he has made a film made up mostly of talking heads, but managed to make it entertaining as a movie. It actually has quite a bit of substance, and yet it is still watch-able. If it were a cigarette, it would be the thinking man's cigarette.
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Edward R. Murrow: Did you know the most trusted man in America is Milton Berle?
Fred Friendly: See? You should have worn a dress.
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Frost/Nixon (2008) .... Frank Langella was Richard Nixon
My Blueberry Nights (2007) .... David Strathairn was Ofcr. Arnie Copeland
Lars and the Real Girl (2007) .... Patricia Clarkson was Dagmar
A Scanner Darkly (2006) .... Robert Downey Jr. was James Barris
The Squid and the Whale (Special Edition) (2005) .... Jeff Daniels was Professor Bernard Berkman
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) .... George Clooney was Everett
Playing By Heart (1998) .... Patricia Clarkson was Allison
Dumb and Dumber (1994) .... Jeff Daniels was Harry Dunne
The River Wild (1994) .... David Strathairn was Tom (with Kevin Bacon)
Bob Roberts (1992) .... David Strathairn was Mack Laflin and Ray Wise was Chet MacGregor
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Edward R. Murrow: To those who say people wouldn't look; they wouldn't be interested; they're too complacent, indifferent and insulated, I can only reply: There is, in one reporter's opinion, considerable evidence against that contention. But even if they are right, what have they got to lose? Because if they are right, and this instrument is good for nothing but to entertain, amuse and insulate, then the tube is flickering now and we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost. This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. Good night, and good luck.
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When Communism was WAY less popular than smoking
Added 7/29/2009
I've always liked David Straithairn and George Clooney. (And, for that matter, Frank Langella and Robert Downey Jr.) But this movie didn't live up to my expectations. The acting was good, not great; so too the writing. It demonized Joe McCarthy, but not to the degree I expected--no more so than our generation's take on the Red-baiting/blacklisting of the 1950's.
The producers, after all, are products of the mindset that anyone in McCarthy's crosshairs was, indeed, a victim. Yes, McCarthy was dumb to go after little fish that may or may not have attended suspect meetings...but McCarthy's concern about Communists was right on the money. We tend to think of card-carrying Communists as members of a benign, slightly kooky social club. Actually, hard-core Communists were dedicated to replacing our form of government with a Soviet model, and we all know how well that worked out. These guys were serious. Murrow deserves credit for insisting on accountability, and proof, before accusations are made and careers ruined. But a lot of people who were blacklisted have admitted to participating in activities that would have had them shipped to a gulag under different circumstances.
The only real dramatic tension this movie ever sustained was the issue of Hollenbeck. This isn't really a PLOT SPOILER, because this guy, from the moment he appears on screen, might just as well have been wearing a sign that said, "SUICIDE COMING UP SOON." You just KNOW he's going to off himself, and when he shows up in subsequent scenes it's kind of a relief....but then the tension builds again. Until finally, his colleagues receive the news that SHOCKS them. ("Oh my God, how horrible! I mean, he told us his wife left him and he had nothing to live for, but...!")
The black-and-white format was, I guess, indicated for this movie's "mood." But it was a little unflattering to some of the actors.
If you really love the history of television, watch this film. Otherwise, read the synopsis on the DVD case. You'll save yourself some time, and I've already told you the Hollenbeck outcome.
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Shoulda passed.
Added 11/20/2009
RS Steube is accurate - and the movie was not for me. It wasn't "bad", but it wasn't "good" either. And more resembled a TV mini-series lumped together for a few hour movie. Barely 2 stars.
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Cold War Attitudes in Remarkably Incoherent Film
Added 11/7/2009
I have to admit this was far too artsy a production for me. None of the characters were sufficiently defined to care about, none of the action sufficiently comprehensible to break through the torpor induced by the cross-cutting of scenes and characters. The cynicism which was the hallmark of fine cold war films, was marked, but I was led to indifference since it was all puppetry devoid of human characteristics. I shouldn't think any blame accrues to the actors whose playing seemed to be in tune with the desires of writers and the director; George Clooney, in particular, is to be congratulated for his heroic underplaying which dimmed his impact to near zero.
Over-all, it was quite an achievement to convert a hot issue into a bedtime story.
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SYRIANA DVD REVIEW
Added 10/17/2009
THIS MOVIE IS A GREAT PORTRAYAL ON HOW EVIL THIS COUNTRY IS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.
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