Film: Good Night and Good Luck (merged)

[EvilBison]

This movie came out of nowhere.

Co-written, directed and featuring George Clooney, the movie depicts veteran newsman Edward R. Murrow in his attempt to stop the communist witch hunt of the 50's led by Joe McCarthy.

The real angle about this movie that I can't wait to see is the use of archival footage. No one "plays" Senator McCarthy. Any time he is on screen, it is acutal archival footage of the real senator. This could be either really great or really lame. The whole situation was so rediculous that to tell the story on screen, even as honestly as possible, would seem like typical Hollywood over-dramitization. Letting Sen. McCarthy's statements speak for themselves is a bold way to tell the story.

I really hope this movie doesn't suck.

 

[Banquo]

I'm also looking forward to this.

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Spoiler Free Synopsis:
George Clooney's second directorial effort (after "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind") is another historical look at a controversial subject: the battle between reporter Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) and Red-baiting Senator Joseph McCarthy (who plays himself in vintage clips). At the recent Toronto Film Festival those who had seen "Good Night, and Good Luck" at the Venice Film Festival were abuzz that Straithairn's performance might earn him an Oscar nomination along with Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote") and, perhaps, Jeff Daniels ("The Squid and the Whale"). (Jim Emerson)

New York Times Review Excerpt:
Shot in a black-and-white palette of cigarette smoke, hair tonic, dark suits and pale button-down shirts, "Good Night, and Good Luck" plunges into a half-forgotten world in which television was new, the cold war was at its peak, and the Surgeon General's report on the dangers of tobacco was still a decade in the future. Though it is a meticulously detailed reconstruction of an era, the film, directed by George Clooney from a script he wrote with Grant Heslov, is concerned with more than nostalgia.

Burnishing the legend of Edward R. Murrow, the CBS newsman who in the 1940's and 50's established a standard of journalistic integrity his profession has scrambled to live up to ever since, "Good Night, and Good Luck" is a passionate, thoughtful essay on power, truth-telling and responsibility. It opens the New York Film Festival tonight and will be released nationally on Oct. 7. The title evokes Murrow's trademark sign-off, and I can best sum up my own response by recalling the name of his flagship program: See it now.

And be prepared to pay attention. "Good Night, and Good Luck" is not the kind of historical picture that dumbs down its material, or walks you carefully through events that may be unfamiliar. Instead, it unfolds, cinéma-vérité style, in the fast, sometimes frantic present tense, following Murrow and his colleagues as they deal with the petty annoyances and larger anxieties of news gathering at a moment of political turmoil. The story flashes back from a famous, cautionary speech that Murrow gave at an industry convention in 1958 to one of the most notable episodes in his career - his war of words and images with Senator Joseph R. McCarthy.

http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movi... O. Scott&v_id=317061&partner=Rotten Tomatoes

 

[indelibleface]

I really liked it. The movie was subdued, but definitely gripping at times due to the fantastic acting. They could have gone in and Hollywood-ized the plot a bit to make more rising and falling action, but they didn't and that's why it all works so well. It respects and stays true to what really happened, without beefing up the story with 'yer standard cliched movie conventions (at least that significantly, there are many dramatized scenes, but nothing too distracting to the historical situations).

 

[dm3]

hey this looks interseting

 

[m885]

Film: Good Night and Good Luck

This looks like a fascinating depiction of Murrow's broadcast that destroyed McCarthy. Has anyone seen it yet?

 

[Belisarius]

I just saw this last night, and was extremely impressed. Though rather short, it makes good use of its time, and pulls you along very quickly--I mean, if only all docudramas were this good! All in black and white, it's beautifully shot, and its several song interludes add equal parts melancholy and surrealism to the movie. Let it be known that this movie uses a great deal of archival footage that is seamlessly worked into the plot.

Worth seeing for David Strathairn's performance as Edward Murrow alone, and let's not even touch how relevant this film is to today; I repeatedly got a feeling of deja vu regarding the movie's highlighted conflict between politics, consumerism, and journalistic integrity. One caveat: if you're not particularly interested in the McCarthyist era, this film may leave you feeling high and dry. I'm willing to bet though, that almost anyone willing to give the movie a try will like it, or at least be prompted to think about its message.

In a nutshell: This fascinating nugget of media and American history is a must-see, if not at the first-run theaters, then at the dollar ones, or on video.

 

[posner]

I've heard this is filmed well. However, I've also heard that it gives Murrow far more credit than is due. Murrow was fairly late to the game, so to speak.

 

[Banquo]

rate it! %)

 

[L2R]

Good film. Very relevant message.

But too dead pan. I dunno. I didn't really feel very emotionally involved in this film.

 

[Syxti9]

was ok I like the interweaving of real 50s tv footage with the movie footage