Fahrenheit 911 - The Temp At Which Truth Burns

This is going to be a summer to remember! The Cannes film festival is going to regain the respectability lost last year by premiering with Michael Moore's new documentary which amongst other things has interviews secretly conducted with US soldiers "serving their country" in Iraq.

Bye, bye Junior!!

From michaelmoore.com

just got word that my new film, "Fahrenheit 911," has been selected by the Cannes Film Festival to premiere there in competition next month!

This is only the second time in the last 48 years that a documentary has been chosen to be in the main competition (the first being "Bowling for Columbine" in 2002). The non-fiction film revolution rolls on!

I am deeply honored by this announcement, considering it comes from our mortal enemy, the French. ( :D )

This year's jury in Cannes is headed by Quentin Tarantino and also includes director Jerry Schatzberg, Kathleen Turner, Tilda Swinton and others.

god i hope hes not as sarcastic as in his books, you'd almost prefer bush's bull****.

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Originally Posted by GavinZac

you'd almost prefer bush's bull****.

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He can be as sarcastic as he likes, nothing would induce me to that which you mention...

:) PP

I love cinema and the last few years has seen a revolution in cinema in many ways with great documentaries at last appearing in the cinema ( as well great animated films). Missed Touching the Void in Cork but it is appearing in Waterford soon.


Appearing at the Kino soon is another supposidily great documentary called "Capturing the Friedmans". Be warned though it deals with the upsetting subject of child abuse.

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Originally Posted by Plastic Paddy

He can be as sarcastic as he likes, nothing would induce me to that which you mention...

:) PP

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like i said, almost :D

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Originally Posted by eoinh

Appearing at the Kino soon is another supposidily great documentary called "Capturing the Friedmans". Be warned though it deals with the upsetting subject of child abuse.

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Saw that a couple of weeks ago. Jaw dropping stuff. Without a doubt the most shoking thing I've ever seen. Not an easy view but well, well worth the effort. For thos in Dublin its on in UGC

The subject of this thread is at the moment in danger of not being released in America much to the chagrin of all reasonable observers:

May 6, 2004 – Editorial, New York Times

Disney's Craven Behavior

Give the Walt Disney Company a gold medal for cowardice for blocking its Miramax division from distributing a film that criticizes President Bush and his family. A company that ought to be championing free expression has instead chosen to censor a documentary that clearly falls within the bounds of acceptable political commentary.

The documentary was prepared by Michael Moore, a controversial filmmaker who likes to skewer the rich and powerful. As described by Jim Rutenberg yesterday in The Times, the film, "Fahrenheit 9/11," links the Bush family with prominent Saudis, including the family of Osama bin Laden. It describes financial ties that go back three decades and explores the role of the government in evacuating relatives of Mr. bin Laden from the United States shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The film was financed by Miramax and was expected to be released this summer.

Mr. Moore's agent said that Michael Eisner, Disney's chief executive, had expressed concern that the film might jeopardize tax breaks granted to Disney for its theme park, hotels and other ventures in Florida, where Jeb Bush is governor. If that is the reason for Disney's move, it would underscore the dangers of allowing huge conglomerates to gobble up diverse media companies.

On the other hand, a senior Disney executive says the real reason is that Disney caters to families of all political stripes and that many of them might be alienated by the film. Those families, of course, would not have to watch the documentary.

It is hard to say which rationale for blocking distribution is more depressing. But it is clear that Disney loves its bottom line more than the freedom of political discourse.

Like Jeremy Clarkson says: they think they live in a free country God love 'em!

To be honest he is too big a film maker to have this effect him but I think, as this editorial points out, that the "dangers of allowing huge conglomerates to gobble up diverse media companies" is even more worrying than the obvious suspicions of censorship. In other words, Conservatives are coming out against Michael Moore (e.g. Eric Burns on Fox TV :rolleyes: ) saying he's just being paranoid when he uses this line of objection and shouting about freedom of speech.
Whether or not the Disney corporation has strict attitudes towards what they deem acceptable "political discourse" is not the point. Because of the huge web of financial obligations in all these big companies, opinion is suppressed as a consequence and it is more important to take care of your keeper than to give normal Americans access to information.

Michael Moore has only entered into the wider public consciousness in the last year and a half and some people can't handle his style, his satire, his sensationalism, his anger, his flippancy etc. But what people don't realise is that he has been dealing with idiots like Disney for nearly 30 years - how is he supposed to react?

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Originally Posted by vito_golightly

To be honest he is too big a film maker to have this effect him but I think, as this editorial points out, that the "dangers of allowing huge conglomerates to gobble up diverse media companies" is even more worrying than the obvious suspicions of censorship.

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The problem is though that there are other lesser known film makers or young film makers just starting out who couldnt even attempt to make a film like that because they know they wouldnt be able to raise any finance for it or no one would be willing to show it.

I don't think that Moore will have trouble finding a distributer for his movie here in the US. The fact that Disney chickened out on Miramax has only helped create hype and I'm sure Moore is loving it.
As for Moore, his last movie Bowling for Columbine lashes at the NRA and the gun industry and blames them for the killings that those kids did. However it is full with inaccuracies and supposidly "live" events when they were actually staged. He also altered a Bush 1 1988 campaign ad to make it look like the ad show Bush in a bad light.
I've also read a couple of his books including the last one which rightfully bashes Fox News but kinda goes over the edge. He is pretty much a whack job who and does see both sides of the coin. He is amusing and acnecdotal at best.
And that's one of the problems with news/media/politics in the US. Either you're a Democrat loving whacko or a Republic neocon. No middle ground. I might vote for Nader this year as he seems to be the only one with any honesty and sticks to his principles and not flip-flop like Bush and Kerry.

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Originally Posted by Metrostars

Either you're a Democrat loving whacko or a Republic neocon. No middle ground.

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No middle ground? To me both parties seem almost identical. For such a large country Americans dont have much electoral choice.

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Originally Posted by Conor74

his style is a bit of a turnoff and almost wears you down... Perhaps someone who theorised a bit more or put a bit more philosophical analysis into it

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That's why I enjoyed Fast Food Nation so much.
Eric Schlosser writes a very balanced view loaded with facts and theories.

Moore is quite simply a liar and a charlatan. click here to read why. Spinsanity are non-partisan.
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q...p-a=sp100115c6

He's won the Palme d'Or for the film - cue more accusations of moronic, amateurish, uneducated, senationalist, partizan, untruthful observations of what's wrong with the U.S. Contrary to the belief of some idiots who alledge that Bowling for Columbine contained "staged" events, nobody with a bit of sense could argue that the camera lies. I know images can be taken out of context, taken advantage of etc but that kind of criticism serves to detract from the major points. Anyway I'm sure this film will have the effect of showing undeniable proof of the irresponsible arrogance of Bush et al and what people do with that is up to them.

I read an interview with him during the week where he said that his biggest critics are Liberals because of his lack of sophistication. Another wild statement surely...

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Originally Posted by Conor74

Perhaps someone who theorised a bit more or put a bit more philosophical analysis into it rather than reciting page after page of how many staff the President of XY Corporation sacked and how many convictions for driving under influence he had...

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And then there is the abuse of him that he's just a big publicity seeker with all the Disney carry-on - I love how he retorted: "dig a little deeper"!

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Originally Posted by mickrev

Moore is quite simply a liar and a charlatan

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Hmmmmm. A charlatan he clearly is not - he prides himself on the fact that he doesn't have a third level education and won't stop going on about it. Liar maybe - it's true that some of his stuff is twisting/exaggerating the truth but it's unfair to say that everything he claims is a huge witty falsehood. And more importantly, mickrev's simplistic analysis once again detracts from the important points that the lower classes get screwed.

At least the jury don't lie (four Americans and only one French so we can hold off on the conspiracy theories)

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Originally Posted by mickrev

Moore is quite simply a liar and a charlatan. click here to read why. Spinsanity are non-partisan.
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q...p-a=sp100115c6

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And why should anyone trust this site anymore than Moore?
There is no such thing as non-partisan opinion.

I like Moore - or more to the point I like to see a bit of radicalism hitting the headlines in a country where the chasm of a gnat's arse seperates the 'Democrat loving whackos' from the 'Republican neocons.' However I saw Moore in London last year on a press night through the missus. All the lovies were there including Alan Rickman - please Alan, will you do your Dev for me, please?! - and Moore wanted everyone to tear up their store 'loyalty' cards. However one bloke made the point: 'where's all the downtrodden that you champion at your shows'. Why charge (at least £25 which is nothing to Dinkies but a lot to the low paid) for his show? For the first time I found him looking uncomfortable, claiming that it wasn't them that had to get his message? :confused:

well conor if you enjoyed that you might be interested in this "doc" coming to the kino tomorrow

"Also opening this week is The Fog Of War, the documentary from Errol Morris which won this years Oscar for the Best Documentary. The film looks at the highly controversial US former Secretary of Defence, Robert S. McNamara who presided over such events like the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. In a series of interviews McNamara examines his life and decisions he made while in power. A compelling film. The Fog of War plays at 3.00 & 7.00pm from tomorrow......"

Sounds interesting. Missed that film about the Friedmans though. I'll have to try and catch it on DVD

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Originally Posted by eoinh

The Fog Of War

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it's really good, but you'd want to have an interest in the man and what he has to say as it's basically 90 minutes of interview. but very interesting and well worth a look.
i'd recommend it.

i heard hes regretful for a lot of the decisions he made tiktok, and that hes trying to excuse himself. I havent seen it yet but what would you give it out of ten?

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Originally Posted by eoinh

i heard hes regretful for a lot of the decisions he made tiktok, and that hes trying to excuse himself. I havent seen it yet but what would you give it out of ten?

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He does express regret, but i think it's more explaining the thinking at the time than excusing himself.

I thought it was brilliant, and with the situation in Iraq at the moment it adds another level of interest when he discusses foreign policy. It's probably not eveyone's cup of tea, but I'd give it an eight i guess.

In recent times there have been some brilliant documentaries released, this maintains the standard. This link might help you make up your mind on whether you want to see it or not. Actually, it's a really good site for reviews in general.

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Originally Posted by mickrev

Moore is quite simply a liar and a charlatan.

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No, he's a spinner, just like those he opposes. At a rough guess I'd peg the spin at about 1-5%.

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Spinsanity are non-partisan.

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ROFL, I think what you meant to say is that they say they're non-partisan.

There's been a lot of debunking of Moore material and it's been just as picky and choosy as Moore's commentary. The fact that the debunkers can't see this irony speaks volumes.

adam