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  • fareheit 9/11 review - Roger Ebert

    Less is Moore in subdued, effective '9/11'

    May 18, 2004

    BY ROGER EBERT FILM CRITIC Advertisement





    CANNES, France -- Michael Moore the muckraking wiseass has been replaced by a more subdued version in "Fahrenheit 9/11," his new documentary questioning the anti-terrorism credentials of the Bush regime. In the Moore version, President Bush, his father and members of their circle have received $1.5 billion from Saudi Arabia over the years, attacked Iraq to draw attention from their Saudi friends, and have lost the hearts and minds of many of the U.S. servicemen in the war.

    The film premiered Monday at the Cannes Film Festival to a series of near-riot scenes, as overbooked screenings were besieged by mobs trying to push their way in. The response at the early morning screening I attended was loudly enthusiastic. And at the official black-tie screening, it was greeted by a standing ovation; a friend who was there said it went on "for at least 25 minutes," which probably means closer to 15 (estimates of ovations at Cannes are like estimates of parade crowds in Chicago).

    But the film doesn't go for satirical humor the way Moore's "Roger & Me" and "Bowling for Columbine" did. Moore's narration is still often sarcastic, but frequently he lets his footage speak for itself.

    The film shows American soldiers not in a prison but in the field, hooding an Iraqi, calling him Ali Baba, touching his genitals and posing for photos with him. There are other scenes of U.S. casualties without arms or legs, questioning the purpose of the Iraqi invasion at a time when Bush proposed to cut military salaries and benefits. It shows Lila Lipscomb, a mother from Flint, Mich., reading a letter from her son, who urged his family to help defeat Bush, days before he was killed. And in a return to the old Moore confrontational style, it shows him joined by a Marine recruiter as he encourages congressmen to have their sons enlist in the services.

    Despite these dramatic moments, the most memorable footage for me involved President Bush on Sept. 11. The official story is that Bush was meeting with a group of pre-schoolers when he was informed of the attack on the World Trade Center and quickly left the room. Not quite right, says Moore. Bush learned of the first attack before entering the school, "decided to go ahead with his photo op," and began to read My Pet Goat to the students. Informed of the second attack, he incredibly remained with the students for another seven minutes, reading from the book, until a staff member suggested that he leave. The look on his face as he reads the book, knowing what he knows, is disquieting.

    "Fahrenheit 9/11" documents the long association of the Bush clan and Saudi oil billionaires, and reveals that when Bush released his military records, he blotted out the name of another pilot whose flight status was suspended on the same day for failure to take a physical exam. This was his good friend James R. Bath, who later became the Texas money manager for the bin Laden family (which has renounced its terrorist son).

    When a group of 9/11 victims sued the Saudi government for financing the terrorists, the Saudis hired as their defense team the law firm of James Baker, Bush Sr.'s secretary of state. And the film questions why, when all aircraft were grounded after 9/11, the White House allowed several planes to fly around the country picking up bin Laden family members and other Saudis and flying them home.

    Much of the material in "Fahrenheit 9/11" has already been covered in books and newspapers, but some is new, and it all benefits from the different kind of impact a movie has. Near the beginning of the film, as Congress moves to ratify the election of Bush after the Florida and Supreme Court controversies, it is positively eerie to see 10 members of Congress -- eight black women, one Asian woman and one black man -- rise to protest the move and be gaveled into silence by the chairman of the session, Al Gore.

    On the night before his film premiered, Moore, in uncharacteristic formalwear, attended an official dinner given by Gilles Jacob, president of the festival. Conversation at his table centered on the just-published New Yorker article by Seymour Hersh alleging that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld personally authorized use of torture in Iraqi prisons.

    Moore had his own insight into the issue: "Rumsfeld was under oath when he testified about the torture scandal. If he lied, that's perjury. And therefore I find it incredibly significant that when Bush and Cheney testified before the 9/11 commission, they refused to swear an oath. They claimed they'd sworn an oath of office, but that has no legal standing. Do you suppose they remembered how Clinton was trapped by perjury and were protecting themselves?"

    Would something like that belong in the film?

    "My contract says I can keep editing and adding stuff right up until the release date," Moore said. He said he expects to sign a U.S. distribution deal this week at Cannes; the film's producer, Miramax, was forbidden to release it by its parent company, Disney.

    After the first press screening on Monday, journalists noted on their way out that Moore was more serious in this film and took fewer cheap shots. But there are a few. Wait until you see Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz preparing for a TV interview. First he puts a pocket comb in his mouth to wet it and combs down his hair. Still not satisfied, he spits on his hand and wipes the hair into place. Catching politicians being made up for TV is an old game, but this is a first.




    Copyright © Chicago Sun-Times Inc.
    "I'm like Tupac: Who can stop me?"

  • #2
    Nice, man. Nice. ****in' coward ass Disney for not releasing it though, ha.
    a true gongfu system must have the four major aspects of combat to be complete, "striking", "Kicking", Chin'na (joint-locking), and Shuai-Jiao (Wrestling)... in addition it must combine the internal with the external...

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    • #3
      Disney was smart for not releasing it, at least from a financial point of view. Moore is a very one sided, very leftist and biased film maker. It would have caused Disney more trouble in the long run, than what it was worth. Remember, they have other financial institutions that they have to take care of, such as their theme parks, and their character merchandise.
      Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

      "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

      (more comments in my User Profile)
      russbo.com


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      • #4
        I'm not so sure it would have been a bad film to get behind. I mean it's not every movie that wins the top prize at cannes. I think liberals should stick to stuff like this, movies and books. Right wingers pretty much rule radio and seem to argue better in my opinion. They seem to think on their feet better, but when they try to write books it gets I don't know. I was just reading something about some book richard perle just wrote and it looked like a real piece of junk. Which makes it strange that from what I understand John Kerry's book is pretty awful and he will most likely filet George W at the presidential debates. So some little patterns but no big one.
        "I'm like Tupac: Who can stop me?"

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        • #5
          Anyone could filet Bush in a debate, even my little Thai honey, who doesn't speak much English. That's nothing to be proud of. Bush can't think on his feet, period. But that doesn't make him a bad person, just, a not so bright one.

          But, when you say that liberals should stick to stuff like movies and books, and stay away from radio, what are you really saying? Good observation, by the way.

          Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

          "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

          (more comments in my User Profile)
          russbo.com


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          • #6
            I agree with Doc on that, one, ANYONE could out-debate bush in an open debate. John Kerry's book sucks? I wasn't even aware he had a book yet, lol. There are many things that could be better about Kerry, but as of now, he's basically the only major competitor against Bush; and pretty much anyone at this point would be better than Bush, lol.
            Doc, you mentioned that Disney was smart to not release the film because it too biased or partisan, correct?

            "It would have caused Disney more trouble in the long run, than what it was worth. Remember, they have other financial institutions that they have to take care of..."

            That doesn't make any sense though, because Disney has been, and still does, supply ignorant jackasses like Sean Hannity ("hannitized" for your protection, that's his catchphrase, isn't it?) with his own radio show. This guy's basically the 'yes man' and poster boy for the white house's neo-conservatives. Isn't he biased? Yet Disney has not been nervous of his actions as of yet. Why is that? Jeb Bush is the governer of Florida. Florida is home to Disney World. The president is Jeb's brother. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that this will influence the situation. But, of course, yes, from a money-hungry point of view, Disney did the clever thing. That kinda goes against freedom of speech though, doesn't it? Ha, as if Disney didn't have enough millions. Oh well.

            (PS. Doc, when you used to have hair, did you ever rock a mullet? Just out of curiosity, lol...)
            a true gongfu system must have the four major aspects of combat to be complete, "striking", "Kicking", Chin'na (joint-locking), and Shuai-Jiao (Wrestling)... in addition it must combine the internal with the external...

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            • #7
              Has nothing to do with freedom of speech. It has everything to do with economics. A company has to survive, and this Moore guy is really ln the liberal fringe. Extreme leanings don't make money, they just annoy people.

              And Hannity is far, far more intelligent than anything Moore could come up with, regardless of his viewpoints. At least he backs up his statements with legitimate, well thought out, research.
              Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

              "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

              (more comments in my User Profile)
              russbo.com


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              • #8
                Doc: "And Hannity is far, far more intelligent than anything Moore could come up with, regardless of his viewpoints. At least he backs up his statements with legitimate, well thought out, research."

                Doc, COME ON man; you have some serious research to do man. I'm not Moore's #1 fan or anything, but I respect Moore more because he's actually WILLING to take criticism and explain his statements with, believe it or not, actual research. I respect anyone who does that, regardless of their beliefs. Hannity has lied SO MANY TIMES, it's not even funny. This guy gets paid by the WORD, and it shows. Maybe I should record a couple of episodes of Hannity and Colmes then I'll point out how many times he lies on a regular basis, lol. Just for kicks, check out the Daily Show's segment of "Great moments in Pundit History", it's hilarious. I'd respect Hannity if he were a little more open-minded, but the guy just cuts off his own guests off the air whenever he doesn't like what they say. That's ****in' ridiculous. He just brings them on to talk ****.
                a true gongfu system must have the four major aspects of combat to be complete, "striking", "Kicking", Chin'na (joint-locking), and Shuai-Jiao (Wrestling)... in addition it must combine the internal with the external...

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                • #9
                  Hannity is an intelligent guy. His statements are backed up with good historical research. He's very conservative oriented, and is very opinionated, I agree, but, it's pretty hard to refute what he comes up with, in my opinion. He must have a pretty solid team of people behind him, looking for facts and other things.

                  Moore is too emotional, and is swayed by such. He's crude, rough, and mildly entertaining. He's driven more by emotions than rational thought.
                  Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

                  "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

                  (more comments in my User Profile)
                  russbo.com


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                  • #10
                    i'm not even gonna get into the politics on this one, cuz honestly i don't know near as much as either mr. moore or mr. hannity. but i can say from an artist's standpoint that i don't think much of moore's movies. they have all the anger of a good punk song, without any of the directness. seriously, some times this guy just forgets what his point is. i remember a scene in "bowling for columbine" where he interviews an army captain or something working at a weapons factory near columbine. he says something about how they pack up weapons in trucks, and then drive them to their various destinations "at night... while the children are sleeping." i couldn't help but die laughing at that scene. what the hell does that mean, man?

                    even if peter tosh does have a song that tells us that marijuana cures tuberculosis and glaucoma, it's got a great bass line, so i'll forgive it. but a movie's taking up two and a half hours of my time, and it has no bass lines to save it. so it better at least be coherent.

                    - zach

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                    • #11
                      Comparing Hannity and Moore is like compairing vodka and water.
                      practice wu de

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                      • #12
                        so you're saying hannity's better than moore?

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                        • #13
                          well, I think Michael Moore and Sean Hannity are similar in some respects. Both are intelligent but not really intellectual, they are footsoldiers for their respective viewpoints. Mel Goodman, from the Army War college, on the left and Michael Medved, movie critic and conservitive radio host, on the right are two examples of lesser known more cerebral sort of thinkers. I think Moore is a bit more relevant in a way because there are less liberal guys out there in the media and many many conservitive ones, so he's reltively unique. We should be thankful we have two different viewpoints who try so hard to be heard. Not to sound Gene Ching-ish
                          "I'm like Tupac: Who can stop me?"

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                          • #14
                            Hannity RULES!

                            Michael Moore - loser

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                            • #15
                              Zachsan: "...I remember a scene in "bowling for columbine" where he interviews an army captain or something working at a weapons factory near columbine. he says something about how they pack up weapons in trucks, and then drive them to their various destinations "at night... while the children are sleeping." i couldn't help but die laughing at that scene. what the hell does that mean, man?"

                              Zach, you're missing the point of Moore's talk with the "Army Captain" (actually, I think he said he was an employee for the company, Lockheed-Martin, which makes missile defense systems for our government). It showed a good example of the hypocrisy of American foreign policy, because when Moore asked him about the weapons main uses, the guy responds, "...well yeah, they're made for destruction, but only when they try to attack us first!" (That's not a direct quote, just a general sense of what he was saying.) Right after the guy said that, Moore then shows old footage and information of America's involvement in military coups' and forced installment of dictators in foreign nations (including Augosto Pinochet, Saddam Hussein, The Shah of Iran, the Contras, Bush Sr. reinstalling the Kuwaiti Dictator...) giving a brief description of each event in chronological order, up until the latest homeland tragedy, the Twin Towers collapsing.

                              I haven't seen the Faranheit film, but I thought Bowling was a pretty provocative film; pretty much everything he says in the Bowling film is backup up by facts and sources. I do agree that sometimes he has let himself get too emotional, but it's understandable. Sean Hannity on the other hand, hasn't done **** for the American people. At least Moore truly has faith in his beliefs, but it seems to me that Hannity does it more for money. He sits around and talks ****, gets paid for it, and calls it a day. He's a pundit, that's what he's there for. He's like O'Reilly, he blatantly lies, even when he's wrong. Couldn't he at least be a little more humble?

                              (P.S. Doc, you haven't answered the question I asked ya about the Mullet!, hahaha.)
                              a true gongfu system must have the four major aspects of combat to be complete, "striking", "Kicking", Chin'na (joint-locking), and Shuai-Jiao (Wrestling)... in addition it must combine the internal with the external...

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