David Strathairn

Patricia Clarkson

George Clooney

Jeff Daniels

Robert Downey Jr.

Frank Langella

Ray Wise

Robert John Burke

Reed Diamond

Tate Donovan

Grant Heslov

Tom McCarthy

Matt Ross

Rose Abdoo

Alex Borstein

Peter Jacobson

Robert Knepper

Dianne Reeves

Peter Martin

Christoph Luty

Jeff Hamilton

Matt Catingub

Glenn Morshower

Don Creech

Helen Slayton-Hughes

Simon Helberg

JD Cullum

John Kepley

David Paul Christian

Joyce Lasley

Bill Blair

Joseph Dowd

Bruna Matsin

Katharine Phillips Moser

Alexana Thomas

Dave Thompson

Rochelle Warner

Roy Cohn

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Robert F. Kennedy

Liberace

Joseph McCarthy

John L. McClellan

Milo Radulovich

Joseph N. Welch

Marc Butan

Ben Cosgrove

Jennifer Fox

Todd Wagner

James D. Bissell

Jan Pascale

Chris Salvaterra

Jeff Skoll

Ellen Chenoweth

Louise Frogley

Mark Cuban

Robert Elswit

Stephen Mirrione

Steven Soderbergh

Christa Munro

Barbara A. Hall

Samuel Hadida

Victor Hadida

Simon Franks

Edward Tise

Kiyotaka Ninomiya

Zygi Kamasa

Aaron Glascock

Douglas Crise

Oscar Mitt

Ellis J. Barbacoff

John T. Connor

David D. Scott

John Joseph Thomas

Mary Jo Lang

Diane H. Newman

Hank Sheppherd

Randall L. Johnson

Susan Dudeck

Pamela Kahn

Simone Perusse

Rachel Tenner

Melissa V. Barnes

Louise Del Araujo

Jeff Winn

Scott Morgan

Gregg Schaublin

Curt Schulkey

J. A. Byerly

Tony Bonaventura

John Morris

Melinda Sue Gordon

Lynne Redding

Michael Kenner

Charlotte Raybourn

Lucinda Campbell

Waldo Sanchez

Larissa Supplitt

Lynda Foote

Carolyn Elias

Violet Ortiz

David Webb

Barry Idoine

Tad Driscoll

Gae S. Buckley

Ron Berkeley

Lance Brown

Alyson Dee Moore

Joy Zapata

Dusty Saunders

Colin Anderson

Michael Bauman

Rocky Quiroz

Karen Higgins

John Roesch

Jeff Kunkle

Ryan Piers Williams

Drama

History

Good Night, and Good Luck.

Warner Independent Pictures

2929 Productions

Redbus Pictures

Participant

Section Eight

Davis Films

France

Japan

United Kingdom

United States of America

CinemaSerf

There's a brief clip at the start of "Sink the Bismarck" (1960) that illustrates the impact of Edward R. Murrow's potent and succinct style of broadcasting that eventually led to him receiving an award from his peers at the beginning of this film. It's his acceptance speech that sets the tone for a retrospective that focuses on his time attempting to stand up for the civil liberties of many American people during the investigations by Senator Joseph McCarthy of Minnesota into the alleged infiltration of just about all aspects of society by communists and their allies. David Strathairn delivers one of his best performances here as the man whose stance earns him plaudits from some quarters, but enmity from others who accuse him of being an appeaser - or worse. Determined, he nevertheless becomes dependant on the good will of his network chief executive (Frank Langella) and stalwart producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney) as he issues a challenge to the politician and risks his career. In many ways these men had similarities of character. The use of archive footage of McCarthy and the pieces-to-camera from Strathairn offers us two contrasting styles, attitudes and sets of beliefs and though clearly the editorial is pro-Murrow, it still allows us to experience and evaluate some of the frenzy that prevailed at the time when the cold war was very much at it's height. Director Clooney uses a documentary style of intense monochrome photography to quite chillingly expose us to the perils of free reporting at a time when swimming agains a tide that would stop at nothing to rubbish it's opponents was no small gamble. It packs lots to think about into ninety minutes and emphasises the still quite dangerous scenarios that dogma coupled with a strong cult of personality can deliver to an unwitting population.

English

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