 |
|
|
|
Next: Million Dollar Baby VS Brokeback Mountain
|
| Author |
Message |
External
Since: Feb 12, 2005
Posts: 498
|
(Msg. 1) Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 8:18 pm
Post subject: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD
Archived from groups: rec>arts>movies>current-films (more info?)
|
|
|
(yes, McCarthy was a bad guy)
This movie certainly is watchable. George Clooney is great at
self-righteous defiance of political opposition, and the McCarthy
era is his natural element. He's technically a good director too.
This movie is loaded with production values, and it plays smoothly
and effectively.
(did I mention that McCarthy was a bad guy?)
David Strathairn sounded exactly like Edward R. Murrow, and
looked close enough like him. It's hard to imagine more perfect
casting of the lead.
The movie had no music score, and that was effective too. There
was some on-screen music, all from the same studio singer, and
her singing was used a couple of times to function as score, as
well as end credits music.
(McCarthy was a bad guy, by the way)
Ultimately, though, the movie was slick high class indoctrination.
Even though McCarthy was indeed a bad guy, I hasten to add, he
was presented exactly like a Klingon in a Star Trek movie. He was
assumed to be a bad guy, and lest you doubt it (as of course I don't)
there is an on-screen paragraph near the movie's beginning to make
it absolutely clear that this is a movie about good vs. (already
convicted) evil.
(let me interject here that Mccarthy was a bad guy)
The movie is only an hour and 32 minutes long, and one might
wonder why just a little time wasn't devoted to making it
understandable
how McCarthy (a known bad guy) was able to capture the
anti-Communist imagination of the public. It might have been
mentioned, for example, that contemporary mega-mass-murderer Joe Stalin
was a known Communist dictator. That, and a few other pertinent facts
about world Communism following World War II, might have been used
to show that maybe Senator McCarthy had a little more than paranoia
driving his anti-Communist zeal (not that he wasn't a bad guy).
(in cringing fear of being branded a McCarthy Sympathizer in this NG,
I want to say, on the record and for the Google archives, that McCarthy
was a BAD guy)
The movie had a couple of odd things about it, the most memorable for
me I'm sure will be the sight, seen several times, of Bobby Kennedy
sitting at the Klingon, I mean anti-Communist Inquisition table, in
actual footage from the 1950s.
It's always nice to see a well-made black and white movie, the previous
one that I've seen being The Man Who Wasn't There, and in this case
also black and white was perfectly apt.
All in all it was great to see Edward R. Murrow so convincingly
presented.
(PS even though this movie was about as fair and balanced as
Fahrenheit 911, McCarthy still was a bad guy) |
|
| Back to top |
|
 | |
External
Since: Feb 12, 2005
Posts: 498
|
(Msg. 2) Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:05 pm
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
moviePig wrote:
> I'll grant that a feature-length "fair and
> balanced" dramatization of McCarthy's zeal and blindness, and their
> origins, is unlikely...
Unlikely from the likes of George Clooney, but it's not hard to
imagine a powerful movie of equally in-depth portraits of McCarthy
and Murrow fighting a fairly-presented fight, with the best man
ultimately winning. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Feb 12, 2005
Posts: 498
|
(Msg. 3) Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:37 pm
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Apr 05, 2006
Posts: 78
|
(Msg. 4) Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:07 pm
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
Calvin Rice wrote:
>(yes, McCarthy was a bad guy)
I think he was just misunderstood. As are most vindictive
drunks.
>(PS even though this movie was about as fair and balanced as
>Fahrenheit 911, McCarthy still was a bad guy)
If they'd gotten an actor to play McCarthy, and monkeyed with
his speeches, perhaps you'd have a point. But considering they
took the wise step of only using verbatim McCarthy quotes and
speeches, and, stuck to the historical record, I find it staggering
that you'd be so deliberately obtuse and disingenuous about
it.
You really didn't need to watch it at all.
I didn't particularly think the flick was the bee's knees,
but jeez, Cal, I bet your feelings and opinions about the
flick and Clooney were the same before you started
watching it as they were afterwards as well.
Sandro - let me guess, they took Poor Joe out of context. Yeah, right. >> Stay informed about: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Feb 12, 2005
Posts: 498
|
(Msg. 5) Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:34 pm
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
> Sandro - let me guess, they took Poor Joe out of context. Yeah, right.
No, I sincerely think McCarthy was the pits. But because of his
tactics, not because he was zealously anti-Communist. I hate,
and always have, trying to destroy people because of assumptions
about them, or because of their past associations.
But I also intensely dislike smug lefties who smile condescendingly
at those who think, or thought, that there was very much wrong with
Communism. Clooney's movie totally avoided any kind of statement
of what might have been wrong with Communism, which in mid 20th
century was an evil equal to Nazism. And that omission seriously
damaged the movie for me.
As for not having my opinion of Clooney changed, I would have
welcomed an elevation of my opinion of him, and I was impressed
by his skill at directing, but that'a all, unfortunately.
I don't know why it's so hard for lefties like Clooney to understand
that truth is better served by movies that educate, not indoctrinate. >> Stay informed about: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Jun 05, 2005
Posts: 196
|
(Msg. 6) Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 5:24 am
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
Calvin Rice wrote:
>
> (yes, McCarthy was a bad guy)
>
> This movie certainly is watchable. George Clooney is great at
> self-righteous defiance of political opposition, and the McCarthy
> era is his natural element. He's technically a good director too.
> This movie is loaded with production values, and it plays smoothly
> and effectively.
>
> (did I mention that McCarthy was a bad guy?)
When you've got folks like Ann Coulter swearing up and down that he was
just a misunderstood patriot--and people stupid enough to believe that
meme--the fact that he was unpatriotic scum needs to be repeated as much
as possible.
C.
** >> Stay informed about: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Aug 30, 2005
Posts: 146
|
(Msg. 7) Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:58 am
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
On 14 Mar 2006 22:34:09 -0800, "Calvin Rice" <oscwr.RemoveThis@netscape.net>
wrote:
>> Sandro - let me guess, they took Poor Joe out of context. Yeah, right.
>
>No, I sincerely think McCarthy was the pits. But because of his
>tactics, not because he was zealously anti-Communist. I hate,
>and always have, trying to destroy people because of assumptions
>about them, or because of their past associations.
>
>But I also intensely dislike smug lefties who smile condescendingly
>at those who think, or thought, that there was very much wrong with
>Communism. Clooney's movie totally avoided any kind of statement
>of what might have been wrong with Communism, which in mid 20th
>century was an evil equal to Nazism. And that omission seriously
>damaged the movie for me.
The problem with that, is that you'd have insert a character who was
openly in favour of Communism in order to provide a pretext for
somebody to talk in any detail about why the public had reasons to be
afraid of it. Then they've got to deal with what happens to that
character as a result but McCarthy in reality never dealt with any
such outspoken sympathiser since his whole shtick was affecting to
find the hidden communists. >> Stay informed about: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Sep 07, 2005
Posts: 351
|
(Msg. 8) Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:02 am
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
On 14 Mar 2006 22:34:09 -0800, "Calvin Rice" <oscwr.TakeThisOut@netscape.net>
wrote:
>> Sandro - let me guess, they took Poor Joe out of context. Yeah, right.
>
>No, I sincerely think McCarthy was the pits. But because of his
>tactics, not because he was zealously anti-Communist. I hate,
>and always have, trying to destroy people because of assumptions
>about them, or because of their past associations.
>
>But I also intensely dislike smug lefties who smile condescendingly
>at those who think, or thought, that there was very much wrong with
>Communism. Clooney's movie totally avoided any kind of statement
>of what might have been wrong with Communism, which in mid 20th
>century was an evil equal to Nazism.
That's because the movie wasn't about communism. If communism never
existed, mcCarthy would have found some other demon to destroy people
with.
Thumper
>And that omission seriously
>damaged the movie for me.
>
>As for not having my opinion of Clooney changed, I would have
>welcomed an elevation of my opinion of him, and I was impressed
>by his skill at directing, but that'a all, unfortunately.
>
>I don't know why it's so hard for lefties like Clooney to understand
>that truth is better served by movies that educate, not indoctrinate. >> Stay informed about: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Feb 12, 2005
Posts: 498
|
(Msg. 9) Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:41 am
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
moviePig wrote:
> I think Calvin's point includes the notion that McCarthy wasn't out to
> destroy people, per se... which is likely true.
No, even if destruction of lives was not his goal, he was so reckless
about it that it might as well have been his goal. The reason I
thought that the movie might have been better if McCarthy had been
presented in more depth, was simply that a Murrow/McCarthy
battle might have then been more interesting, than just having
Murrow battle an incarnation of evil.
I believe you tried to make a similar point when I wanted to praise
The Great Raid as being more than just an exciting story of a
rescue. You saw the Japanese general (or whatever he was) as only
a stick figure of badness, with no depth shown, and that helped
prevent you from taking to heart any message in the movie about
the nature of the enemy the Allies were fighting.
But my main objection to GNaGL is to the standard, endlessly repeated
by the left, anti-conservative view that concern about the Communist
threat to the world was only right-wing paranoia, something to be
smiled at, or sneered at. As bad as McCarthy was, it was not
'bullshit'
to believe that there were some Communists trying to infiltrate the
U.S. government.
By being the monstrous goon that he was, he damaged his own cause
for all time, and hurt the right more than he hurt the left,
ultimately. He
gave the left ammunition that they can and have used to indoctrinate
the gullible ever since.
Communism was a bad thing, a great evil, especially in that era, and
movies that are dealing with matters that are at least tangential to
that fact, have a duty to at least state as much, in my opinion,
whether they need to dwell on it or not. >> Stay informed about: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Feb 12, 2005
Posts: 498
|
(Msg. 10) Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 8:13 am
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
Sandro wrote:
> (cr) wrote:
> > Clooney's movie totally avoided any kind of statement
> > of what might have been wrong with Communism, which in mid 20th
> > century was an evil equal to Nazism.
> But that had nothing to do with the era! You're talking about stuff
> that the junior Senator from Wisconsin himself didn't know.
That's absurd. I was 13 in 1953, and well knew about Stalinism, at
least. I didn't know anything about the ideological evil of Communism,
but not because the information wasn't available. McCarthy certainly
knew about it. Wasn't the Berlin Air Lift before the time of the
movie?
The nature of Communism was well know, though many on the
left, who just swooned over some of the Communists' 'great' ideas,
such as "from each according to his means, to each according to his
need" didn't want to admit any of the evils of Communism, either in
theory or known practice.
> And you're not being honest. To yourself or to the people reading
> these bleatings. Aren't you the slightest bit embarrassed, carrying
> on like this?
I think you're the one who is getting all excited and carrying on.
Of course I'm being honest. I may be wrong, but I'm not lying about
what concerns me.
The McCarthy era was big thing, historically. It's a political
hot-button
time period of the first magnitude. When people like George Clooney
try
to use it to make political points, others have the right to make their
points, too.
How brave of Clooney, by the way. What a hero to stand up for
good against evil, and show that he's proudly 'out of touch' with
the views of mainstream America. To use moviePig's word, what
'bullshit'.
I still loved seeing Edward R. Murrow so well presented though.
That gets lost in this political haggling. >> Stay informed about: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Mar 13, 2006
Posts: 36
|
(Msg. 11) Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:20 am
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
"Calvin Rice" <oscwr RemoveThis @netscape.net> wrote in news:1142437302.792424.228940
@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
> moviePig wrote:
>> I think Calvin's point includes the notion that McCarthy wasn't out to
>> destroy people, per se... which is likely true.
>
> No, even if destruction of lives was not his goal, he was so reckless
> about it that it might as well have been his goal. The reason I
> thought that the movie might have been better if McCarthy had been
> presented in more depth, was simply that a Murrow/McCarthy
> battle might have then been more interesting, than just having
> Murrow battle an incarnation of evil.
>
> I believe you tried to make a similar point when I wanted to praise
> The Great Raid as being more than just an exciting story of a
> rescue. You saw the Japanese general (or whatever he was) as only
> a stick figure of badness, with no depth shown, and that helped
> prevent you from taking to heart any message in the movie about
> the nature of the enemy the Allies were fighting.
>
> But my main objection to GNaGL is to the standard, endlessly repeated
> by the left, anti-conservative view that concern about the Communist
> threat to the world was only right-wing paranoia, something to be
> smiled at, or sneered at. As bad as McCarthy was, it was not
> 'bullshit'
> to believe that there were some Communists trying to infiltrate the
> U.S. government.
>
Just as the West was trying to infiltrate the
Soviet government. Governments do that. Even allies
do that to each other.
So why was McCarthy going after Hollywood? >> Stay informed about: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Jun 05, 2005
Posts: 196
|
(Msg. 12) Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:33 am
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
Calvin Rice wrote:
> No, I sincerely think McCarthy was the pits. But because of his
> tactics, not because he was zealously anti-Communist. I hate,
> and always have, trying to destroy people because of assumptions
> about them, or because of their past associations.
>
> But I also intensely dislike smug lefties who smile condescendingly
> at those who think, or thought, that there was very much wrong with
> Communism.
Er...GNAGL is about how McCarthy's tactics were wrong and unpatriotic.
It was in no way a defense of Communism. And why do you automatically
assume that lefties all dismiss Communism? I guess anyone who didn't
spend their entire time scared to death that the Reds were coming were
traitors in your eyes.
> Clooney's movie totally avoided any kind of statement
> of what might have been wrong with Communism, which in mid 20th
> century was an evil equal to Nazism. And that omission seriously
> damaged the movie for me.
Why did it need to have that, since that wasn't the focus of the movie?
> I don't know why it's so hard for lefties like Clooney to understand
> that truth is better served by movies that educate, not indoctrinate.
How was GNAGL indoctrinating? You sound peeved that it didn't have a
character stand up and preach about the evils of Communism. The evil
here is in how McCarthy destroyed lives and trampled the rule of
law/proof. I know it's hard for conservatives to at all acknowledge that
folks on their side use evil means to gain their ends, but you'd be
better facing that fact instead of wondering why this movie wasn't what
you thought it should be.
C.
**
(And Clooney has proved that you guys--once again--have missed the point
about what was wrong with McCarthy. So high props to him...g!) >> Stay informed about: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Jan 19, 2005
Posts: 1350
|
(Msg. 13) Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:28 pm
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
Calvin Rice wrote:
>>Sandro - let me guess, they took Poor Joe out of context. Yeah, right.
>
>
> No, I sincerely think McCarthy was the pits. But because of his
> tactics, not because he was zealously anti-Communist. I hate,
> and always have, trying to destroy people because of assumptions
> about them, or because of their past associations.
>
> But I also intensely dislike smug lefties who smile condescendingly
> at those who think, or thought, that there was very much wrong with
> Communism.
So you disagree with Bush's stance of "spreading liberty" throughout the
world like so much toilet paper? Make some sense, Calvin. >> Stay informed about: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Jun 05, 2005
Posts: 196
|
(Msg. 14) Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:39 pm
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
Sandro wrote:
>
> Great to see that those National Review covers work wonders on
> individualist, free thinker, compassionate minds. It's like the hive
> mind kicked in against Clooney!
Eheheh. My favorite part of Peggy Noonan's equally-goofball WSJ
anti-Clooney rant was when she said he came up short compared to Orson
Welles. Gee, IIRC, right-wing conservatives hated Welles worse than
poison for CITIZEN KANE, so it's disingenuous as hell for her to even
try and play that.
C.
**
(Speaking truth-to-power--a concept winger conservatives don't dare
understand. Hell, they aren't exactly into truth--g!) >> Stay informed about: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
External
Since: Oct 20, 2005
Posts: 945
|
(Msg. 15) Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:39 pm
Post subject: Re: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
|
|
|
On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 12:39:48 GMT, deering24 <deering24.TakeThisOut@mindspring.com>
wrote:
>
>
>Sandro wrote:
>>
>> Great to see that those National Review covers work wonders on
>> individualist, free thinker, compassionate minds. It's like the hive
>> mind kicked in against Clooney!
>
>Eheheh. My favorite part of Peggy Noonan's equally-goofball WSJ
>anti-Clooney rant was when she said he came up short compared to Orson
>Welles. Gee, IIRC, right-wing conservatives hated Welles worse than
>poison for CITIZEN KANE, so it's disingenuous as hell for her to even
>try and play that.
>
>C.
Welles was never exactly a popular filmmaker anyway -- and, of course,
Noonan denounces Clooney as "some guy who read an article" passing
over the fact that Welles wrote a political newspaper column back
when he was the boy wonder, and it was mostly New Deal liberalism.
John Harkness >> Stay informed about: Good Night, and Good Luck DVD |
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
| Related Topics: | Good Night and Good Luck - Anyone notice the appearance of the actual footage of the HUAC committee of Bobby Kennedy sitting alongside Roy Cohn and Joe McCarthy? You know, when the U.S. Senate censored McCarthy it was unanimous except for one senator, who abstained...and his name...
Review: GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK (2005) - .. GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK (a film review by Mark R. Leeper) CAPSULE: Director George Clooney gives us a very fine film and David Strathairn gives a superior performance as Edward R. Murrow. This is...
Good Night, and Good Luck--Suffering Sack of Shit - No one enjoys a grindingly pointed message movie more than I. Lord, I can't get enough. But when you leave the theater asking "Who exactly were Robert Downey Jr. and Patricia Clarkson supposed to be, and what exactly did Downey's character DO?&quo...
"Good Night and Good Luck" more proof of leftism in media - When McCarthy attacked the U.S. Army, it was his undoing. That, more than anything else was what brought him down. However, when scum like Jane Fonda make things like "FTA" they don't get their careers destroyed. I wonder why? Could it be.....
Goodnight and good luck - Starts this weekend I guess. Clooney is the real deal ain't he ? (man meat, beef cake, producer, director, screenwriter, choreographer, raconteur, bon vivant, ladies' man, foppish dandy , etc.... :) And I hear the actor who plays Edward R. Murrow is.... |
|
You can post new topics in this forum
You can reply to topics in this forum
You can edit your posts in this forum
You can delete your posts in this forum
You can vote in polls in this forum
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
Profile
Private Messages
Log in
