Roger Ebert reviews "Fahrenheit 9/11"

[NYCGirl]

The entire review is at:
http://suntimes.com/output/eb-feature/cst-ftr-cannes18.html

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.

[CatWoman]

1. yikes!!!

The look on his face as he reads the book, knowing what he knows, is disquieting.

[hatrack]

4. No, the effort visible on his face as he tried to read My Pet Goat

That probably accounts for the disquieting vibe!

[theivoryqueen]

54. Aaaaahhh! funny! n/t

[spanone]

59. He was caught up in the subplots.....

[Hailtothechimp]

65. I read that sentence and thought "Game Over" for bu$h

I'm so happy that the footage will be seen in this film. It's impossible to watch him at Booker Elementary on that day without smelling a rat.

[Emboldened Chimp]

2. I want to see this movie! NOW!

This better get released before the election. Dammit!!!!

[LifeDuringWartime]

5. bbc says july

october for dvd ;)

[rocktivity]

20. PUT IT ON VHS, TOO!

Not all of us can afford DVD players.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Catherine Vincent]

35. you can buy a cheap dvd player for $50

so you have no excuse.;-) but I'm sure it will be on vhs.

[rocktivity]

39. I have the best excuse for not having $50 to spare

I'm unemployed in a Bush economy!

:D
rocknation

[theivoryqueen]

55. zoinks - I have that malady also, as well as no DVD n/t

[Jane Austin]

36. They ought to get the DVD out there sooner

than October.

August or September would be better, and screw the distribution system!

[mistertrickster]

3. And Ebert is a conservative . . .

Wait until the liberals (both of them) review it.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

6. Ebert a Conservative?

Got any evidence of that? He seems pretty reasonable to me.

[mistertrickster]

62. He's never met a sentimental predictable movie he didn't thumbs up.

Playboy asked him which actress he'd like to see naked and Siskel logically says "Natasha Kinsky" (which I agreed with whole-heartedly at the time), and Ebert comes out with this really puritanical diatribe about too much nudity . . .

Geez, why do you think people invented photography . . . nude women.
Get a clue.

[Richardo]

7. Ebert is no conservative...at least he is no Bush fan.

BTW I saw him this weekend on his show for the first time in a long time - and he does not look good. Pardon my ignorance, but has he been sick?

[Bunny]

13. Cancer of the thyroid, I think.

He's had it for a year or more. He looks bad, but I'm not sure what his prognosis is.

[Richardo]

19. Thx, bunnyj!

:hi:

[Love Bug]

14. Yes--he has had cancer of the salivary gland

IIRC, it's been treated and the prognosis is good. He looks like he's lost a lot of weight, 'tho. He needs to get some new suits. His jackets are way too big on him.

[NYCGirl]

15. He had thyroid cancer,

but was treated and I believe he is now cancer-free.

A couple of weeks ago, he also (while reviewing "Supersize Me") mentioned he had been on the Pritikin diet, so much of his weight loss is by choice.

[Richardo]

17. Thanks for the update, Roger is one of my faves...

:thumbsup:

[NYCGirl]

21. Yes, he knows and loves film.

I think a lot of folks in Hollywood now are pretty ignorant when it comes to classic film, and as an old college film major, I appreciate Ebert's writing.

[Melodybe]

25. Unfortunately Ebert has thyroid cancer, he has lost a lot of weight, and

it seems that his illness has brought out the best in him. He has been a vocal advocate of Howard Stern's right to broadcast, he said that he thinks that Rush Limbaugh is more offensive than Stern. For a long time Ebert has been bought off by Disney but recently he is being very honest about which movies are trash and which ones are worth your time. I appauld Ebert for bucking the system.

He is on our side in a big way.

:kick: for Ebert

[Skittles]

52. yes

I think he's almost better than he was before his illness. I've been a big fan for a long time.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

26. Saw that, too. Had the same thought.

Btw, he gave :thumbsdown: to Troy. :shrug:

[tcfrogs]

63. Ebert is usually on the DU side

he writes an occasional op-ed column for the Sun-Times...always bashing the right.

BTW - He has undergone similar cancer surgery & treatment as myself. Thyroid cancer. Curable by removing the thyroid & (if needed) lymph nodes, but regulating your metabolism is a giant pain.

No sympathy needed - just wanted to explain Ebert's condition.

[Cheswick2.0]

8. Ebert is not a conservative

You must have mistaken him for someone else.

[Orangepeel]

9. No, Ebert's progressive

http://www.progressive.org/aug03/intv0803.html

[Screaming Lord Byron]

11. No conservative would write movies for Russ Meyer and the Sex Pistols

[Richardo]

12. Not to mention the screenplay for "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls"

:bounce: (!)

[Screaming Lord Byron]

16. Damn right!

[OKNancy]

42. Our newsmeat guy

hasn't shown up...so I went and looked and sure enough there he is and his spouse is Chaz ( I looked that up on imdb )Most of the donations are in Chaz's name.

Edit : link http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=IL&last=Ebert

[hlthe2b]

18. Do you read his columns?!!!!!!!!! Ebert is DEFINITELY NOT conservative!

eom

[robbedvoter]

24. Nope. Ebert - a good guy! The word meme - comes from him. A terrific

article he wrote right after the stolen election and the way the media whitewashed it - he introduced the word meme in the political discourse then.

[pop goes the weasel]

48. "meme" comes from Richard Dawkins

but Ebert is still a great guy. Obviously a guy who reads Dawkins.

[Lavender Brown]

30. He said "Fog of War"

should be mandatory viewing. I'd be surprised to hear he has conservative political views.

[greatauntoftriplets]

31. I've met Ebert, played poker with him.

He is no conservative.

[Richardo]

34. GAOT! Poker? How cool are YOU?

:D :thumbsup:

[greatauntoftriplets]

37. Not very cool, but thanks.

I won, BTW.

[Richardo]

38. Ha!

that's great!

[KharmaTrain]

64. Ebert Is A Major Liberal!

As one whose been reading Mr. Ebert since the 60's, I can attest he is very liberal in his views.

He's written several Op-Eds for the Sun-Times. He was a big defender of Clinton during the Inquisition and has written against both the bush greed and the Iraq invasion. He's also done some great writing about censorship and the first ammendment and recently was interviewed locally supporting Howard Stern in his fight with the FCC.

Just cause he gave thumbs down to a movie you like, don't paint Roger as anything but a straight-up, honest and the best movie critic in the country.

His thumbs up, politics or no, will send a lot of Repugnicans into the theater who might not if he had panned it. He's read religiously here.

But then this was the review I expected from Mr. Ebert. I'm expecting Mr. Roeper...also a liberal...to give it a good review as well.

As far as the DVD release, by then, if you haven't seen it, you're not going to. I'll be happy with a theatrical release sometime in August or September (I'm hearing that's the time frame), with lots of hype and then a week or so to "digest" through the media. Hopefully by then, it'll be the coup de grace.

[foo_bar]

66. he gave a confession once on Howard Stern

suffice to say he's catching up with Wilt Chamberlain.

[SpiralHawk]

10. My Pet Goat

That scene of Bush failing in any way to respond to the obvious 9/11 crisis will damn him for eternity.

It is going to get shown over and over and over. And it should be shown. Every American should know what their Commander in Chief did and did not do in the hour of extreme crisis.

He either choked, or he LIHOP, or he MIHOP.

Any way you slice it, Bush failed. He is responsible for failing to defend, or even attempt to defend, the US of A.

Impeach him now.

[Beetwasher]

22. Bush Sitting In The Classroom on 9/11 Will Be His Final Undoing

Bless Moore for putting it in the film. Other reviews have mentioned how powerful that image is. It will be the final nail in Bush's coffin and millions upon millions of Americans will now, finally see it and now know the truth about what Bush did upon hearing that the country was under attack; he did nothing.

[NYCGirl]

23. "Bush is Tough on terrorism"...

my ass!

[lanparty]

46. Does he go split screen ????

It would be great to see 2 screens in chronology President vs WTC and News reports. I want to see EXACTLY what the president was reading at the second plane #2 hit the WTC. What page of "My Pet Goat" was he on?????

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

57. You can see that exact split-screen action thanks to Symbolman

Go here:

http://www.takebackthemedia.com/true911.html

It's excellent - very moving and disturbing.

You can see the complete Emma T. Booker school video via links at buzzflash.com:

http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/2002/06/12_BookerLinks.html


Welcome to DU!

[fortyfeetunder]

61. Anger all over again

The Take Back the Media clip is a must see. You know that chimp had a clue about what was happening and he played chicken and hid in Florida while it was all happening. This makes me angry all over again...

[HootieMcBoob]

27. another seven minutes?

I thought it was more like 20! Look at the video! Not only does he sit through the whole story but then he stays and takes questions from the kids. I swear it was a lot longer then seven minutes.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

50. It was definitely in the range of twenty to thirty minutes.

[enough]

28. Interesting...

snip>

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.

snip>

[Killarney]

29. I... can't... wait!

I'm there, opening night.

[beyurslf]

32. When can we see it? Please let it mass distribution!

[ThoughtCriminal]

33. "My Pet Goat Story"

On the issue of leadership, it is a killer. Almost no one knows about it, and confronted with it, cons just say it is a liberal lie. Roll the film guys...

[calimary]

49. That's true. If it's laid out and shows that the schmuck SAT THERE on his

LAZY, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING ASS as the clock ticked, and people were burning and crying and dying and trying to jump out of the top floors and he was steeped in "My Pet Goat," then this will get out much more broadly. It may have circulated here, and elsewhere, and in conspiracy-theorist circles. It may be whispered about, and suspected. But if it's clearly laid out by the clock, it's gonna damn him. Well, I take that back. It already has. But not yet with a majority of the public. The resolute knuckle-draggers will never concede this. But mark my words, this will get around. And if bush-lovers don't see this, some of their friends will. Or friends of friends. And they WILL hear of it. If it's glaring enough, it'll be much-talked-about in the media. It will be unavoidable. A few will question, decide to see it to check it out for themselves and prove the nutcases wrong, and then THEY will likely become convinced. Some are and always will be unreachable and unredeemable. They'd scoff even if Michael Moore did a love sonnet to bush. No matter. Let them go to hell with their beloved leader. The rest of us, and the Rip Van Winkles who DO hear this alarm bell, will set things straight.

It will be MOST interesting to see how this plays out.

[Egalitarian Zetetic]

40. I wonder if a pirated version will hit Edonkey/Overnet soon

I didn't say hope. I mean i am literally curious. I know its hard to booleg at caanes, but most movies are on the network before they are released. This is one movie i would pay to see. Must support moore. But i am curious (well after all i am A Zetetic :lol)

[soundfury]

41. Michael is not a wimpy diplomatic Dem, heÕs a fighting Democrat!!!

I canÕt wait to see his movie.

[mouse7]

43. But you have to have the classic "Moore" moments

"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."

This looks awesome!

[ElementaryPenguin]

44. Sounds like at least some of our prayers have been answered with this!!

:party:
:toast:
:bounce:

[Zinfandel]

45. Shit, just read Roger's reviews..he is a very progressive, person, AND...

the only film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize.

A great and gifted writer, with tremendous insight, wit and is a very funny guy.

He's one of the few mainstream people in this life who really is great (no hype) and is very fair in his reviews.

I've always loved Ebert and yes, he is liberal.

[cureautismnow]

47. Ebert is Cool

I wrote to him over 10 years ago on Compuserve about a sequel to "The Gods Must Be Crazy." He was kind enough to respond back to me. 2 thumbs up to your improving health, Roger! :yourock:

[mzmolly]

51. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS 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.

:toast:

THANK YOU MR. MOORE!

[osaMABUSh]

53. Michael Moore - A true patriot - that Oscar speech rocked!

MM was way ahead of the curve on WMD and Iraq. If you take the time to listen to him talk he just looks a what's happening and asks the appropriate questions. It's all rather simple. Nothing radical or extreme here.

Go back and watch the special features on the Bowling DVD and you'll see what I mean.

I hope F 9/11 gets wide distribution in mainstream theaters in July. If you recall Bowling was only in the avant garde theaters and just for a short time. And hopefully, it'll make it to rental before the election to get a bigger audience.

[NYCGirl]

56. It played for a pretty long time here...

but then I live in NYC, downtown (about a mile and a half from Ground Zero, BTW). It's liberal country!

[Octafish]

58. BREAKTHROUGH: Ebert mentioned James R Bath!

Ebert and stuff from The Chicago Trib is syndicated throughout the land. Lots of people are going to learn all about the House of Bush-House of bin Laden petrodollar marriage.

Oh yeah! Almost forgot... A lot of folks will also discover Bush's direct connections to 9-11.

From the article:


"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).

Continued...

Your country thanks you, Roger!

[2bfree]

60. I can't wait for this to hit main stream America!

I bet it doesn't come down here though, we never did get Bowling for Columbine. I live in the arm pit of the USA.

[genius]

67. We need to get everyone we know to the theaters opening day

Imagine a record-setting opening.

Let's also find out which theater chains will be showing it. We can have parties there in line, like Star Wars.

If any chains aren't showing it, let's picket them with signs saying "Un-American" and "Why does (name of theater chain) hate freedom?"

[Tellurian]

68. WOW...This statement alone sends a powerful message!

"Moores movie 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."

can't wait to see his movie..

George Soros..we need you!