Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

Advantages: Well made, delivers its message with powerful blows, raises very important questions
Disadvantages: Occasionally wavers off the topic and sometimes lacks momentum, arguments not always backed up convincingly

...to be corrupt and dishonourable. Fahrenheit 911 is a spiked attack which is aimed squarely at George W Bush, and there is no coincidence in the fact that it has been released in the run-up to the US presidential election in November. Moore hates Bush with a passion, and wants him out of office. This film is Moore’s own Operation Shock and Awe with which he aims to smack Bush right on the nose. It is hard to categorise what this film actually is. ...
...anything other than this. Fahrenheit 911 picks up in Florida during the 2000 election, where Moore alleges that George W Bush should not have been given the title of president, but only achieved it through acts of corruption and rigging. By coincidence I watched the film on its opening night whilst on holiday in Florida, just six miles from the location where the film begins. Moore narrates his way through the film chronologically, taking us through ... Read review

Advantages: Documents some interesting material, thought-provoking
Disadvantages: Biased, hypocritical on times

In the red corner, we have American President, failed businessman and runner-up of the 2001 grammar rodeo, George “A surplus means there'll be money left over. Otherwise, it wouldn't be called a surplus” W. Bush! And in the blue corner, the author, director, noisy activist and pain in the establishment’s rear end, Michael “That’s me, the one who made THAT speech at the Oscars” Moore! Having been a fan of Michael Moore’s previous movie, ‘Bowling ...
...‘Dude, Where’s My Country?’ (‘Stupid White Men’ is better) and seen Moore give a lecture in Washington State University, where I studied for a year, I was surprised at how slow I was to see ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’, as it has been out for some time and I only saw it a few weeks ago. Released upon a wave of critical acclaim and controversy, this movie was released specifically in the build-up to the 2004 elections, with the stated intention to affect voter ... Read review

Advantages: The facts they did not want you to see
Disadvantages: Some very disturbing images

September 11, 2001 - A day that changed the world, and no one who witnessed the events of that day will ever forget. The attack on the World Trade Centre in New York triggered a chain of events that began a war on terrorism. In the West, security was tightened at all airports, there were numerous security alerts and scares, and everyone became much more vigilant against possible security risks. In the Middle East, armed forces were sent in to ...
...was the real objective of the war against terrorism ? To seek out and destroy weapons of mass destruction ? To hunt down Osama Bin Laden, the prime suspect behind the Twin Towers attack ? To free people from the tough Taliban regime and other dictatorships ? The press, and the American Press in particular, would have you believe any, a combination, or all of the above reasons. And, up until now, few people have publicly questioned these motives... ... Read review

Advantages: Promotes political debate, powerful in parts
Disadvantages: Biased & manipulative

The documentary film is a much more powerful medium for imposing beliefs on an audience than a fictional film, despite the latter’s narrative sometimes being factually informative. The reason for this is that a documentary deals, to a varying degree, with a representation of actuality, and in many cases the viewer is left with a feeling that the documentary film they have just seen equates with reality. When one sees a classic David Attenborough ...
...question any of the scientific issues raised, though perhaps there would be one or two experts in marine biology who would disagree. It is, of course, very difficult to critically evaluate such information when one knows so little about a subject, so when watching a programme on polar bears acting in a certain way I have to trust that the filmmakers have not unfairly edited the programme to give an unrepresentative and misleading account of polar ... Read review

Advantages: Interesting - and shocking if 100% true
Disadvantages: There are 2 sides to every story

...goes for my comment that Fahrenheit 9/11 seemed to take its name from the Ray Bradbury book Fahrenheit 451. But I didn’t go to see it because I thought it would be anything like that film – one I enjoyed many years ago. I went because (a) I currently live in the US and (b) in the US it’s the most talked about film for months [and, I suppose, because (c) I’d already seen everything else currently showing over here]. I’ve read “Stupid White Men…” ...
...the trailers. I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from both Michael Moore and this film. And I was kinda right. This film is unusual for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s long – 118 minutes compared to a measly 90 managed by most cinema releases I get to see these days. Long films are great if there’s a lot to say, and awful if the opposite is true and they’re just dragging it out for the sake of it. In the end, when it finished I didn’t feel ... Read review

Advantages: Documentary film making at its most interesting
Disadvantages: Incomplete - probably intentionally

...2004 seemed to be the year of the documentary – Super size me, Fahrenheit 9/11, all have left their mark. Here’s one documentary, actually released in the previous year, which, in common with these two, received heaps of acclaim. It was Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Festival, among other things. << What is it about? >> Andrew Jarecki’s movie began life as a short film, a profile of David Friedman, who works as a clown in New York. He was, as “Silly Billy”, one of the most successful in his trade, and Jarecki felt it was worth making a film about. But in the end “Capturing the Friedmans” became a full blown movie about the whole Friedman family. During the course of filming David Friedman, Jarecki became aware that his father (Arnold Friedman) had been at the centre of a child abuse case in the 80s. Arnold... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: well above expectations
Disadvantages: not many really

...The movie was well above my expectation and definitely worth a wait. Tony Leung plays the same man with "In the Mood for Love" but has a different character. The movie is also vaguely related to "Days of Being Wild" in 1990, co-starred by Leslie Cheung and Maggie Cheng. All three films are about the mixture of hustle-bustle and weariness of Hong Kong in 1960s. Tony's performance in this film was again brilliant. Faye Wong performed in WKW film for the first time in 10 years (since "Chung King Express" in 1994, also co-starred by Tony Leung) and made this film one of a kind. Mysterious gambler Gong Li was also attractive. Zhang Ziyi gave me a positive surprise. The film's technical level (costumes, music, photography etc.) is also very high. Someone suggested 2004 Cannes Palm d'Or should have gone to this film instead of "Fahrenheit 9/11... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful