The War Room
The War Room | |
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Directed by | |
Produced by |
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Cinematography |
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Edited by |
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Production companies |
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Distributed by | October Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $901,668[2] |
The War Room is a 1993 American
Synopsis
The film follows
Much of the film focuses on the interaction between politics and the media and the attempts by the Clinton and Bush campaigns to spin public perception of events and news stories.
People
The primary characters portrayed in the film are:
- Governor of Arkansas
- James Carville, Clinton's lead strategist
- George Stephanopoulos, Clinton's communications director
Though Carville and Stephanopoulos are the film's main figures, many other prominent figures in the campaign make appearances, including
Production
Shortly before the 1992 Democratic National Convention, novice producers
Over a span of four months spent filming, Pennebaker and Hegedus shot about 35 hours of film.[5]
2008 Democratic primary controversy
In late April 2008, a clip from the film was posted on YouTube that purported to show former Clinton administration official (and supporter of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton) Mickey Kantor saying to Carville and Stephanopoulos, "Look at Indiana, wait, wait – look at Indiana. 42-40. It doesn’t matter if we win. Those people are shit. Excuse me." Another erroneous interpretation of the clip alleged that Kantor said, "How would you like to be a worthless white nigger?".
On May 2, 2008, Kantor claimed that the footage had been doctored,[6] and shortly thereafter D.A. Pennebaker claimed that Kantor had actually said "Those people must be shitting in the White House."[7] The doctored footage and false allegations against Kantor were discussed in the Return of the War Room, a 2008 sequel made by Pennebaker and Hegedus.
Reception and legacy
External videos | |
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Interviews with D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, James Carville, and George Stephanopolous at the Washington, D.C. premiere of The War Room, November 12, 1993, C-SPAN |
Box office
As it was only screened at few locations, the film grossed $901,668 at the box office.[2]
Critical reception
The film received near universal acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 96% "fresh" rating based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 8.11/10. The website's consensus reads, "Eye-opening in its access to an array of colorful campaign operatives, The War Room is a valuable time capsule and a riveting study in the art of politicking."[8]
Accolades
- Nominated for
- National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
- Won Special Recognition in Filmmaking (1996)
- Won Award for Best Documentary (1993)
Home media
The film was released as a special edition
Influence
According to an article in the Brisbane Times, George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, and the cast of The Ides of March watched The War Room to "get their bearings" on their characters and life on the campaign trail.[12]
The documentary was spoofed by
See also
- 1960 U.S. presidential election that was edited by D. A. Pennebaker
- Cinema verite
References
- ^ Documentary Short Subject and Feature Winners in 1994 - Oscars on YouTube
- ^ Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ^ Documentary Short Subject and Feature Winners in 1994 - Oscars on YouTube
- ^ The Criterion Collection (2012). "Making The War Room: Hegedus, D. A. Pennebaker, Cutler, and Ettinger" (a special feature produced for a home video release of The War Room). The information used is taken from throughout the piece.
- . Retrieved November 27, 2012.
- ^ Stein, Sam (May 2, 2008). "Clinton Campaign Adviser Claims Indiana Slur Video Is Conspiracy". The Huffington Post.
- ^ "Pennebaker: Clip Doctored". Politico.
- ^ "The War Room (1993)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ "NY Times: The War Room". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
- ^ 1994|Oscars.org
- ^ "The Criterion Collection".
- ^ Hall, Sandra (November 24, 2011). "Political Animals". Brisbane Times. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ Upadhyaya, Kayla Kumari (September 14, 2016). "Documentary Now! loves the '90s with "The Bunker"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
External links
- The War Room at IMDb
- The War Room at Box Office Mojo
- The War Room at Rotten Tomatoes
- Official website
- The War Room: Being There an essay by Criterion Collection
- The War Room" at Actual Reality Pictures