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3.0 out of 5 stars
Edward. R Murrow vs senator Joseph McCarthy, Nov 18 2007
i just watched good night,and good luck,which is about CBS newsman
Edward R. Murrow and his fight against senator Joseph McCarthy, a
junior senator from Wisconsin,during the 1950's.McCarthy chaired a
committee to find communists and communist sympathizers and expose
them.many of these people worked in the film industry.this was a time
of anti communist sentiment in the U.S.where anyone who was deemed a
threat to national security was targeted by senator McCarthy and others
in hearings held against them.many of these people lost their jobs or
worse.how fair the trials were and how compelling the evidence against
these people was is hard to say for sure.individual cases were probably
different.it is based on a true story,and the events did take place,but
i think you still have to take it with a grain of salt as it has its
own bias.the movie depicts the events the way the filmmakers have
interpreted things.so you really have to make up your own mind about
how accurate it might or might not be.however,as simply a movie,it is
very entertaining,with great performances all around from an ensemble
cast.it is well directed and shooting it in black and white was very
effective.at times however,it was preachy,which was annoying,and i'm
still not sure why Murrow ended each broadcast with the words"good
night and good luck" and i found that a bit annoying.i would have liked
the filmmakers to give an explanation for those words,maybe show the
genesis behind them and give them more meaning,put them into
context.i'm not saying whether the movie was accurate or not,and can
only rate it for it's entertainment value as well as its technical
merit.overall,the film was well made, with a good eye for detail of the
era,and it had a very authentic feel about it.it was well paced with
crisp dialogue and for a drama it was better done than many films of
the genre.it was at times engaging,yet not quite riveting.the only
other complaint i have is that it could have had more substance and
been a bit more in-depth.otherwise,i enjoyed it. 3/5
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Legends of an Era, Nov 29 2006
This very well written, well directed and beautifully filmed movie attempts to perpetuate the myths of the McCarthy era while ostensively telling the story of Edward R Murrow. For the knowledgeable viewer however, no case is really made against McCarthy.
Certainly, George Clooney, as writer and director could not make the case honestly. Surely with all the thousands of victims we are told about is it really necessary to work the bogus cases discussed below into the screenplay?
Milo Radulovich, discharged from the Air Force, is presented at length as a victim of McCarthy, but of course, McCarthy had nothing to do with his case. This was a security issue that was handled by the Air Force itself.
Annie Lee Moss is presented as a victim of McCarthy in her appearance before the committee. Ms Moss was being questioned as a witness in trying to determine who had promoted Ms Moss, who worked in the cafeteria for many years, to a position as a code clerk handling classified messages in the Pentagon. In McCarthy's questioning, he asks her if she's ever been a dues paying member of the Communist Party (no), whether she subscribes to the Daily Worker newspaper (no), has attended Communist party meetings (no), and so on (no,no,no). She's not very convincing in the film clips when giving her testimony, and the folks at CBS try to convince themselves that maybe one of the other Mosses in the phone book is the party in question. Four years later, of course, all the testimony she has given under oath is shown to be false (but not in the movie), and one wonders indeed who did promote Ms Moss, and why.
The case of Lawrence Duggan, journalistic mentor of Murrow runs through the film, with Duggan always looking worried and nervous, until he finally commits suicide.
No wonder: he was a Soviet spy, as revealed later (but not in the movie).
Edward Murrow seems to look very worried a lot of the time, too. What is the meaning of the furtive glances exchanged between Murrow and Duggan? Is Clooney trying to tell us something? Did Murrow know his friend was a Soviet spy?
The release of the Verona transcripts of intercepted Soviet code in 1995 provided the evidence that most all of what McCarthy said was true, and most all of what his detractors said was not.
With this knowledge, it would have been more prudent for Mr Clooney to tell the story in a more ironic tone, and not retell the same old legends for the benefit of those who like to hear them.
Trivia: Check the background in the original film clips of the hearings for Robert Kennedy (yes, that Robert Kennedy) - he was the junior counsel on McCarthy's committee.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing movie!, Jun 10 2006
This movie was simply amazing. I found it to be extemely well made. The cinematography was just unbelievable, as was the soundtrack, which fit perfectly with the feel of the black-and-white film.* And the acting is some of the best that I have ever seen. I would definately put this movie in my TOP 5.
*For all those out there who say they hate the idea of watching a black-and-white movie, please, have an open mind. This movie would not have been as good if it wasn't filmed in classic black-and-white.
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