As I write this in March 2012, Newt Gingrich – a thrice-married, noted adulterer – remains in the Republican race. It’s also amusing to witness how downright quaint some of the 1992 campaign’s issues now seem. Carville’s become a bit of a self-parody since 1992, so it’s good to see him pre-fame. Early on, he makes his mark with biting, hilarious remarks like “He’s so yesterday, if I think of an old calendar, I think of George Bush’s face on it” and he provides plenty more entertainment along the way. While Stephanopoulos gets a lot of screen time, Carville’s the real star here. I’m not sure how much Room itself did for the careers of those men, but I suspect it helped a lot, especially in Carville’s case. I knew some of the players involved from the period – and from subsequent endeavors, as Carville and Stephanopoulos became media darlings post-1902 – but I didn’t have such close acquaintanceship with the behind the scenes dealings. For me, Room acted as a bit of a walk down memory lane, but it also contributed a good understanding of what happened along the way. The movie will work fine without the appropriate background, but because Room spells out little, the viewer will lose something if he/she didn’t experience 1992 first-hand.Īs someone who remembers that year and campaign quite well, I didn’t encounter any problems related to this area. That doesn’t mean I believe it’d be nonsensical, but like the theatrical film Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, there’s a certain assumption at stake here. To a certain degree, Room relies on the viewer’s knowledge of the era depicted if you didn’t live through 1992, I don’t know how much sense the film will make. ![]() ![]() Instead, it simply shows aspects of the campaign with little fuss or muss while news clips add some information, there’s still not a lot of background on display. We get no interviews or commentary for perspective. Most of the appeal of Room comes from its “fly on the wall” perspective. There we see the issues and challenges that occurred between the summer convention and the election in early November. While we get to meet key personnel such as campaign manager James Carville and communications director George Stephanopoulos, we also follow the media circus connected to Clinton’s affair with Gennifer Flowers.Īfter Clinton wins New Hampshire and the Flowers issues fade, the film rips through the additional primaries – mainly via newspaper headlines – and brings us to the meat of the campaign after the Democratic convention. The film launches in New Hampshire to focus on Clinton’s attempts to win the primary there. ![]() A 1993 documentary called The War Room goes behind Clinton’s campaign to show the ins and outs of modern politics. Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (March 15, 2012)īack in 1992, Bill Clinton leapt from state office to the national stage and won the vote to become president. Panasonic 50" TH-50PZ77U 1080p Plasma Monitor Sony STR-DG1200 7.1 Channel Receiver Panasonic DMP-BD60K Blu-Ray Player using HDMI outputs Michael Green Revolution Cinema 6i Speakers (all five) Kenwood 1050SW 150-watt Subwoofer. Interview with Pollster Stanley Greenberg.Return of the War Room 2008 Feature Film. ![]() Fleet-footed and entertaining, The War Room is a vivid document of a political moment whose truths (“It’s the economy, stupid!”) still ring in our ears. Pennebaker captured the brainstorming and bull sessions of Clinton’s crack team of consultants-especially James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, who became media stars in their own right as they injected a savvy, youthful spirit and spontaneity into the process of campaigning. For this thrilling, behind-closed-doors account of that campaign, renowned cinema verité filmmakers Chris Hegedus and D. The 1992 presidential election was a triumph not only for Bill Clinton but also for the new breed of strategists who guided him to the White House-and changed the face of politics in the process. James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, Heather Beckel, Paul Begala, Harold Ickes, Mary Matalin Review Archive: # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main The War Room: Criterion Collection (1993)
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