A KING WINS THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES Sporting events provide an arena for political conflict. Take the year 1973, for example, when male chauvinism was in full display in tennis. After President Richard Nixon telephones Billy Jean King (played by Emma Stone) to congratulate her for winning the Grand Slam of Tennis, she is offered […]
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DETROIT REVEALS THE UNREPORTED RIOTERS—THE POLICE Fifteen major cities in the United States experienced riots during the “long hot summer” of 1967. In each case, the police provided the trigger, and the result was a national commission on the causes as well as numerous academic studies to explain who rioted and why. Detroit, directed by Kathryn Bigelow,
August 1, 2017 DETROIT REVEALS THE UNREPORTED RIOTERS—THE POLICE Fifteen major cities in the United States experienced riots during the “long hot summer” of 1967. In each case, the police provided the trigger, and the result was a national commission on the causes as well as numerous academic studies to explain who rioted and why. Detroit, directed
Political Film Review #545 Read More »
13 MINUTES SHOWS WHY HITLER COULD NOT FIND A CONSPIRACY Although the most famous plot to kill Hitler occurred in 1944, involving several military officials, less famous but celebrated in 13 Minutes was Johann Georg Elser (played by Christian Friedel). The film begins with the explosion of a bomb and Elser’s arrest on November 8, 1939. The bomb
13 MINUTES SHOWS WHY HITLER COULD NOT FIND A CONSPIRACY Although the most famous plot to kill Hitler occurred in 1944, involving several military officials, less famous but celebrated in 13 Minutes was Johann Georg Elser (played by Christian Friedel). The film begins with the explosion of a bomb and Elser’s arrest on November 8, 1939. The bomb
Political Film Review #544 Read More »
LIFE IS HARD BUT CAN BE FUN IN MOSCOW NEVER SLEEPS Irish director Johnny O’Reilly, who lives in the Moscow that he loves more than Dublin, decides to track the lives of several fictional residents for 24 hours, giving filmviewers a taste of life in the Russian capital by shifting back and forth between several intertwined
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CHURCHILL IS ABOUT HIS NOT-SO-FINEST HOURS As a title at the end of Churchill says, Winston Churchill may possibly be the greatest Briton of all time. But the early days of June 1944, featured in the film, were unquestionably his worst. What happens is that contents of Operation Overlord, the plan for D-Day, are revealed to him by
TWO CIVIL WAR RIVALS SHAKE HANDS IN THE JOURNEY For forty years, Catholics and Protestants fought, killed, and died in Northern Ireland until one day in October 2006, when their leaders agreed on powersharing to end the conflict—a model for conflict resolution. In accordance with the St. Andrews Agreement, Reverend Ian Paisley (played by Timothy Spall)
TWO CIVIL WAR RIVALS SHAKE HANDS IN THE JOURNEY For forty years, Catholics and Protestants fought, killed, and died in Northern Ireland until one day in October 2006, when their leaders agreed on powersharing to end the conflict—a model for conflict resolution. In accordance with the St. Andrews Agreement, Reverend Ian Paisley (played by Timothy Spall)
Political Film Review #543 Read More »
CHURCHILL IS ABOUT HIS NOT-SO-FINEST HOURS As a title at the end of Churchill says, Winston Churchill may possibly be the greatest Briton of all time. But the early days of June 1944, featured in the film, were unquestionably his worst. What happens is that contents of Operation Overlord, the plan for D-Day, are revealed to him by
Political Film Review #542 Read More »