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The War Room



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. For this thrilling, behind-closed-doors account of that campaign, renowned cinema verité filmmakers Chris Hegedus and D. A. 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. 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.

Disc Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by directors Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Return of the War Room, a 2008 documentary by Hegedus and Pennebaker in which advisers James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, Paul Begala, and others reflect on the effect that the Clinton war room had on the way campaigns are run
- New pieces in which the filmmakers discuss the difficulties of shooting in the campaign’s fast-paced environment
- Panel discussion hosted by the William J. Clinton Foundation, featuring Carville, Clinton adviser Vernon Jordan, journalist Ron Brownstein, and surprise guest Bill Clinton
- Interview with strategist Stanley Greenberg on the evolution of polling
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by writer Louis Menand

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I haven't seen this, but my interest has been piqued. This will be a day-1 blind buy.

The Narrator Returns wrote:I haven't seen this, but my interest has been peaked. This will be a day-1 blind buy.

piqued*

and agreed

Well, my interest is in fact peaked - I'm as interested today as I am likely to be in the foreseeable future.

I've seen Return Of The War Room a few times on Sundance, and quite liked it despite not seeing the earlier film. Criterion can now count Frank Luntz among some of the other grotesqueries from films past released.

Drucker wrote:

The Narrator Returns wrote:I haven't seen this, but my interest has been peaked. This will be a day-1 blind buy.

piqued*

and agreed

Thanks for the correction!

Well, I can't say I'm impressed with Criterion's 2012 selections so far. This one in particular is a disappointment, not because it's that bad (it looks rather middlin'), but because there's so much more interesting titles that really should be on Criterion: The Fog Of War, Tabloid (actually anything by Errol Morris), anything by Adam Curtis, anything by Frederick Wiseman, The War Photographer,

How do you know this is less interesting than those if you haven't seen it?

I doubt Criterion could get the rights to most (if any) of what you list. Tabloid was just released, though some other Morris titles have been rumored. Wiseman distributes his own work. War Photographer is First Run, etc. And just because Criterion is releasing this film, it doesn't mean they can't release other documentaries as well.

IMO, I think they have started 2012 off better than the early part of 2011.

Gregory wrote:I doubt Criterion could get the rights to most (if any) of what you list. Tabloid was just released, though some other Morris titles have been rumored. Wiseman distributes his own work. War Photographer is First Run, etc. And just because Criterion is releasing this film, it doesn't mean they can't release other documentaries as well.

This and Adam Curtis' films can't be released on DVD because of music and film footage rights. I think his films fit better stylistically as Youtube conspiracy theory videos anyway rather than Criterion blu-rays (not that I don't enjoy them).

I recently watched this movie and enjoyed it quite a bit. Carville is one of the best documentary characters I've ever seen and his final speech after

Spoiler

Bill Clinton's election win

is a great moment in politics captured beautifully. This is by far my favorite of the Pennebaker documentaries.

Those who liked this film should also check out Our Brand Is Crisis, a well-made documentary showing a later chapter in Carville's career. It's amusing and enlightening watching him and his colleagues trying to play the PR game in Bolivia and getting in completely over their heads as actual popular democracy enters the electoral arena, changing everything.

Further recommendations, Billy Bob Thornton in Primary Colors and Carville himself in his small role in The Assassination Of Jesse James.

matrixschmatrix wrote:How do you know this is less interesting than those if you haven't seen it?

I had the same thought reading that post but I still think this would've been a more interesting choice, and it's not even available on DVD.

SamLowry wrote:Well, I can't say I'm impressed with Criterion's 2012 selections so far. This one in particular is a disappointment, not because it's that bad (it looks rather middlin'), but because there's so much more interesting titles that really should be on Criterion: The Fog Of War, Tabloid (actually anything by Errol Morris), anything by Adam Curtis, anything by Frederick Wiseman, The War Photographer,

Well, obviously you haven't seen this film, since most of those you're comparing it with have practically nothing in common with The War Room, stylistically or in terms of content. I guess you think this is a film about the Vietnam or Gulf War or something? Ignorance may be bliss, but it doesn't add much to internet discussion boards.

The last DVD went out-of-print ages ago, and the transfer wasn't very good either, so the Criterion edition is definitely welcome news.

Gary Tooze wrote:So, I guess from my limited standpoint - this was a poor choice for Criterion - LOL.

He got his daughter to write this, right, for an 8th Grade Civics class or something?

He is a Rand fan.

Christ, that was a terrible, sloppy review. A synopsis for a completely separate film? Screen caps favoring TV footage used in the movie instead of footage that was actually shot for it? I think you're wrong, domino, an 8th grade civics student would've written a better set of closing remarks.

knives wrote:He is a Rand fan.

Really?

knives wrote:He is a Rand fan.

You can't blame him. Sally was really good with those ostrich feather fans.

Touché, triodelover!

The transfer is a massive improvement over the older (and out-of-print) DVD. Just comparing the DVD's alone (not the Blu-Ray), the difference in color and the level of detail is night and day.