Control Room: If you haven't seen it, please go!

[HuckleB]

It's not comparable to F911, but it's every bit as good, and every bit as powerful. This movie would make the perfect double-feature partner for F911, in fact.

From the review in The Oregonian for last February's film festival:

"THE CONTROL ROOM" When the rhetoric reached red-hot and the bombing of Iraq became inevitable this time last year, most Americans learned for the first time of Al Jazeera, the satellite news network that holds the place in the Arab world that CNN holds in the United States. In subsequent months as war raged in the Persian Gulf, Al Jazeera's coverage -- including footage of dead and captured American soldiers and dead and wounded Iraqi civilians -- became a lightning rod for criticism by the Bush administration and other patriotic American interests.

But as Jehane Noujaim's absorbing documentary shows, Al Jazeera was only one of many institutions spinning the news out of Iraq and neither the most shameless nor the most blameless. Working alongside Al Jazeera producers, technicians, translators and correspondents, Noujaim shows that the network is no more biased or deceptive than any Western news organization or indeed, the publicity divisions of the U.S. armed forces. Indeed, in certain cases, Al Jazeera provided the closest thing to the so-called objective truth about what was happening on the ground in Iraq.

If this sounds suspiciously anti-American, think again. We watch as an Al Jazeera producer gets a tongue-lashing from his boss, who feels that the American antiwar analyst he rounded up for an interview wasn't credible. And we are won over by a thoughtful young American press officer who speaks frankly of trying to see outside the blinders of his own perspective, learn a little Arabic and forge a bond with a combative Al Jazeera correspondent. It makes for one of the best and most important documentaries about the media ever made. (Shawn Levy)"

http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/107719581773340.xml

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Another review can be found at: http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-040609-movies-review-mc-controlroom,0,1045525.story?coll=mmx-movies_top_heds

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You can go to http://www.controlroommovie.com/site/01.html and check out "screenings" to see when it will be in your area.

Enjoy!

[HuckleB]

1. Shameless, self-important kick.

[HuckleB]

2. Radical and shameless, self-important kick.

[napi21]

3. Interesting. Hadn't heard of this one before.

The film maker's name sounds like Arab ?? I'm not bashing him because of that, but where does he get his credibility to produce this movie?

I do believe Al Jazeera is every bit a biased as CNN, etc. So, other than some interest in what the opposite bias is, why do I want to see this?

[ChickMagic]

4. The film maker is an Arab American

He followed the Grateful Dead around for 2 years. When he heard the war was about to start, he wanted to compare the coverage of Al Jazeera to American coverage of the war. It's very enlightening.

As far as bias, yes, they play to their audience. But they have been banned from several Arab countries for daring to criticize the leadership. I respect them far more than Fox, for instance.

[HuckleB]

7. It's very interesting to compare their websites.

Whenever I read Al Jazeera and Fox back-to-back, I'm struck by how objective and thoughtful Al Jazeera seems by comparison.

[HuckleB]

6. It's not just about Al Jazeera.

The movie shows CNN, MSNBC, the whole CentCom crew and the reactions from the press to it. This is not a movie that jams anything down your throat. It shows thoughtful people in a difficult situation, trying to do their jobs while others are trying to keep them from doing their jobs. It shows more about the media coverage of the war, and all that that entails than any other book or story done on the matter.

This is one wonderful documentary. It's worth seeing simply for that in itself.

[ChickMagic]

8. That's true

And I was really impressed with the guy from Lewisville, TX that was the army liason with the press. It seemed like he was trying to tell the truth, but as the war waged on, it started becoming obvious to him that he was being used.

Oh, and one more thing, I laughed when the foreign press got a look at the statue falling - the entire view of it.

[HuckleB]

13. Yeah, it was incredible to watch the Marine liaison change.

And, yes, the statue piece was powerful, though I loved the Brit who wouldn't let go of the bit about the deck of cards. That was classic.

[Wind Dancer]

5. I agree,

a must see for everybody. This material takes you to a deeper level of understanding the atrocities by our invasion into Iraq. It is a difficult movie to watch, the heartaches of the innocent victims in this war are glaringly obvious and painful.

I will try to post more about this later when I have more time.

[napi21]

9. Just checked to see where it's playing. Impressive!

Unfortunately, nothing near me, but I was very surprised to see so many locations in NC, FL, AR, KS, etc. I would have expected to see lots in Ca., but not in the South.

Also watched the trailor. It looks like a pretty good movie.

[HuckleB]

15. I hear it's earned nearly $1 million in receipts thus far.

I hope the DVD offers some extensive add-ons. These might actually be interesting, in this case.

[Tellurian]

10. I saw the movie over Memorial Day weekend...

The movie is a great documentary from the Arab's perspective and the news people there at the time the War began. The window of time encompassing the film is only within a 2 1/2 mo period. From March 19 03' until the Mission Accomplished theme popped up in May 03'

After seeing it..I suggested the Kerry camp review it for the obvious Bush lies captured within the film.

Those short clips would be suitable for future campaign ads to drive Jr wacky...and solidify Moore's depiction of Bush in F911 as honest and accurate..

note:

modified Iraqi to Arab for HuckleB

[HuckleB]

11. Huh?

"From the Iraqi perspective"? From an Arab perspective, perhaps, with other perspectives shown as well, but not just "from an Iraqi perspective."

[lostnfound]

12. Saw it this week. Blows wide open the media bias..

as well as the propaganda AGAINST alJazeera.

It WAS as good as F9-11, in its own, narrow scope way. People need to see this one. It fleshed out a lot that we knew. It was interesting to see them calling it right on some things, like the fall of the statue, and seeing the spin coming out of the White House.

Don't miss it.

[HuckleB]

14. Yes.

It's very different than 9/11, but every bit as good. The director takes a different road to the same powerful end.

I can't wait to see it again. Unfortunately, that'll likely be on DVD.

[HuckleB]

16. Woo hoo! Regal Cinemas picks up Control Room from C21 in Portland!

I'll be damned. I couldn't find this information anywhere, not even on the Control Room website. For Oregonians, it's playing at the downtown Fox theatre (no relation to Faux news and entertainment).