list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Thin Blue Line on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Thin_Blue_Line/34754/default.aspx Title: The Thin Blue Line
Year: 1988
Director: Errol Morris
Plot: Not many filmmakers can claim to have freed a convicted murderer from jail, but Errol Morris accomplished that feat with his stunning documentary about Randall Dale Adams. Morris, whose brilliant previous features Vernon, Florida and Gates of Heaven had focused on less substantial subjects, learned of Adams' plight when the director was in Texas in preparation for a film about a psychiatrist who testified in murder trials. In November 1976, after his car broke down on a road outside Dallas, Adams had accepted a ride from a stranger, David Harris. Harris was driving a stolen car, and when Dallas police officer Robert Wood pulled the two men over to check on the vehicle, Harris shot and killed Wood. A jury believed that Adams was the killer, thanks to the perjured testimony of Harris and the misleading accounts of two witnesses. A story about Adams on 60 Minutes helped to bring public attention to the case, but it was Morris' film, which contained extensive interview material with both Adams and Harris as well as stylized reenactments of the crime, that clinched the case for Adams' innocence. He was set free on March 15, 1988. Although Morris' film made many critics' top ten lists, it was unaccountably not nominated for an Academy award, raising doubts about the credibility of the Motion Picture Academy's nominating process in this category. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 6
Number of Lists: 27
Number of blog posts: 5
Number of discussion threads: 1
SpoutRating: 4
]]>Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:15:49 GMTThe Thin Blue Line1988Errol MorrisNot many filmmakers can claim to have freed a convicted murderer from jail, but <a href="/players/P___103562/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Errol Morris</a> accomplished that feat with his stunning documentary about Randall Dale Adams. Morris, whose brilliant previous features Vernon, Florida and <a href=/films/13026/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Gates of Heaven</a> had focused on less substantial subjects, learned of Adams' plight when the director was in Texas in preparation for a film about a psychiatrist who testified in murder trials. In November 1976, after his car broke down on a road outside Dallas, Adams had accepted a ride from a stranger, David Harris. Harris was driving a stolen car, and when Dallas police officer Robert Wood pulled the two men over to check on the vehicle, Harris shot and killed Wood. A jury believed that Adams was the killer, thanks to the perjured testimony of Harris and the misleading accounts of two witnesses. A story about Adams on <a href=/films/159451/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>60 Minutes</a> helped to bring public attention to the case, but it was Morris' film, which contained extensive interview material with both Adams and Harris as well as stylized reenactments of the crime, that clinched the case for Adams' innocence. He was set free on March 15, 1988. Although Morris' film made many critics' top ten lists, it was unaccountably not nominated for an Academy award, raising doubts about the credibility of the Motion Picture Academy's nominating process in this category. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide6Taggedy Taggged (6-10)27514http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t59091iv78q.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Thin_Blue_Line/34754/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/2/37861.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/2/2008 4:01:04 PM
Body: It’s already been called the most important civil rights film of the decade, but only time will tell if Milk has any real impact on the gay marriage issue or any other related civil rights matter. Obviously the film, which is set thirty years in the past, can be appropriated by the campaign to overturn Proposition 8, but if that campaign is successful, it will be difficult to prove with certainty Milk contributed to the end result. The Birth of a Nation may have inspired a reformation of the Ku Klux Klan and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner may have opened some minds to wider acceptance of interracial marriage (which had just recently been legalized). However, as Time magazine reported earlier this year, it’s quite rare for cinema to really change the world. A movie like Philadelphia easily gets moviegoers thinking about AIDS and discrimination, for instance, and Sicko exposes some of the supposed benefits of universal health care, yet most of these kinds of message films preach primarily to the choir. But at least five films have made an actual difference, either on a local or national level. Will Milk join the small group of movies detailed below? Victim (1961) Long before Milk, Philadelphia or even Cruising, this British thriller became the first motion picture in history to feature the word “homosexual.” At the time, same-sex acts were illegal in the UK, and so, even though the laws weren’t strictly enforced, the film was quite controversial (and it was banned in the U.S.). Still, this story of a closeted bisexual lawyer who becomes the target of an anti-gay extortion ring had a deep, lasting effect on the people in Britain, and it’s unofficially yet widely considered to have influenced both general acceptance of homosexuality and the 1967 Sexual Offenses Act, which legalized consensual same-sex relations across the pond (anti-sodomy laws in the States, on the other hand, were not completely eliminated until 2003). I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) It may seem extremely tame by today’s standards (in the recent words of John Waters, it’s nothing more than a “limp dick and some ugly women naked.”), but this warmer-titled of Vilgot Sjoman’s I Am Curious films became infamous for its depiction of full frontal nudity and an oral sex act that could barely be called fellatio. After being banned in Massachusetts, where it was labeled pornography, it became the subject of an obscenity case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was ultimately determined not to be obscene. Once it could be freely distributed, it became a must-see, though many were disappointed with it, and it held the record for highest grossing foreign film in the U.S. for more than twenty years. More importantly, the Supreme Court decision was groundbreaking in terms of obscenity law, and the multi-billion dollar pornographic film industry of the 70s was able to happen as a result of this one little Swedish art film. The Thin Blue Line (1988) This Errol Morris film is considered one of the most influential documentaries of all time, for a couple of reasons. In addition to being significant to the craft of nonfiction cinema, it also had a direct effect on the freedom of one man. Rather than merely present the story of Randall Dale Adams, who was tried and convicted of murdering a Dallas police officer, Morris also investigates the case, with enough detail to convince viewers of Adams’ innocence. Following the release of the film, Adams was able to get his conviction overturned and eventually was released from prison. While rescuing one individual may not be the same as changing the world, The Thin Blue Line is considered one of the only motion pictures to be directly influential in bringing about some kind of change. JFK (1991) Oliver Stone’s controversial look at the Kennedy assassination didn’t exactly tell us who killed the president. It didn’t even convince everyone that Oswald wasn’t responsible. But despite all the controversy and negative reviews, JFK went on to be a landmark film for its cause, because it led to the passage of The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Act of 1992 (aka the JFK Act) and the formation of the U.S. Assassination Records Review Board. Officially, Congress was more annoyed by the conclusions of JFK than inspired by the film, but the result just goes to show (and Michael Moore likely was paying attention) that being a burden can be as worthwhile as being convincing. An Inconvenient Truth (2006) Davis Guggenheim’s film of Al Gore’s Global Warming presentation didn’t bring about a lot of change or legislation in the U.S., but it did have a significant effect in terms of breaking ground on discussion of the issue. However, it was apparently instrumental in the passing of a law to curb greenhouse gases in California. Meanwhile, elsewhere, it has been employed in school curriculum and it certainly helped Gore win the Nobel Peace Prize. Because not all films can be as direct and quickly effect as The Thin Blue Line and JFK, though, we’ll need more than the past two years to fully see the difference made by this one. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:01:04 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/2/2008 4:01:04 PMIt’s already been called the most important civil rights film of the decade, but only time will tell if Milk has any real impact on the gay marriage issue or any other related civil rights matter. Obviously the film, which is set thirty years in the past, can be appropriated by the campaign to overturn Proposition 8, but if that campaign is successful, it will be difficult to prove with certainty Milk contributed to the end result. The Birth of a Nation may have inspired a reformation of the Ku Klux Klan and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner may have opened some minds to wider acceptance of interracial marriage (which had just recently been legalized). However, as Time magazine reported earlier this year, it’s quite rare for cinema to really change the world. A movie like Philadelphia easily gets moviegoers thinking about AIDS and discrimination, for instance, and Sicko exposes some of the supposed benefits of universal health care, yet most of these kinds of message films preach primarily to the choir. But at least five films have made an actual difference, either on a local or national level. Will Milk join the small group of movies detailed below? Victim (1961) Long before Milk, Philadelphia or even Cruising, this British thriller became the first motion picture in history to feature the word “homosexual.” At the time, same-sex acts were illegal in the UK, and so, even though the laws weren’t strictly enforced, the film was quite controversial (and it was banned in the U.S.). Still, this story of a closeted bisexual lawyer who becomes the target of an anti-gay extortion ring had a deep, lasting effect on the people in Britain, and it’s unofficially yet widely considered to have influenced both general acceptance of homosexuality and the 1967 Sexual Offenses Act, which legalized consensual same-sex relations across the pond (anti-sodomy laws in the States, on the other hand, were not completely eliminated until 2003). I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) It may seem extremely tame by today’s standards (in the recent words of John Waters, it’s nothing more than a “limp dick and some ugly women naked.”), but this warmer-titled of Vilgot Sjoman’s I Am Curious films became infamous for its depiction of full frontal nudity and an oral sex act that could barely be called fellatio. After being banned in Massachusetts, where it was labeled pornography, it became the subject of an obscenity case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was ultimately determined not to be obscene. Once it could be freely distributed, it became a must-see, though many were disappointed with it, and it held the record for highest grossing foreign film in the U.S. for more than twenty years. More importantly, the Supreme Court decision was groundbreaking in terms of obscenity law, and the multi-billion dollar pornographic film industry of the 70s was able to happen as a result of this one little Swedish art film. The Thin Blue Line (1988) This Errol Morris film is considered one of the most influential documentaries of all time, for a couple of reasons. In addition to being significant to the craft of nonfiction cinema, it also had a direct effect on the freedom of one man. Rather than merely present the story of Randall Dale Adams, who was tried and convicted of murdering a Dallas police officer, Morris also investigates the case, with enough detail to convince viewers of Adams’ innocence. Following the release of the film, Adams was able to get his conviction overturned and eventually was released from prison. While rescuing one individual may not be the same as changing the world, The Thin Blue Line is considered one of the only motion pictures to be directly influential in bringing about some kind of change. JFK (1991) Oliver Stone’s controversial look at the Kennedy assassination didn’t exactly tell us who killed the president. It didn’t even convince everyone that Oswald wasn’t responsible. But despite all the controversy and negative reviews, JFK went on to be a landmark film for its cause, because it led to the passage of The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Act of 1992 (aka the JFK Act) and the formation of the U.S. Assassination Records Review Board. Officially, Congress was more annoyed by the conclusions of JFK than inspired by the film, but the result just goes to show (and Michael Moore likely was paying attention) that being a burden can be as worthwhile as being convincing. An Inconvenient Truth (2006) Davis Guggenheim’s film of Al Gore’s Global Warming presentation didn’t bring about a lot of change or legislation in the U.S., but it did have a significant effect in terms of breaking ground on discussion of the issue. However, it was apparently instrumental in the passing of a law to curb greenhouse gases in California. Meanwhile, elsewhere, it has been employed in school curriculum and it certainly helped Gore win the Nobel Peace Prize. Because not all films can be as direct and quickly effect as The Thin Blue Line and JFK, though, we’ll need more than the past two years to fully see the difference made by this one. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/atacta/archive/2008/11/28/37716.aspx Post By: atacta
Post To: atacta Blog
Post Date: 11/28/2008 3:33:41 PM
Body: My second exposure (after Fog of War) to Errol Morris. Blue Line is like a perfect mathematical sequence in its story telling and editing. Being an older film than Fog, Blue Line does lack some of the energy of the latter film but I think that has to do with limited footage. Since I knew the eventual consequences of the film it added that very interesting twist to it as well. The real culprit of the crime is a genuinely creepy dude as are the supposed "witnesses" to it. It really is unbelievable that this happened to that poor guy.In the end justice did prevail. ***1/2 / ***** The Fog of War (2003)
]]>Fri, 28 Nov 2008 20:33:41 GMTatactaatacta Blog11/28/2008 3:33:41 PMMy second exposure (after Fog of War) to Errol Morris. Blue Line is like a perfect mathematical sequence in its story telling and editing. Being an older film than Fog, Blue Line does lack some of the energy of the latter film but I think that has to do with limited footage. Since I knew the eventual consequences of the film it added that very interesting twist to it as well. The real culprit of the crime is a genuinely creepy dude as are the supposed "witnesses" to it. It really is unbelievable that this happened to that poor guy.In the end justice did prevail. ***1/2 / ***** The Fog of War (2003) http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/11/24/37595.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 11/24/2008 7:01:27 PM
Body: When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces a shortlist for one of its Oscar categories, many critics immediately focus on what titles are missing. Religulous was snubbed! Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired was punished for having a “secret” qualifying run! The Academy’s rules for eligibility must be amended! Such reactions were seen all over the web last week as awards season pundits looked at the narrowed-down list of 15 Feature Documentary hopefuls and criticized the Academy for its omissions. But the better response (which is the one SpoutBlog had) is to primarily address and celebrate the included films, not just for being contenders for the Feature Documentary Oscar but also for being showcased in general. The wonderful thing about shortlists is that they expand further the idea that it’s great just to be nominated. For feature documentaries, particularly those without a lot of media and major distributor attention, it is also great just to be shortlisted. Non-fiction film fans may now see this as an opportunity to take note of some documentaries that weren’t previously on their radar (unfortunately none of these films are actually allowed to advertise their recent achievement of being shortlisted). But the Academy Awards are, of course, still a competition. So, while we take notice of the 15 semi-finalists for the Feature Documentary Oscar, we shall also weigh their chances of being selected for the final five and predict which titles are likely to be announced as nominees on January 22. 1. Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh It’s a constant joke that any film related to the Holocaust is guaranteed an Oscar nomination. Obviously this is a generalization based on common trend, and not every Holocaust doc has in fact been recognized by the Academy, but if such a film is good enough to reach the shortlist, there is a very good chance that it will also be nominated. And since there hasn’t been a feature doc on the subject nominated since 2002, it’s probably time for a new one to get the spotlight. Blessed is narrated by Oscar-nominee Joan Allen and details the courageous life of Hannah Senesh, who took part in a mission to rescue Hungary’s Jews. If Hollywood doesn’t nominate this doc, it will probably at least use it as a springboard from which to produce an Oscar-bait dramatization about Senesh in the near future. 2. Trouble the Water Never mind the fact that it’s one of the best-reviewed films of the year, this is the Academy’s first chance to get behind the Katrina issue. Though some mistakenly see the Feature Documentary Oscar as primarily a category with which to showcase its favored causes rather than recognizing the actual best documentary filmmaking of the year, there is a miniscule amount of truth in the matter. It’s part of the reason that the Holocaust-doc joke is so often made, and it’s also why the films Born Into Brothels and An Inconvenient Truth were named winners, despite their being subject-over-style kinds of documentaries. Trouble the Water is a tad bit sloppy, but it has the subject matter and enough inspirational substance to receive a nomination. 3. Encounters at the End of the World This may be the Academy’s chance to make up for their exclusion of Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man a few years back or simply honor a filmmaker who has been important to the non-fiction genre for decades. Also, with their snub of Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, the Academy Documentary Branch could use this as more opportunity to distinguish and make an example out of the difference between a theatrical documentary and a television documentary (as David Poland recently pointed out, “if you are a TV doc, be a TV doc…if you are a theatrical doc, that is what the Oscars reward”). People who went to see Encounters recommended it on the basis that it needs to be seen on a big screen, which is not often said about documentaries. Other things it has going for it are a shared location with Oscar-winner March of the Penguins (even if Herzog starts the film addressing that this is not like that film) and a slight relevance to the global warming issue, which is one of the Academy’s currently favored issues. 4. Standard Operating Procedure The Academy Documentary Branch does seem to favor former nominees in their category, perhaps due to the number of documentarians who turn to fiction filmmaking after breaking out in non-fiction (maybe that explains their snub of Barbara Kopple recently after her attempt into fiction). So Morris, who was infamously rejected by the Academy with his monumental film The Thin Blue Line, and who later won the Oscar for The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons Learned from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, should be given another go. It also helps that Standard Operating Procedure is the sole Iraq War-relevant documentary in the bunch, an interesting fact given how many films dealing with this topic have been shortlisted in the past few years. Even though last year the Oscar was given to a similarly themed doc about torture and prisoner abuse, the issue is likely still one that the Academy feels strongly about. Of course, speaking of that film, Taxi to the Dark Side, its director’s latest film was not shortlisted. 5. Man on Wire This is the highest grossing (and best-reviewed) of the 15 shortlisted films, and that could mean a lot, even if it is only the fifth top grossing doc of the year. The Academy is hardly a sucker for popular documentaries, but most years since Michael Moore was honored in 2002 have seen at least one popular doc, such as Super Size Me, March of the Penguins and Moore’s Sicko. In fact, only four of the ten top grossing (non-IMAX, non-concert, non-compilation, non-reality TV-based) documentaries have not been nominated for an Oscar. The only drawback for Man on Wire could be that it features a very large percentage of re-enactment or dramatization, and even if the Academy’s rules have a greater permission for these kinds of documentaries than in the days of The Thin Blue Line’s snub, it’s very possible that members of the Academy Documentary Branch are more appreciable towards one of the films that aren’t so heavily dependent on re-enactments. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:01:27 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com11/24/2008 7:01:27 PMWhen the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces a shortlist for one of its Oscar categories, many critics immediately focus on what titles are missing. Religulous was snubbed! Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired was punished for having a “secret” qualifying run! The Academy’s rules for eligibility must be amended! Such reactions were seen all over the web last week as awards season pundits looked at the narrowed-down list of 15 Feature Documentary hopefuls and criticized the Academy for its omissions. But the better response (which is the one SpoutBlog had) is to primarily address and celebrate the included films, not just for being contenders for the Feature Documentary Oscar but also for being showcased in general. The wonderful thing about shortlists is that they expand further the idea that it’s great just to be nominated. For feature documentaries, particularly those without a lot of media and major distributor attention, it is also great just to be shortlisted. Non-fiction film fans may now see this as an opportunity to take note of some documentaries that weren’t previously on their radar (unfortunately none of these films are actually allowed to advertise their recent achievement of being shortlisted). But the Academy Awards are, of course, still a competition. So, while we take notice of the 15 semi-finalists for the Feature Documentary Oscar, we shall also weigh their chances of being selected for the final five and predict which titles are likely to be announced as nominees on January 22. 1. Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh It’s a constant joke that any film related to the Holocaust is guaranteed an Oscar nomination. Obviously this is a generalization based on common trend, and not every Holocaust doc has in fact been recognized by the Academy, but if such a film is good enough to reach the shortlist, there is a very good chance that it will also be nominated. And since there hasn’t been a feature doc on the subject nominated since 2002, it’s probably time for a new one to get the spotlight. Blessed is narrated by Oscar-nominee Joan Allen and details the courageous life of Hannah Senesh, who took part in a mission to rescue Hungary’s Jews. If Hollywood doesn’t nominate this doc, it will probably at least use it as a springboard from which to produce an Oscar-bait dramatization about Senesh in the near future. 2. Trouble the Water Never mind the fact that it’s one of the best-reviewed films of the year, this is the Academy’s first chance to get behind the Katrina issue. Though some mistakenly see the Feature Documentary Oscar as primarily a category with which to showcase its favored causes rather than recognizing the actual best documentary filmmaking of the year, there is a miniscule amount of truth in the matter. It’s part of the reason that the Holocaust-doc joke is so often made, and it’s also why the films Born Into Brothels and An Inconvenient Truth were named winners, despite their being subject-over-style kinds of documentaries. Trouble the Water is a tad bit sloppy, but it has the subject matter and enough inspirational substance to receive a nomination. 3. Encounters at the End of the World This may be the Academy’s chance to make up for their exclusion of Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man a few years back or simply honor a filmmaker who has been important to the non-fiction genre for decades. Also, with their snub of Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, the Academy Documentary Branch could use this as more opportunity to distinguish and make an example out of the difference between a theatrical documentary and a television documentary (as David Poland recently pointed out, “if you are a TV doc, be a TV doc…if you are a theatrical doc, that is what the Oscars reward”). People who went to see Encounters recommended it on the basis that it needs to be seen on a big screen, which is not often said about documentaries. Other things it has going for it are a shared location with Oscar-winner March of the Penguins (even if Herzog starts the film addressing that this is not like that film) and a slight relevance to the global warming issue, which is one of the Academy’s currently favored issues. 4. Standard Operating Procedure The Academy Documentary Branch does seem to favor former nominees in their category, perhaps due to the number of documentarians who turn to fiction filmmaking after breaking out in non-fiction (maybe that explains their snub of Barbara Kopple recently after her attempt into fiction). So Morris, who was infamously rejected by the Academy with his monumental film The Thin Blue Line, and who later won the Oscar for The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons Learned from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, should be given another go. It also helps that Standard Operating Procedure is the sole Iraq War-relevant documentary in the bunch, an interesting fact given how many films dealing with this topic have been shortlisted in the past few years. Even though last year the Oscar was given to a similarly themed doc about torture and prisoner abuse, the issue is likely still one that the Academy feels strongly about. Of course, speaking of that film, Taxi to the Dark Side, its director’s latest film was not shortlisted. 5. Man on Wire This is the highest grossing (and best-reviewed) of the 15 shortlisted films, and that could mean a lot, even if it is only the fifth top grossing doc of the year. The Academy is hardly a sucker for popular documentaries, but most years since Michael Moore was honored in 2002 have seen at least one popular doc, such as Super Size Me, March of the Penguins and Moore’s Sicko. In fact, only four of the ten top grossing (non-IMAX, non-concert, non-compilation, non-reality TV-based) documentaries have not been nominated for an Oscar. The only drawback for Man on Wire could be that it features a very large percentage of re-enactment or dramatization, and even if the Academy’s rules have a greater permission for these kinds of documentaries than in the days of The Thin Blue Line’s snub, it’s very possible that members of the Academy Documentary Branch are more appreciable towards one of the films that aren’t so heavily dependent on re-enactments. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/risselada/archive/2008/11/19/37447.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Risselada Blog
Post Date: 11/19/2008 2:46:31 PM
Body: I first heard about Mumia Abu-Jamal earlier this year. I was walking down the street in downtown Chicago where I work and someone handed me a flyer. It was all about Mumia, his predicament of supposedly being wrongfully imprisoned and sentenced to death, and that he was never given a fair trial. All of these issues are dealt with in the documentary Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case for Reasonable Doubt? which appears to have originally aired on HBO in 1996. The film was recently re-released this year on DVD. I love watching stuff like this. The Thin Blue Line and Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills for instance. And the kind of case file examinations you see on Court TV or the Discover channel at 1 AM. Ambiguous court cases. Conflicting evidence. Motives and evidence coming from every different angle. The title of the movie mentions "reasonable doubt". We are presented the facts argued by the prosecution, but generally the film feels like it is taking the side of the defense, arguing that the Philadelphia Police Department and the judge in the case were biased against Mumia from the starts. From the very moment police arrived on the scene of the crime, through collecting and recording evidence, through selection of the jury, through coercion of witnesses, through suppression of evidence, and through the sentencing process we are shown how Mumia may not have had a fair trial. When it's all over the films seems to be asking the viewers whether at this point there is a reasonable doubt left that Mumia may be innocent. Now I'm not too knowledgeable about what the exact definition of a "reasonable" doubt is within our court system. But my personal definition seems to include smaller levels of doubt than many average people, especially when emotions or other agendas are involved. It may be what appeals to me in these kinds of films. The suspicion that the system is against the individual. The audacity I see in many people who seem so certain of pronouncing someone guilty and heaping such immense sentences on that person when the ratio of certainty vs. the extent of the punishment seems to be way off. The fear that I may by accident be targeted as the patsy by a system that cares not for any individual rights of any individual if impeding on them suits their ulterior motives. Now I'm not saying that Mumia's case clearly fits that bill, but this is the sentiment that draws me to be interested in these types of cases. After watching this movie I have done some slight additional investigation on the matter. There are additional pieces of information left out of this film, some more conspicuous than others. And of course there have been several additional developments in the matter during the twelve years since this movie was released. The murder that Mumia was convicted of occurred in 1981, the same year I was born. When this movie first came out Mumia had been in prison on death row for fourteen years. Now in 2008 it has been twenty-six years since the incident. At this time Mumia is no longer on death row, but still in prison with a life sentence. But as evidenced by the fact that earlier this year I received a flyer regarding his predicament (and I think some kind of big rally taking place) there are still massive social movements that have grown out of this case. The case has become the impetus for groups arguing for as many issues as racism, police and judicial corruption, freedom of speech, and a lot more. In fact a movie documenting not only the case itself but the way it has affected and become the icon for so many other social and political groups and movements might be a more relevant and conscientious documentary than this film is. Is it possible that this film could help get Mumia freed like the film The Thin Blue Line did? It's unlikely at this point, but it probably has helped to increase the awareness that has fueled all of these social movements. After looking at ratings and reviews for this film on different websites you may assume that giving a high rating for this film means you think Mumia is innocent and a low rating means you think he is guilty. I rate this film highly even though I am really not sure because the film is very engaging without being deceptive. You can always do your own research later. But some of the most compelling portions of the movie have to be the emotional testimonies from a couple people who claim to have witnessed events that suggest Mumia's innocence and how they were coerced by the police to lie under oath. The fact that Mumia is so well spoken doesn't hurt the fascination with his case either. Like the jurors in one of my favorite films 12 Angry Men, I look at these cases and seek to find any possible doubt, put it altogether and ask myself "is it reasonable?" In the case of Mumia, I have not made up my mind, but if you find these kinds of questionable court case studies fascinating I highly recommend checking out the recent re-release of this film on DVD. Other recommendations: The Thin Blue Line, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills Rating: 9/10
]]>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:46:31 GMTRisseladaRisselada Blog11/19/2008 2:46:31 PMI first heard about Mumia Abu-Jamal earlier this year. I was walking down the street in downtown Chicago where I work and someone handed me a flyer. It was all about Mumia, his predicament of supposedly being wrongfully imprisoned and sentenced to death, and that he was never given a fair trial. All of these issues are dealt with in the documentary Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case for Reasonable Doubt? which appears to have originally aired on HBO in 1996. The film was recently re-released this year on DVD. I love watching stuff like this. The Thin Blue Line and Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills for instance. And the kind of case file examinations you see on Court TV or the Discover channel at 1 AM. Ambiguous court cases. Conflicting evidence. Motives and evidence coming from every different angle. The title of the movie mentions "reasonable doubt". We are presented the facts argued by the prosecution, but generally the film feels like it is taking the side of the defense, arguing that the Philadelphia Police Department and the judge in the case were biased against Mumia from the starts. From the very moment police arrived on the scene of the crime, through collecting and recording evidence, through selection of the jury, through coercion of witnesses, through suppression of evidence, and through the sentencing process we are shown how Mumia may not have had a fair trial. When it's all over the films seems to be asking the viewers whether at this point there is a reasonable doubt left that Mumia may be innocent. Now I'm not too knowledgeable about what the exact definition of a "reasonable" doubt is within our court system. But my personal definition seems to include smaller levels of doubt than many average people, especially when emotions or other agendas are involved. It may be what appeals to me in these kinds of films. The suspicion that the system is against the individual. The audacity I see in many people who seem so certain of pronouncing someone guilty and heaping such immense sentences on that person when the ratio of certainty vs. the extent of the punishment seems to be way off. The fear that I may by accident be targeted as the patsy by a system that cares not for any individual rights of any individual if impeding on them suits their ulterior motives. Now I'm not saying that Mumia's case clearly fits that bill, but this is the sentiment that draws me to be interested in these types of cases. After watching this movie I have done some slight additional investigation on the matter. There are additional pieces of information left out of this film, some more conspicuous than others. And of course there have been several additional developments in the matter during the twelve years since this movie was released. The murder that Mumia was convicted of occurred in 1981, the same year I was born. When this movie first came out Mumia had been in prison on death row for fourteen years. Now in 2008 it has been twenty-six years since the incident. At this time Mumia is no longer on death row, but still in prison with a life sentence. But as evidenced by the fact that earlier this year I received a flyer regarding his predicament (and I think some kind of big rally taking place) there are still massive social movements that have grown out of this case. The case has become the impetus for groups arguing for as many issues as racism, police and judicial corruption, freedom of speech, and a lot more. In fact a movie documenting not only the case itself but the way it has affected and become the icon for so many other social and political groups and movements might be a more relevant and conscientious documentary than this film is. Is it possible that this film could help get Mumia freed like the film The Thin Blue Line did? It's unlikely at this point, but it probably has helped to increase the awareness that has fueled all of these social movements. After looking at ratings and reviews for this film on different websites you may assume that giving a high rating for this film means you think Mumia is innocent and a low rating means you think he is guilty. I rate this film highly even though I am really not sure because the film is very engaging without being deceptive. You can always do your own research later. But some of the most compelling portions of the movie have to be the emotional testimonies from a couple people who claim to have witnessed events that suggest Mumia's innocence and how they were coerced by the police to lie under oath. The fact that Mumia is so well spoken doesn't hurt the fascination with his case either. Like the jurors in one of my favorite films 12 Angry Men, I look at these cases and seek to find any possible doubt, put it altogether and ask myself "is it reasonable?" In the case of Mumia, I have not made up my mind, but if you find these kinds of questionable court case studies fascinating I highly recommend checking out the recent re-release of this film on DVD. Other recommendations: The Thin Blue Line, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills Rating: 9/10 http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/4/8/27100.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 4/8/2008 2:00:41 PM
Body: It didn’t work out so well for Michael Moore, but who is to say other documentarians can’t succeed in fiction filmmaking? Recent notables to make the switch have included Nick Broomfield (whose unscripted yet dramatized Battle for Haditha opens at New York’s Film Forum next month), Barbara Kopple, Andrew Jarecki and Seth Gordon, who originally seemed to be crossing the line to remake his own The King of Kong as a narrative feature but has instead become attached to other fiction projects. The latest, though, is a bit of a shocker, even if he is famous for making a dramatization-heavy doc. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Errol Morris’ next project is a comedy, which he’s currently writing. Titled The End of Everything, the script is at least based on a true story and Morris says the film will be, “a new idea of how to blend drama with reality.” Fortunately, Morris isn’t simply whoring himself out to some Hollywood romcom, as his other quote would suggest: “I’m a funny guy, and I’d like to make something funny now,” he said. “I can’t see myself making one political film after another. I’m glad I made these two movies, but I’d like to do something different.” Doesn’t that sound like the defense of someone suddenly going from Oscar-winning drama to kid-friendly slapstick? But since this is the guy who made a riveting film out of a 95-minute interview with a single subject — an unpopular one at that — we’re probably in for something brilliant. Or else something a thousand times more disappointing than Canadian Bacon, Havoc and The Beverly Hillbillies combined. Anyway, I guess with so many people making docs these days, we need someone to make fiction films. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:00:41 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com4/8/2008 2:00:41 PMIt didn’t work out so well for Michael Moore, but who is to say other documentarians can’t succeed in fiction filmmaking? Recent notables to make the switch have included Nick Broomfield (whose unscripted yet dramatized Battle for Haditha opens at New York’s Film Forum next month), Barbara Kopple, Andrew Jarecki and Seth Gordon, who originally seemed to be crossing the line to remake his own The King of Kong as a narrative feature but has instead become attached to other fiction projects. The latest, though, is a bit of a shocker, even if he is famous for making a dramatization-heavy doc. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Errol Morris’ next project is a comedy, which he’s currently writing. Titled The End of Everything, the script is at least based on a true story and Morris says the film will be, “a new idea of how to blend drama with reality.” Fortunately, Morris isn’t simply whoring himself out to some Hollywood romcom, as his other quote would suggest: “I’m a funny guy, and I’d like to make something funny now,” he said. “I can’t see myself making one political film after another. I’m glad I made these two movies, but I’d like to do something different.” Doesn’t that sound like the defense of someone suddenly going from Oscar-winning drama to kid-friendly slapstick? But since this is the guy who made a riveting film out of a 95-minute interview with a single subject — an unpopular one at that — we’re probably in for something brilliant. Or else something a thousand times more disappointing than Canadian Bacon, Havoc and The Beverly Hillbillies combined. Anyway, I guess with so many people making docs these days, we need someone to make fiction films. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Film_Fridays/The_Thin_Blue_Line/127/15704/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: spoutgirl
Post To: Film Fridays
Post Date: 7/24/2007 1:17:53 PM
Body: I would like to see this as the next documentary that we watch.
]]>Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:17:53 GMTspoutgirlFilm Fridays7/24/2007 1:17:53 PMI would like to see this as the next documentary that we watch. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Loved-It/MemberTagFilms.aspxLoved-It
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