The War Room (1993)

Directors:

Chris Hegedus
D.A. Pennebaker

Release Date:

January 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History

Tagline:

They Changed The Way Campaigns Are Won.

Plot:

A documentary of the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign and the organization who ran it.

Plot Keywords:

Campaign | Behind The Scenes | President | Interview | Governor

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

James Carville	...	Himself
George Stephanopoulos	...	Himself
Heather Beckel	...	Herself
Paul Begala	...	Himself
Bob Boorstin	...	Himself
Michael Donnilon	...	Himself
Jeff Eller	...	Himself
Stan Greenberg	...	Himself
Mandy Grunwald	...	Herself
Harold Ickes	...	Himself
Mickey Kantor	...	Himself
Mary Matalin	...	Herself
Mitchell Schwartz	...	Himself
Dave Anderson	...	Himself
Collier Andress	...	Himself

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG

Company:

Cyclone Films

Quotes:

Al Gore: Unemployment around the country has gone up; the number of jobs has gone down. The trade deficit has gone up; personal income has gone down. The budget deficit has gone up; consumer confidence has gone down. Poverty has gone up; the number of jobs has gone down. Bankruptcies have gone up, jobs, down; fear, up; hope, down; everything that oughta be down is *up*, everything that should be up is *down*; they've got it upside down, and we're gonna turn it right side *up!*

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Primary Colors (1998)

Soundtrack:

Vote For The Rythm

A great inside look

This would be an excellent film to show high school poly sci students. It shows the combination of art and craft that goes into a campaign; it promises to entice students into politics without pretending that there isn't some finagling and footwork involved.

Weak points: The sequence involving the Bush Brazilian print job goes on way too long and then doesn't resolve. Also, I (for one) was looking forward to seeing that timeless moment during the East Lansing debate when Clinton stepped away from the podium to address the draft issue, head on. That was a make-or-break moment that reminded us just how far a little candor can go when conventional political wisdom has us by the lapels, screaming in our faces. It's too bad the directors/editors didn't see fit to give us that critical moment, which I consider quite historical, not to mention on-topic.

All told, worth seeing. Interesting to watch something like this and remember that the pendulum sometimes swings...that way.