Good Night, and Good Luck.
Released
- 2005
Director
Stars
Good Night, and Good Luck is a 2005 film directed by George Clooney. The film was written by Clooney and Grant Heslov and portrays the conflict between veteran radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, especially relating to the anti-Communist Senator's actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The movie, although released in black and white, was filmed on color film stock but on a grayscale set, and was later color corrected to black and white during post-production. It focuses on the theme of media responsibility, and also addresses what occurs when the media offer a voice of dissent against the government. The movie takes its title from the line with which Murrow routinely closed his broadcasts. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards. Good Night, and Good Luck takes place during the early days of television broadcast journalism in the 1950s. Edward R. Murrow and his dedicated staff—headed by his co-producer Fred Friendly and reporter Joseph Wershba in the CBS newsroom—defy corporate and sponsorship pressures, and discredit the tactics used by Joseph McCarthy during his crusade to root out
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Good Night, And Good Luck. looks at the early years of television and journalism principles; specifically the on-air clash in the 1950's between Edward R. Murrow of CBS and Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. With an outstanding cast, including McCarthy himself through archival footage, this film comes alive with intense emotion while depicting the historical See It Now shows and journalism integrity.
Sen. Joseph McCarthy abused his position of power when he claimed many U.S. citizens were Communist Party members. By instilling fear he was able to cripple people's lives with uncorroborated hearsay evidence. Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) decided to report the known facts of McCarthy's tactics on his show with the assistance of his right-hand man, Fred Friendly (George Cloony). With Murrow's strong following he was able change the course of history.
The film was produced in black and white and with impeccable acting and props I felt I was living through the events and they unfolded. Of course it must have been much more extraordinary back then; but, having not grown up in that time this is the closest I will ever come to understanding the impact of those events.
You do not need to be a history buff to enjoy this movie. A little light reading would not hurt though if you are not familiar with Murrow and McCarthy; I found it useful to have my computer at hand to lookup up some lesser known people I was curios about (but didn't need to know to have the film make sense).
David Strathairn did an excellent job portraying Murrow right down to the infamous Camel cigarette always in hand. The additional cast of George Clooney, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., and Frank Langella all showed their talent on the screen. I was particularly impressed with Ray Wise who played Don Hollenbeck - his superb (although small) role with stay with me for a long time.
9 out of 10 - Rated PG - Watch this one for the historical importance and amazing film making.
Dain Binder
www.dainsmoviereviews.com/2009/09/good-night-and-good-luck-movie-review.htmlSeptember 11, 2009 at 11:42 p.m. UTC
dbin78 on Good Night, and Good Luck.