Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!
Writer:
Michael Moore
Director:
Michael Moore
Feature
length: 122 minutes
Extras:
Featurette, Montage, Deleted Scenes, Extended Interview With Abdul Henderson, An
Eyewitness Account From Samara, Iraq, Footage Of Lila Lipscomb At The Washington
D.C. Premiere, Arab American Comedians Featurette, Condoleezza Rice’s 9/11
Testimony, George W. Bush’s Rose Garden Press Briefing After His Appearance
Before The 9/11 Commission, Trailers
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions
Packaging:
Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 28
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2004/DVD Release: 2004
Theatrical
Distributor: Lions Gate Films
Home
Video Distributor: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
One
of the most controversial documentaries to ever be released is also the most
financially successful documentary to ever be produced, however I personally
think that “Fahrenheit 9/11” is perhaps one of the most important
documentaries to ever be released because regardless of whether or not you agree
or disagree with Michael Moore’s politics, this is a film that makes a person
think. In fact that is the only reason why I think everyone should see
“Fahrenheit 9/11” on the big or small screen with this upcoming DVD release.
Just to see it and then make up your own mind. Is “Fahrenheit 9/11” a
political film? Regardless of whether Mr. Moore intended it to be a political
statement, I personally think it is. I also would have to agree that this is a
one sided presentation, but every single television program, movie, radio
broadcast, or net broadcast you may seen is going to have a point of view and
this is Moore’s view. I am not going to tell anyone Michael Moore is one
hundred percent right or that he is one hundred percent wrong. You have to
decide for yourself. All I can say is that as far as documentaries go, it is not
my favorite. Personally I think Moore’s “Bowling For Columbine” is a
better documentary and a better overall film than “Fahrenheit 9/11,” but
again I would be remiss not to recommend to everyone to give this disc a spin
just to see it with your own eyes. If anything comes from the success of
“Fahrenheit 9/11,” I hope it is that we see more documentaries cross into
mainstream of cinema and more responsible points of view.
As
far as picture quality goes, the anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) aspect ratio
presentation is truly gorgeous to behold. I was surprised by the clarity of the
image. I was not expecting “Fahrenheit 9/11” to look as good as it does on
DVD. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is understandably low key
at times because of the nature of the film, but in certain instances, the music
and sound effects recorded live can jolt a person out of their sofa complacency,
which is a good thing. English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing
impaired are encoded as options too. Sadly, there is no commentary by Moore on
this DVD. I suppose the film speaks for itself in this case.
“Fahrenheit
9/11” can be a disturbing film at times and so after watching it, it was a bit
difficult to go through the extra materials not because of the quality of the
product, but rather I felt mentally and somewhat emotionally that I needed a
break from the subject matter for a while and regroup. The extra value materials
are easy to access. The menu system is supposed to mimic the terrorist alert
color-coding used on network news stations. First there is a look back at the
release of “Fahrenheit 9/11” (11:24) at the Cannes Film Festival and then
there is footage of Lila Lipscomb at the Washington D.C. premiere (4:40). To
really get the full benefit of this and the majority of the other extra value
features included on this DVD you have to have watched the film all the way
through at least once. I cannot stress that enough too.
Next
are some new scenes that for whatever the reason may be are not included in the
film, but are included here for DVD users. These include a look at the people of
Iraq on the eve of the invasion, (8:24) and the most disturbing aspect of this
footage is to see just how quaint and contemporary the country looked. Parts of
it reminded me of the shops around Canal Street and Delancy Street in lower
Manhattan. We also see a look at the volunteer homeland security team operating
in Miami (3:00), an eyewitness account from Samara, Iraq by a Swiss Journalist
(8:24), footage outside Ghraib Prison of family members waiting for their
relatives to be released (7:01), an extended interview with Marine Reserve
Officer Abdul Henderson (7:33), a segment on Arab American Comedians (10:36),
footage of Condoleezza Rice delivering her testimony to the 9/11 Commission
(8:08), and George W. Bush making a few comments to the press following his
testimony behind closed doors to the 9/11 Commission (5:28).
Trailers
that include previews of “Fahrenheit 9/11” (2:16), “Supersize Me”
(1:09), “The Fog Of War” (2:05), “Dr, Strangelove Or How I Learned To Stop
Worrying And Love The Bomb” (3:26), “Spellbound” (2:21), “Silver City”
(2:29), and “Soundtrack To War” (2:36) wrap up the bonus features included
on this DVD. “Fahrenheit 9/11” will debut on DVD-Video at retailers on and
offline on Tuesday, October 5, 2004 from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2004 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!