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DVD Movie Rating for: Fahrenheit 9/11

Rating
The film Fahrenheit 9/11 controversially won the Palme d'Or as best at Cannes 2004 and then catapulted into North American theatres as the first documentary to pull in more than $100 million.

Movie Plot of: Fahrenheit 9/11

Michael Moore muscles his way into conferences and Congress, and hits the streets with a bullhorn and a clipboard to find out the truth behind 9/11: Why did Bin Laden's family fly out of the country while the rest of us were grounded? Does George W. Bush really see the "haves...and have mores" as his base constituency, and what did they have to gain from 9/11 and the Iraqi invasion?

This film won top honors at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. Miramax picked it up for distribution, only to discover that Disney, its parent company, wouldn't allow the film's dissemination under its watch. (Eisner's worry: That Florida's Governor Jeb Bush would cause tax problems for Disney World.) So the Weinsteins, Miramax's head honchos, put together the financing so the have nots who missed Cannes could see Moore's indictment.

DVD Production Details of: Fahrenheit 9/11

Director: Michael Moore

Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby

Aspect Ratio(s): 1.78:1

Audio Encoding: Dolby Digital 5.1

Studio: Columbia Tristar Home
DVD Release Date: October 5, 2004
Run Time: 122

DVD Features:
Available subtitles: English
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
"The Release of Fahrenheit 9/11" featurette

"Iraq, Pre-War" featurette: The people of Iraq on the eve of invasion

"Homeland security, Miami style" featurette: Footage of the old men who patrol the Florida coast lookng for terrorists as part of the homeland security plan

"Outside Abu Ghraib Prison"

Eyewitness account from Samara, Iraq

"Lila, D.C.": Lila Lipscomb at the Washington, D.C. premiere

Arab-American comedians: Their acts and experiences after 9/11

Extended interview: More with Abdul Henderson

"Condi 9/11": Condoleezza Rice's 9/11 Commission testimony

"Bush Rose Garden": Ge

DVD Easter Eggs

None

Cast of the movie: Fahrenheit 9/11

• George Bush as himself?

Photo Gallery of the movie: Fahrenheit 9/11

Click on one of the thumbnails to see the full size high quality photos, posters and wallpapers of Fahrenheit 9/11

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Reviews of the movie: Fahrenheit 9/11

Rumor has it that Michael Moore needs to get his Bush-bashing documentary out pronto (with the DVD following close behind) because his film will pass its sell-by date on Election Day. That would reduce the brilliant battering ram that is Fahrenheit 9/11 to propaganda with no resonance as cinema, history, humanism or entertainment. Nuts to that. Getting Bush out is just part of Moore's agenda. Political hypocrisy, across all party lines, is on trial in this broadside from the director of "Roger and Me" and "Bowling for Columbine".

Disney found the film too explosive to release it through its Miramax subsidiary, so Miramax bought it back and found other distribution. At Cannes, the film won the Palme d'Or, the top prize. The ovation that followed was dismissed by cynics as European anti-Americanism. Nuts to that, too.

What Moore does in Fahrenheit 9/11, besides drubbing Dubya and his family's ties to Saudi Arabia, is to measure the human toll that U.S. foreign policy after 9/11 and the war in Iraq are taking on the disenfranchised. Moore likes to rile folks up, which he does with sharp humor. Did I mention that Fahrenheit 9/11 is ferociously, cathartically funny? In one pointedly hilarious scene, Moore rallies members of Congress to get their own children to enlist in the Marines. No chance. Moore isn't above a cheap laugh at the expense of a pro-war Britney Spears, John Ashcroft warbling a patriotic ditty or Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz vainly prepping for a TV interview. But he steps aside more often than not to let America speak for itself, whether it's GIs in Iraq, the mother of a dead soldier or the unemployed being recruited in his hometown of Flint, Michigan.

Images of the dead and wounded, and of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners, aren't new. But Moore has marshaled what's on the record and off into a stinging indictment of where we're going. In a multiplex filled with Hollywood cotton candy, we need him

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Celluloid Dynamite: If only someone would light the fuse!
Since I live in the US, I am unable to see this film. I won't say that it is due to unethical pressure from the Bush administration. I won't say that it is due to spinelessness on the part of Michael Eisner and the Disney Corporation. I won't say that my country is actively trying to suppress free speech, or the right to dissent, or even express an opinion that is contrary to the White House...

The reason I can't say these things isn't because they're true or false. I simply can't say these things because I fear reprisals for expressing a contrary opinion.

I look forward to the chance to actually comment on the content of the film, rather than the politics that are causing explosive interest in this movie. Either way, "huzzah" and kudos to Michael Moore for taking the heat; it's no surprise that Fahrenheit 9/11 is apparently very, very hot.

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Fahrenheit 9/11 in the News

Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo has been retained by the distributors of "Fahrenheit 9/11" in an attempt to reverse the "R" rating slapped on the politically charged documentary last week.

Cuomo -- the veteran liberal Democrat who has been working in private practice since he was defeated a decade ago by Republican George Pataki -- said Tuesday morning at a Manhattan press conference that he already has begun talks with the Motion Picture Assn. of America's (MPAA) appeals board.

Tom Ortenberg, the Los Angeles-based president of Lions Gate Films, also is negotiating with the MPAA and said talks are ongoing. Ortenberg's banner is releasing filmmaker Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit" with IFC Films, whose president, Jonathan Sehring, also was in attendance, and Harvey and Bob Weinstein's newly formed Fellowship Adventure Group.

The MPAA has scheduled an appeals hearing for Tuesday in Los Angeles. The film's distributors are looking to resolve the matter even sooner because the film is set for a June 25 release, but that would require the MPAA to set an earlier date for the appeals hearing.

The MPAA issued its rating because of "violent and disturbing images and for language."

"Fahrenheit" marketing materials so far have used the wording "this film is not yet rated." If the appeal does not go "Fahrenheit's" way, the film's distribution troika could in theory roll it out as unrated because none of the parties are MPAA signatories. However, they see a PG-13 rating as an important strategy in aiming for the widest possible audience.

"I am going to do everything I possibly can to get this picture advanced," Cuomo said Tuesday from the Midtown offices of law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher. "That's why I'm in this thing ... because we are looking for (the most) possible viewers we can get and make this a seen movie. We want to get the best rating we can because that will enlarge the audience." He added he has watched the film three times.

With its release just over a week away -- on "between 500-1,000 screens," according to Ortenberg -- the clock on "Fahrenheit's" rating issue is certainly ticking. If the MPAA does switch its decision, the film's print and TV ads would have to be changed on short notice.

Ortenberg admitted it would be "impossible to quantify" any box office loss from the film's being stamped with an R rating, but he figured it could take away up to 20% of the film's revenue.

He further said that the distributors would "honor (Moore's) artistic vision" but did not rule out snipping the film to gain the MPAA's PG-13 rating. "I couldn't even guess," he said of the editing possibility. "That's not my decision to make." At this juncture, it seems unlikely that significant cuts to the Palme d'Or winner would be made in time.

Beyond the appeals process, Cuomo said he "is committed to doing everything (he) possibly can to make sure as many Americans as possible see this film" and will make the talk-show and other media rounds on behalf of the documentary

Cuomo added that he believes the film's subject matter is appropriate for younger viewers given the current state of the world. "War is too violent for kids," he said. "(This film) tells you about war. War is too violent for adults."

Ortenberg cautioned, "A rating of PG-13 doesn't encourage 5-year-olds to see the movie," adding that the PG-13 rating would be aimed at bringing into theaters "particularly teens who may be asked or required to fight in this or the next war."

While Cuomo has come aboard the "Fahrenheit" team in an official capacity, others not on the payroll have been lending their names as well.

In New York on Monday at a special screening of "Fahrenheit" at the Ziegfeld Theater, Leonardo DiCaprio showed up to lend support and was cited by Harvey Weinstein for being an early proponent. DiCaprio also attended the film's Los Angeles A-list screening June 8.

The Big Apple screening also drew Barry Levinson, Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Spike Lee, Bryant Gumbel, Eva Mendes, John Turturro, Ellen Burstyn, Amy Irving, Julie Taymor, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Tony Bennett and Richard Dreyfuss, among others.

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There's no question that Michael Moore's films have bias. Moore isn't a director who makes 'objective observer' documentaries, he's a filmmaker who creates personal and often political essays with a very specific and strong point of view. Fahrenheit 9/11 is no exception. The core of the film is the hypothesis that through power, influence and family connections, George W. Bush not only stole the 2000 presidential election, but he took America to war with Iraq for reasons that had much more to do with money and the welfare of wealthy friends than 'national security'.

I'm sure some readers will stop right here. Judge this film based solely on Moore's 'politics', perhaps even brand Moore with all sorts of nasty labels because of this point of view. If that's the case, what they'd be missing out on is a truly phenomenal film. Fahrenheit 9/11 is so much more than a political jab at conservatives (both sides of the aisle take quite a beating here), it's a surprisingly emotional and personal film from an American trying to make sense of one of the most difficult and surreal points in American History. Moore, who is typically so heavy handed with his documentaries, so biting in his satire and often contemptuous of his subjects, brings a level of emotional honesty to this film that brings it to an entirely different level.

No matter what your political point of view, it's hard not to find Fahrenheit 9/11 extremely shocking and unsettling. One of the biggest jaw dropping revelations in the film is the clearly documented, deep connections between the Bush and Bin Laden families. I know, it's hard to believe, but no one's making this stuff up! This connection between the two families runs so deep that while most commercial airlines were grounded after 9/11 (on 9/13) Bush ordered that members of the Bin Laden family (along with some other Saudi nationals) be flown out of the country. This happened without investigators having the opportunity to really question them or detain them. Mind blowing. Even more shocking are the film's examinations of the consequences of the Patriot Act, the reality of 'homeland security' and how exactly we went to war with Iraq. It's very difficult to watch Fahrenheit 9/11 without being outraged.

But just when you think you've got Moore and Fahrenheit 9/11 figured out, it changes. The film moves from its connect-the-dots approach to Bush, Bin Laden, Saudi Arabia and big Industry and Iraq into a very touching and personal look at the people who have been affected by all this. Moore spends a good amount of time in his film talking to soldiers fighting in Iraq, showing families who have lost children to the war and putting a real face to the repercussions of the war. There are many scenes in the film which are difficult to watch and Moore pulls no punches graphically showing the horror of war (on all sides). There's no question that Fahrenheit 9/11 should be an R-Rated movie - there's some pretty gruesome and tough stuff here. But the blood and gore doesn't have nearly the impact as the stories from families who have lost children to the war. One of the most touching scenes of the film involves the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who visits the White House to find some sort of closure to her mourning. It's an amazingly powerful scene, and it makes something so sensationalized in the media so very personal.

Unlike many of his previous films, Moore spends a lot more of Fahrenheit 9/11 behind the camera than in front of it. The film is noticeably light on Moore's trademark 'stunts', and the ones in the film seem to be there more to appease Moore's fans and perhaps their expectations for a 'Michael Moore Film' than anything else (both could have easily been removed from the film without much effect). While there are some definite moments of humor and satire, the overall tone of the film is actually somber and emotional. Moore never seems to forget the human element in the film and he ultimately finds that empathy goes a lot further to prove a point than mockery.

Fahrenheit 9/11 will undoubtedly be the center of a great deal of discussion and debate in the weeks ahead and I think that's the point of the film. Moore didn't make a film to get people to vote one way or another, he made a film to awaken Americans to ask questions, not take everything at face value, and to do something, anything other than stand by and ride the war machine to war. It'll be interesting to see what kind of effect this has on the 2004 Presidential election as it's not out of the realm of probabilities that it might have a very real and profound effect on the election. Fahrenheit 9/11 is absolutely one of the most powerfull documentaries I've seen; it's Moore's best yet and one of the best films so far this year. Go see it!