the assassination of richard nixon is a 2004 american drama film directed by niels mueller .

it stars sean penn , don cheadle , jack thompson and naomi watts , and is based on the story of would-be assassin samuel byck , who plotted to kill richard nixon in 1974 .

it was screened in the un certain regard section at the 2004 cannes film festival .

the assassination of richard nixon

' almost a one - man show ' . . . the assassination of richard nixon
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november 24 , 1963 - richard m . nixon interviewed following president john f . kennedy ' s assassination
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actor will janowitz attends a reception for a special screening of ' the assassination of richard nixon ' on december 6 , 2004 in new york city .
actors will janowitz and oksana lada attend a reception for a special screening of ' the assassination of richard nixon ' on december 6 , 2004 in new york city .
actor ethan hawke and producer alfonso cuaron attend a reception for a special screening of ' the assassination of richard nixon ' on december 6 , 2004 in new york city .
actor aaron stanford and director niels mueller attend a reception for a special screening of ' the assassination of richard nixon ' on december 6 , 2004 in new york city .
vice president nixon : i , richard m . nixon do solemnly swear - -
think film ' s mark urman and director mary harron attend a reception for a special screening of ' the assassination of richard nixon ' on december 6 , 2004 in new york city .
producer alfonso cuaron , think film ' s mark urman and director niels mueller attend a reception for a special screening of ' the assassination of richard nixon ' on december 6 , 2004 in new york city .
narrator : richard nixon was one of the most important american presidents of the second half of the 20th century - - and also the most controversial .
man : - - that vice president richard m . nixon has been unanimously nominated to be the candidate of the republican party for the office of president of the united states .
the fbi and secret service agents continued their investigation into a possible link between the alleged plot against nixon and the assassination of sen . robert f . kennedy in los angeles last june .
on july 17 , 1969 the trial concluded . the namer’s were found not guilty of all but one charge , that of possessing two switchblade knives . the namer’s and the nixon assassination attempt then faded into history .
i picked up a cheap used version of the assassination of richard nixon simply because i spent much of my youth listening to my dad yell at the 37th president during the years of the watergate scandal , and figured that there might be some posthumous vicarious thrill that he could glean from my watching such a film with such a title .
richard m . nixon , then seeking the republican presidential nomination , addresses an audience in oregon in may 1968 .
some students of history are familiar with samuel byck’s 1974 deluded attempted assassination attempt of richard nixon by hijacking and flying a plane into the white house . or they may know about arthur bremer’s attempt on nixon in 1972 . bremer failed to get near nixon and instead successfully shot and paralyzed presidential candidate george wallace a few weeks after his failed attempt at nixon .
( l - r ) first lady pat nixon , president richard nixon , tricia nixon and edward cox at wedding reception at white house on june 12th , 1971 .
narrator : to some , it seemed that kennedy ' s assassination might open the way for nixon in the next election , but sensing the mood of the country , nixon concluded that lyndon johnson , the new president , would be unbeatable in 1964 .
narrator : an angry , resentful richard nixon strode from the beverly hilton on november 7 , 1962 , seemingly bound for political oblivion .
barring a miracle ,
said time magazine , richard nixon ' s political career was over .
john ehrlichman , nixon campaign staff : richard nixon was studiedly different to different people . and i don ' t think there ' s any one person , including his wife probably , who could sit down and write the definitive explanation of richard nixon . we all saw him differently .
based on real life events , assassination is set in 1974 and centers on a businessman who decides to take extreme measures to achieve his american dream .
richard m . nixon , then seeking the republican presidential nomination , addresses an audience in oregon in may 1968 . ap hide caption
narrator : on february 18 , 1972 , richard nixon began still another remarkable comeback , with a stunning foreign policy success .
heroic bsod : the treble whammy of being divorced , getting his loan rejected and the discovery of the attempted tyre theft ( which in turn leads to his brother disowning him ) all in the space of a few days drives sam over the edge and leads to his assassination attempt .
it is to be richard nixon ' s foreign policy and it is to be carried out with sophistication and some subtlety by henry kissinger .
drawing on material from his new book , american maelstrom , michael a . cohen shows how clinton is working from richard nixon’s comeback playbook .
yet , the one person often given short shrift when we talk about 1968 is the one who was the last man standing when all was said and done—richard nixon .
the heart of nixon’s speech , however , was directed toward the hopes and fears of those he called “the great majority of americans . ”
nearly 40 years before the obama white house denounced the wikileaks website for publishing classified documents , another president , richard nixon , was even more obsessed with the same phenomenon .
11th newscaster : good evening . the 37th president of the united states , richard m . nixon , is in china , the first american chief executive ever to visit the world ' s most populous country .
former president richard nixon meets in the oval office with top aides , left to right , h . r . haldeman , dwight chapin and john ehrlichman .
excerpted from poisoning the press : richard nixon , jack anderson , and the rise of washington ' s scandal culture by mark feldstein . copyright 2010 by mark feldstein . excerpted by permission of farrar , straus and giroux .
narrator : richard nixon loved the movie patton and watched it again and again in the white house . general george patton was a man of action , contemptuous of his critics , uncompromising , determined to win at all costs .
well meaning comparisons can sometimes do more harm than good . equating the assassination of richard nixon with one of the best plays ever written and some of the best movies ever made places a heavy burden of expectation upon this little film ' s shoulders - but they are valid reference points . this is no a - list star vehicle for sean penn ; instead , it ' s a politically daring , psychologically troubling , based - on - fact american tragedy that took years to secure funding and only got made because of the artistic integrity of those involved .
how did all of this come to pass ? in many ways , the rise of washington’s modern scandal culture began with richard nixon and jack anderson , and their blistering twenty - five - year battle symbolized and accelerated the growing conflict between the presidency and the press in the cold war era . this bitter struggle between the most embattled politician and reviled investigative reporter of their time would lead to bribery and blackmail , forgery and burglary , sexual smears and secret surveillance - - as well as the assassination plot . their story reveals not only how one president sabotaged the press , but also how this rancorous relationship continues to the present day . it was richard nixon’s ultimate revenge .
richard nixon is remembered as a ruthless politician driven at times by fear and hatred of his perceived enemies . but a new book suggests that nixon ' s paranoia was based at least in part on his own experience .
in poisoning the press : richard nixon , jack anderson and the rise of washington ' s scandal culture , mark feldstein describes the epic battle between nixon and the muckraking syndicated columnist jack anderson . feldstein follows the rise of anderson ' s investigative journalism career and explains how his decades - long face - off with nixon would become emblematic of the relationship between the press and other politicians .
as the likely democratic nominee , she will enter the general election—no matter her opponent—as the symbolic adult in the race , a candidate of competence , clear qualifications , and experience who can run a campaign predicated on the theme of uniting americans at a time of disunity—just like richard nixon in 1968 .
narrator : nixon ' s campaign amassed huge sums of money . skillful television ads appealed to democrats , blue collar workers , the south . nixon had always campaigned hard for other republicans . now he abandoned them , even dropped the party label . richard nixon campaigned as
the president .
nixon’s opponent hubert humphrey would make a remarkable comeback—from a double digit deficit at the end of september to a virtual tie with nixon on the eve of the election .
narrator : at age 56 , after 22 years of political battle , richard nixon had become the most powerful man in the world . he envisioned nothing less than a new world order with himself as its architect .
narrator : h . r . haldeman recalled that the day the war ended , richard nixon had never looked so happy . his popularity soared to the highest point of his entire career . almost 70 percent of the american people supported the president . it was not to last .
4th newscaster : in the latest sensational turn of the red espionage probe , the maryland farm of the magazine editor becomes the focus of attention .
mr . cronkite : with the 26 electoral votes in illinois , richard nixon goes over the top with 287 electoral votes , he needed 270 to win and that seems to be the 1968 election .
“jack anderson was like ahab chasing after richard nixon , this great white whale , and he plagued nixon from the very beginning of his career , ” says feldstein , a veteran journalist and former “dateline nbc” producer who has spent years researching the life and career of anderson , once one of the most widely read newspaper columnists in the country .
that led to their arrest and the downfall of the regime ,
feldstein says .
[ but ] there are no smoking - gun tapes showing nixon ordering the assassination of anderson . what hunt and liddy both said was that the order came from [ white house special counsel ] charles colson . but what hunt told me before his death was that he believed that colson was acting at the behest of the president himself . . . . i find it very difficult to believe that colson and the other aides were acting without the implicit support of president nixon . it defies logic to imagine that they would cook this up , the assassination of a journalist as prominent as jack anderson , unless they had the signal from above to do it .
goldwater was , of course , crushed at the polls—an outcome that pleased nixon , because it meant that after the greatest popular vote loss in american history , republicans were going to be looking for a less inflammatory leader , who could unite the party . someone like richard nixon .
narrator : miami beach , august 1972 , two months after the watergate break - in , a triumphant richard nixon took command at the republican national convention . narrowly elected four years earlier , nixon now wanted to win the biggest landslide in presidential history .
narrator : on august 9 , 1974 , richard milhous nixon became the first president in the history of the united states to resign from office . his staff gathered in the white house to bid him farewell , as millions of americans watched on television , some in sorrow and disbelief , others glad to see him go . richard nixon had accomplished great things as president and had been reelected overwhelmingly , but he was also widely distrusted , sometimes ridiculed , even despised .
3rd reporter : you ' ve just heard richard nixon refer to you , among all these people , as the
forgotten americans .
what do you think he ' s referring to ?
sean penn plays bicke as a man who has always been socially inept and now , as his life comes apart , descends into madness . his own frustration and the evils in the world are all the same , all somehow someone else ' s fault , and in the opening scene of
the assassination of richard nixon ,
we see him in an airport parking garage , concealing a pistol in a leg brace . he mails one last tape to leonard bernstein . he plans to hijack a plane and fly it into the white house .
mr . patrick hillings , campaign staff : during the eisenhower years , nixon became the point man . eisenhower never expected to have to get into too much political discussion , but that was one of the reasons he put young senator richard nixon on the ticket , because he could do that . so all the tough political assignments usually were given to nixon .
narrator : the fate of lyndon johnson did haunt richard nixon . he felt he had to demonstrate that most americans still supported him and that it would not benefit hanoi to stall peace negotiations .
don ' t get rattled .
pres . nixon : one constantly has the problem of either getting on top of the job or having the job get on top of you . i find that up here on top of the mountain , it is easier for me to get on top of the job .
narrator : by election night , nixon and humphrey were dead even . nixon prepared his family for the possibility of still another defeat .
mr . john ehrlichman , nixon campaign staff : richard nixon pulled it into the white house . he couldn ' t leave it alone . and so , within a week after the break - in , or maybe two weeks , he had personally involved himself in the intrigue of the whole thing . so nixon sealed his fate six days after the break - in .
family of accused nixon plotter mona el namer wife of ahmed rageh namer , accused in alleged plot to assassinate president - elect richard nixon , sits with namer’s two sisters in the family’s mud - walled home in the remote mountain village of al matawir , yemen . the two sisters are miseiak namer , left and saadiek namer . namer’s two sons are also held in the alleged plot .
12th newscaster : president nixon ' s motorcade is now sweeping toward the city of peking .
narrator : nixon promised his family a moratorium on politics in 1967 , but immediately took off on a grueling tour of four continents . traveling as a private citizen , the former vice president could still command a crowd in the most remote reaches of the globe . his trips kept him in the news and strengthened his grasp of foreign policy . once again , richard nixon was aiming for the presidency .
howard k . smith , moderator : the candidates need no introduction : the republican candidate , vice president richard m . nixon and the democratic candidate , senator john f . kennedy . according to the rules set by the candidates themselves each man - -
a day - by - day itinerary of nixon ' s trip to china .
in 1956 , murray kempton wrote , “great care had gone into the construction of the shadow which declares itself to be richard nixon . ” but in a single morning of pique , all those many years he had spent developing and honing the self - discipline and contrived earnestness that lay at the heart of his political success had been wiped away .
narrator : in the end , it proved to be one of the closest elections in history . kennedy won by only 100 , 000 votes and charges of democratic fraud were widespread . much of the winning margin came from lyndon johnson ' s texas and richard j . daley ' s chicago , but nixon refused to demand a recount .
adlai stevenson , democratic national candidate 1956 : i must say bluntly that every piece of scientific evidence we have , every lesson of history and experience indicates that a republican victory tomorrow would mean that richard nixon would probably be president of this country within the next four years . i say frankly , as a citizen more than a candidate , that i recoil at the prospect of mr . nixon as custodian of this nation ' s future , as guardian of the hydrogen bomb , as representative of america in the world , as commander - in - chief of the united states armed forces .
foregone conclusion : anyone even vaguely familiar with history is probably going to remember that richard nixon was in fact not assassinated , and that the white house was not destroyed by having an airliner fly into it .
two days later , five burglars working for the committee to re - elect richard nixon entered the watergate complex in washington . they broke into the office of the democratic national committee , placed bugs on the telephones and made their escape . but the microphones failed to work . they would have to go back .
narrator : h . r . haldeman , a former advertising executive who had been at nixon ' s side since 1956 , was made chief of staff . he was proud , he once said , to be richard nixon ' s
son of a bitch .
john ehrlichman , a lawyer and top aide during the campaign , would handle much of domestic policy .
but most people are unaware that a brooklyn man , born in yemen named ahmed rageh namer was arrested along with his two sons in 1968 and charged with conspiracy to kill president - elect richard nixon .
over the next six years richard nixon would transform himself into the “new nixon”—or , perhaps more accurately , the “new , new nixon . ” the overwrought and emotionally coiled politician of old had disappeared . in his place emerged a patient , disciplined , affable , even self - effacing nixon , who brought the two wings of a warring political party together under his leadership . during his years in the political wilderness , after the “last press conference , ” nixon exhibited a self - discipline , energy , and single - minded devotion to winning the presidency that showed why he should be ranked among the most talented politicians of the 20th century .
narrator : nixon announced he was releasing edited transcripts of the tapes to the committee and the public simultaneously . the president himself had supervised the editing .
pres . nixon : [ at the grand ole opry ] if you ' ll join us in this song , i think you ' ll recognize it when i start it . just let me get a chord . [ richard nixon plays on the piano
wild irish rose ]
the assassination of richard nixon
is about a man on a collision course ; given the stark terms in which he arranges right and wrong , he will sooner or later crack up . he hasn ' t a clue about appropriate behavior , about how others perceive him , about what may be right but is nevertheless impossible . the movie ' s title has one effect before we see it , and another afterward , when we can see the grandiosity and self - deceit that it implies . what really happens is that sam bicke assassinates himself .
helen gahagan douglas : [ 1979 interview ] when richard nixon ran for the house of representatives and unseated jerry voorhis , it was the same kind of campaign as he waged against me in 1950 , but the essence of that kind of campaign is this : to avoid the issues , you work up bogus issues , trying to play on the fears of people because if you talk about the real issues , you may lose votes . it ' s as simple as that .
there was a real sam bicke ( spelled byck ) , whose plan of course failed . niels mueller ' s movie is based on his botched assassination scheme , but many of the other details , including some scenes of mordant humor , are the invention of mueller and his co - writer , kevin kennedy . this is a character study of a marginal man who goes off the rails , and penn is brilliant at evoking how daily life itself is filled , for bicke , with countless challenges to his rigid sense of right and wrong .
narrator : on september 8 , 1974 , president gerald ford granted richard nixon a full and absolute pardon . over 70 others were found guilty of criminal acts and punished . the contradictions of nixon ' s career - - his triumphs and defeats , grand vision and petty grievances - - have left their imprint on america , but his legacy remains ambiguous .
the judgment of history ,
nixon has said ,
depends on who writes it .
narrator : on capitol hill , the judiciary committee prepared to vote on three articles of impeachment . they charged the president with obstruction of justice , abuse of power and contempt of congress .
ruckelshaus refused , in a moment of constitutional drama , to obey a presidential order to fire the special watergate prosecutor . and half an hour after the special watergate prosecutor had been fired , agents of the fbi , acting at the direction of the white house , sealed off the offices of the special prosecutor , the offices of the attorney general and the offices of the deputy attorney general .
the two men — and nixon — then discussed the idea of digging up information that hume and anderson were gay .
narrator : nixon ' s gamble paid off . the soviets did not cancel the summit . on may 22 , 1972 , richard nixon became the first american president ever to set foot inside the kremlin . nixon had done what none of his predecessors had been able to do . he had negotiated a treaty in which the two superpowers agreed to slow an arms race that had been accelerating for more than a quarter of a century . it was his greatest achievement .
six weeks after the invasion of laos , president richard nixon of the united states held a gala affair in honor of st . patrick’s day and his wife pat’s 59th birthday . three hundred guests attended , among them “bebe” robozo , the president’s best friend ; three democratic senators whose names begin with “me , ” robert abplanalp , the aerosol king of bronxville ; the howard elles coxes of new york ; irene “granny” ryan of the beverly hillbillies , and fred mcmurray , who looked mystified and said , “i don’t know why i’m here . ”
narrator : early the next morning , nixon went to the pentagon for a firsthand briefing . the military was reporting success . nixon was encouraged and praised american soldiers fighting in the jungles of southeast asia . the wife of one of those soldiers reached out to shake his hand . nixon drew a sharp contrast between the troops in vietnam and the student protesters at home .
roger morris , nixon biographer : richard nixon does not simply defeat jerry voorhis for the congress or defeat helen gahagan douglas for the senate in 1950 , he destroys these people politically and very nearly personally . and he does that in such a way as to leave a great legacy of bitterness among their supporters and even among onlookers , people who were sort of neutral observers on the side .
both harvard and yale invited nixon to apply for scholarships , but his dream of a prestigious eastern university was frustrated . it was 1930 , the great depression and harold was in the midst of his long struggle with tuberculosis .
we needed richard at home ,
hannah nixon remembered . nixon had to settle for whittier college just down the road and later said he ' d never felt disappointed . he soon became a big man on the small campus .
narrator : republicans once again pinned their presidential hopes on richard nixon . to them and to many in the press , he seemed a
new nixon ,
better prepared than the man who had lost in 1960 . but the democratic front runner , hubert humphrey , said he ' d seen it all before .
as sam ' s breakdown descends into paranoia and , in turn , into political scheming , the obvious cinematic touchstones are the key movies that were made around the time that this one is set - taxi driver , the conversation , all the president ' s men . the sweaty , untrustworthy face of richard nixon haunts sam from nearby tv screens .
narrator : the microfilm , thereafter known as
the pumpkin papers ,
provided the evidence and the publicity nixon needed . finally , after two controversial trials , hiss was found guilty of perjury and imprisoned . the hiss case polarized american opinion about richard nixon . to conservatives , he had fearlessly rooted out a dangerous subversive , but in the eyes of many liberals , nixon had destroyed an honorable man and set the stage for more unscrupulous communist hunters . but there was no doubt that , at the age of 35 , the congressman from whittier had become a national figure .
narrator : when richard was 12 , his younger brother arthur suddenly fell ill and died . and within eight years , harold , the eldest brother and family favorite , would succumb to tuberculosis . hannah nixon recalled ,
it was arthur ' s passing that first stirred within richard a determination to help make up for our loss by making us very proud of him . he may have felt a kind of guilt that harold and arthur were dead and he was alive ,
she remembered .
the nixon - kennedy debates would forever change the way americans chose their presidents .
editor’s note : in “ the nixon sightings , ” steve hess recalls five key moments in his time working with richard m . nixon . each vignette offers a peek into some of the events that drove a young senator from california to the oval office . this series was written as background to hess’ new book the professor and the president : daniel patrick moynihan in the nixon white house ( brookings press , december 2014 ) , a “dramatic narrative” of events in 1969 - 1970 , told in the present tense .
vice pres . nixon : i now declare that john f . kennedy has been elected president of the united states and lyndon johnson vice president of the united states .
narrator : richard nixon was favorite to win the republican presidential nomination in 1960 . events of the last four years had made him one of the most visible vice presidents in history . during a tour of south america , he had faced down angry leftist mobs that spat upon him and his wife and attacked their motorcade . maintaining his composure throughout the ordeal , nixon returned home to a hero ' s welcome . and in moscow , he had confronted the leader of the communist world , nikita khrushchev , in an impromptu televised debate .
mr . john ehrlichman , nixon campaign staff : the moratorium itself was seen by richard nixon as 200 , 000 people out there on the mall , protesting his foreign policy while at the same time , the polls were showing that 58 - 59 percent of the american people supported him in his foreign policy . and he would look out the window and he would say ,
i simply cannot permit foreign policy to be made in the streets of washington .
narrator : nixon was less aggressive in 1956 than in earlier campaigns . the press began to write of a
new nixon ,
but the vice president remained the democrats ' favorite target .
narrator : even the president ' staff watched as a parade of witnesses implicated haldeman , ehrlichman and others high in the administration and the nixon campaign . but in the first month of testimony , the president himself escaped direct charges of wrongdoing . then the committee summoned its star witness , john dean . in a seven - hour opening statement , dean described the atmosphere of the nixon white house .
president richard milhous nixon : [ august 9 , 1974 ] you are here to say goodbye to us and we don ' t have a good word for it in english . the best is au revoir . we ' ll see you again .
the white house obsession with anderson — whose
washington merry go - round
column was the wikileaks of its day — is detailed in a new book being published this month , “poisoning the press : richard nixon , jack anderson and the rise of washington’s scandal culture , ” by journalism professor mark feldstein . the book relies in part on newly unearthed tapes from the national archives that document how nixon’s aides plotted to destroy anderson by planting forged evidence with him and spreading false rumors about his sex life and that of one of his associates .
pres . nixon : our distinguished guests and my fellow americans , i proudly present to you the man whose name i will submit to the congress of the united states for confirmation as the vice president of the united states , congressman gerald ford of michigan .
mr . roger morris , nixon biographer : richard nixon is forever embittered by the experience and - - taken with the example , i think - - feels that never again will he be caught short , never again will his opponents outdo him and never again will he trust the ordinary , normal and honest devices of american politics to function as they ' re supposed to .
vice pres . nixon : [ announcing gubernatorial candidacy ] i shall not be a candidate for president of the united states in 1964 . i shall be a candidate for governor of the state of california in 1962 .
nixon will not be writing the making of the president 1964 . i go home to washington , a city now in mourning .
vice pres . nixon : well , of course , it was the greatest of the campaign and i think this means that we ' re on the way to victory in new york .
narrator :
richard had his father ' s fire ,
his mother , hannah milhous nixon once said ,
and my tact .
she seemed the opposite of the loud , aggressive husband her quaker family always believed beneath her : soft - spoken , tightly controlled , never allowing anger to get the better of her . she insisted her second son be called
richard ,
not
dick ,
taught him to read before he entered school and made sure he said his prayers daily and went four times to quaker meeting on sundays .
narrator : one of the largest audiences in television history watched on may 17th as senator sam ervin opened the investigation of nixon ' s re - election campaign and the watergate break - in .
narrator : for two years , the burglary of ellsberg ' s psychiatrist ' s office had remained one of the most closely - guarded secrets of the nixon white house . now , dean ' s revelation suggested that the watergate break - in was not an isolated event . it was part of a web of illegal activities ordered by the president ' s men .
narrator : suddenly , nixon faced a scandal of his own . the new york post reported that wealthy supporters had set up a secret fund for nixon ' s personal use .
narrator : nixon was swept into office with 60 percent of the vote , part of a nationwide republican surge . his boyhood goal to enter politics had been achieved .
narrator : on election night , nixon watched the returns with two of his closest aides , chief of staff h . r . haldeman and special counsel chuck colson .
america , 1974 . samuel bicke ( penn ) is suffering a breakdown . unable to lie to customers at work , he ' s a failure as a salesman as well as a failure as a husband . so he figures the only way to give his life significance is to target the greatest liar of the age - president richard nixon .
ralph de toledano , early nixon biographer : nixon realized that once he had committed himself , that if everything collapsed , if hiss was exonerated or if the charges were not proved to the hilt , he would be badly hurt . now , i don ' t think he would have been permanently hurt , but certainly , i think if that had happened , richard nixon would never have become a senator and never would have become president of the united states .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
second - grade teacher : i taught richard nixon in the second grade here in yorba linda . he sat in the back seat and always came to school with a white starched shirt with long sleeves . he was always a quiet , dignified little fellow and a very good student .
narrator : within hours , nixon ordered elliott richardson to fire archibald cox . but nixon had miscalculated . richardson refused .
at various points nixon realized the depth of the hole he was digging and fell back on insincere and formulaic platitudes : “i appreciate the press coverage of the campaign , ” and “i congratulate governor brown , ” who , he said , has “the greatest honor” of any governor in america . his back and forth between sincerity and artifice offered the press conference’s most revealing moment—a telling indication of the wide gap between the real nixon and the manufactured one .
nixon decided to use force to end the vietnam war with
the christmas bombing .
vice pres . nixon : there must be a free exchange of ideas . there are some instances where you may be ahead of us , for example , in the development of your - - of the thrust of your rockets for the investigation of outer space . there may be some instances - - for example , color television - - where we ' re ahead of you , but in order for both of us - - [ khrushchev interrupts ] for both of us to benefit - - for both of us to benefit - - you see , you never concede anything .
the mood in room 724 of the beverly hilton on the morning of november 7 , 1962 , could best be described as funereal . after all , nine hours earlier richard nixon’s political career had , from all appearances , died . nearly two years to the day after his bid to be president of the united states had been narrowly rejected by the american people , california voters gave him a similar , if more stinging , rebuke—by re - electing his opponent , the state’s liberal democratic governor , pat brown .
and on august 3 , 1948 , shortly after the birth of nixon ' s second daughter , julie , an unlikely drama began that would make the issue of communist subversion front - page news and make congressman nixon a national figure almost overnight .
narrator : the emphasis on law and order appealed to millions of americans . nixon ' s television commercials hammered it home .
like the man who won the white house 48 years ago , clinton may not be the most popular candidate in the world ; she might have high unfavorabilities ; and may be viewed with deep contempt by her political opponents . but like nixon , by positioning herself as a more palatable option in a year of highly unpalatable presidential options and the safest , least likely to rock the boat candidate for the presidency this year , she stands a good chance of delivering the next inaugural address—and standing in the same spot where richard nixon delivered his 48 years earlier .
he was sort of the high guru of the kennedy government - in - waiting in cambridge . and the idea that these kennedy government political operatives were going to be demanding to run barefoot through all the most private files of the nixon white house was utterly appalling and absolutely outrageous .
president - elect kennedy : [ taking oath of office ] i , john fitzgerald kennedy , do solemnly swear that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states and will , to the best of my ability , preserve , protect and defend the constitution of the united states , so help me god .
thousands fled . if the offensive were not stopped , the war would be lost and with it , nixon feared , the presidency . but if he ordered a u . s . counterattack , the soviets might cancel the upcoming arms control summit in moscow , a vital part of nixon ' s grand design . most of his advisers urged nixon not to take any action that might jeopardize the summit . once again , nixon overruled them .
narrator : boating in the florida keys , nixon was relaxed and confident . he was running far ahead of humphrey in the polls and the vietnam war was splintering the democrats .
nixon soon chimed in , referring to unsubstantiated rumors about the sex life of anderson and his former employer , columnist drew pearson .
narrator : richard nixon was born in the tiny southern california desert town of yorba linda in 1913 . he grew up among the people he would one day call
forgotten americans ,
and
the silent majority ,
hard - working , church - going people , farmers , shop keepers , people with an inbred respect for authority and an unyielding belief in the american dream .
narrator : by the end of summer , nixon ' s refusal to turn over the tapes and john dean ' s testimony had badly eroded the public ' s support for the president . but after months of unrelenting press coverage , nixon sensed that americans were growing weary of watergate . he moved to take the offensive . for the first time in 14 months , nixon held a televised news conference and tried to turn the persistent questioning to his advantage .
the white house obsession soon intensified after anderson — thanks to the legwork of his young associate brit hume — got hold of a “smoking gun” memo written by a washington lobbyist tying a $ 400 , 000 political contribution to help underwrite the cost of the 1972 republican national convention to the nixon justice department’s decision to drop an antitrust investigation of the itt telecommunications conglomerate .
nixon fired special watergate prosecutor archibald cox in
the saturday night massacre .
senator joseph mccarthy : and call the roll . and call the roll of the traitors who plunder .
returning home , nixon landed at a small air force base in maine where the military crowd gave him a warm welcome . but the extraordinary journey that had taken richard nixon all the way from yorba linda to the white house , to peking and moscow , from humiliating defeats to the pinnacle of world power seemed to be coming to an end . most americans had lost faith in the president . they saw a man who had repeatedly lied to cover up his crimes , had subverted the political process and undermined the constitution .
reprinted and adapted from american maelstrom : the 1968 election and the politics of division with the permission of the author , michael a . cohen , and the publisher , oxford university press .
narrator : just 14 years after he was tapped by a group of small - town businessmen to run for congress in california , richard nixon stood at the top of his party . as he mapped out an ambitious 50 - state campaign , he was challenged by his opponent , john f . kennedy , to a series of televised debates , the first in american history . even when hospitalized for two weeks with a knee injury , nixon remained confident , anxious for the debates to begin , eager once again to use television to talk directly to the voters .
pres . nixon : [ inaugural address ] the greatest honor history can bestow is the title of
peacemaker .
this honor now beckons america .
pres . nixon : in giving you these records , blemishes and all , i am placing my trust in the basic fairness of the american people .
narrator : was nixon on or off the ticket ? general eisenhower had been frustratingly silent . finally , after three days of waiting , a weary , anxious nixon received eisenhower ' s phone call .
narrator : cox and his staff requested sensitive white house files . nixon reluctantly complied . cox also demanded nine of the president ' s tapes . nixon refused . cox took his case to court .
pres . nixon : [ 1972 republican national convention ] tonight , i again proudly accept your nomination for president of the united states .
even before mccord ' s letter , nixon had ordered john dean to write a report that would exonerate the white house of wrongdoing .
washington — tricia nixon and edward finch cox are reported by friends to be on the verge of getting married much sooner than expected .
narrator : in may , the president and mrs . nixon welcomed the returning pow ' s to the white house .
narrator : nixon ordered the most drastic escalation of the war since 1968 , massive sustained bombing of hanoi and the mining of haiphong harbor , risking a full - scale confrontation with the soviets by putting their supply ships in peril . after explaining his decision to the american people , he made a direct appeal to the kremlin .
narrator : fully recovered , eisenhower announced he would seek reelection , but did not guarantee nixon a place on the ticket . privately , he thought him immature , a political liability . but nixon refused to consider the president ' s offer of a cabinet position instead of the vice presidency .
nonetheless , nixon’s words played on the same prejudices that animated wallace’s supporters . implicit in his speech—and in his middle - ground positioning—was a darker and more divisive message . those shouting and demonstrating , who didn’t work , who hadn’t served , and who didn’t pay taxes were clearly not included in nixon’s vision of america . nixon’s description of the “real voice of america” left out black voters—despite his kennedy - like appeal—the hippies , the feminists , and the agitators . in time , this us - versus - them construct would become an explicit feature of nixon’s political rhetoric .
narrator : just days before , the supreme court had ruled in the case of the united states v . richard nixon .
the president must turn over the tapes to the special prosecutor .
not even a president , said the court , could withhold evidence in a criminal trial . nixon returned to washington , still calculating the odds . he knew the house of representatives would vote to indict him . there was a chance he might survive a trial in the senate as long as there was no irrefutable evidence that he had personally committed a crime . but nixon himself possessed that evidence , a tape that plainly showed he ' d obstructed justice . his conversation with h . r . haldeman on june 23 , 1972 , when nixon ordered his aides to divert the fbi .
mr . butler , judiciary committee : there are frightening implications for the future of our country if we do not impeach the president of the united states . if we fail to impeach , we have condoned and left unpunished a course of conduct totally inconsistent with the reasonable expectations of the american people .
he is about to sign a book contract with doubleday and i agree to take charge of the research . theodore white’s account of the kennedy - nixon contest , the making of the president 1960 , had explored campaign management , revolutionized political journalism , and been a massive best - seller . now nixon proposes to challenge white with his own version of the making of the president 1964 . the premise is that the former presidential candidate ( no longer a contender having lost his race for california governor ) is better able to explain how the process really works .
the enigmatic nature of the nixon presidency combined comparatively progressive legislative initiatives with a flagrant abuse of presidential power and the public trust . even today , decades after his death , richard nixon inspires divided passions in america . nixon was a self - made man who rose from modest quaker beginnings in california to the most powerful office in the world . his story is filled with unlikely successes — a staunch anti - communist , he improved u . s . - soviet relations and surprised the world by opening up relations with communist china . some credit him with ending the war in vietnam . but nixon ' s career was ultimately undone by his own actions . he abused the power of the office , resigned in humiliation , and tainted the presidency in the process . admired and reviled , loved and hated , the man and his life continue to fascinate us .
sen . nixon : [ campaigning ] all a democratic congress offers , if elected this year , is a return to the policies of the truman administration .
nixon ' s failed attempts at ' poisoning the press ' writer mark feldstein says muckraking columnist jack anderson cut ethical corners to get nixon exposes , and the president responded with fury . he recounts surprising details of the long - running battle between the journalist and the politician in poisoning the press .
narrator : nixon ' s call to the
forgotten americans
appealed to a bread band of voters , mostly white middle class , hawkish , patriotic . it was a group that felt ignored and excluded in the upheavals of the 60s . and the strategy seemed to be working . nixon held his strong lead into the fall .
narrator : when he appeared as the guest of honor at a billy graham crusade in tennessee , nixon had been in office 16 months . a majority of americans still backed his vietnam policy , but the furor over cambodia had deepened the divisions nixon had promised to mend . even here , surrounded by thousands who supported him , the president could not escape the ceaseless storm of protest .
narrator :
on sunday morning , june 18th ,
richard nixon later wrote ,
i left for key biscayne . when i got to my house , i could smell coffee brewing in the kitchen and i went in to get a cup . there was a miami herald on the counter and i glanced over the front page . the main headline was about the vietnam withdrawals . there was a small story in the middle of the page on the left - hand side .
narrator : away from the convention floor , eisenhower huddled with nixon . the young senator represented the growing power of the west coast and he was a rough - and - tumble campaigner . the general offered him the vice presidency .
november 13 , 1968 : a mystery witness told a brooklyn grand jury tuesday that a yemeni immigrant and his two sons tried to get him to join in a plot to kill president elect richard m . nixon and offered him money to participate . he testified an hour and 20 minutes .
narrator : nixon left washington and for the next two months remained in virtual isolation .
one of pearson ' s foes was richard nixon , who had been elected to congress in 1946 and became a senator in 1950 . in 1952 , after nixon was tapped to become dwight eisenhower ' s running mate , anderson and pearson wrote a column about the money nixon may have taken from corporate interests . that led to nixon delivering his famous
checkers speech ,
in which he decried his opponents and stated that no matter what anyone said , he would not return his daughters ' dog , checkers , which had been given to them as a gift .


the beacon is a 2009 american horror/thriller film .

it is the second film made by sabbatical pictures .

it was later officially renamed haunting at the beacon .

the film was shot in the rogers hotel in waxahachie , texas .

the film 's theatrical debut is in seven cities in october 2009 .

the film debuted at the 2009 paranoia film festival where it won for best picture and best actress ( teri polo ) .

it has been selected to be one of the films for the 2009 la femme film festival .

the film was directed and written by michael stokes .

the beacon ( film )

the emerging filmmaker competition winner will receive an award as well as have their film showcased alongside top talent at beacon independent festival .
all screenings are at the cinehub located in beacon , ny on the following date : • december 10 emerging filmmaker competition cine beacon has partnered with biff to give an emerging filmmaker , currently attending a hudson valley college the opportunity to screen their work alongside top talent and films at the beacon independent film festival .
the left side of the beacon river pool - eye level . photo credit : katie hellmuth martin
but inside , he introduced the film at the beacon theatre as cast and key creators reunited , mocking the famous line of his famous character , deranged driver travis bickle .
© copyright beacon arts community association . all content used by permission . | privacy policy
the latest film from the collaborators of the qatsi anthology , visitors world premiered at the 2013 toronto international film festival and opened theatrically earlier this year .
our mission is to encourage and celebrate the film community in beacon and the hudson valley while building a deep bond between the community and filmmakers . we want to bridge both sides of the hudson valley through the explosion of film arts in our area .
given the impressionistic nature of the film , beacon film society is collaborating with beahive on this screening , the perfect space for us to collectively immerse in a unique cinematic experience . thank you , scott tillitt , for your generosity !
we were thrilled to work with director , trevor tillman on the website for his exciting sci - fi film , “beacon” ( urltoken ) . this futuristic film needed a sleek and modern site that showcased the other wordly production photography and pre - production drawings that brought the film to life . it’s a must see film . congrats to the cast and crew !
sound good to you ? share this page on social media and let your friends know about tribeca film festival - reservoir dogs panel at beacon theater .
find your beacon & inspire white bracelet . $ 5 . 00 for those not needing postage .
don ' t let the name fool you . . . the organizers of this event - the beacon recreation department - are inspired by all
each month cine beacon will showcase one student film as part of their monthly screening events . up to 11 student films will be screened may 2015 – dec 2015 . two judges will rate these films based on the following criteria : creativity , plot , editing , cinematography , and ability to engage . the top student film will be announced in may and have the honor of screening at beacon independent film festival .
cine beacon offers filmmakers local to beacon , ny and the hudson valley an opportunity to showcase their work with the community from which it originated . it also allows filmmakers an opportunity to network and learn from their peers local to the hudson valley .
© 2018 beacon herald . all rights reserved . a member of sun media community newspapers part of postmedia network .
please note : the term beacon theater and / or tribeca film festival - reservoir dogs panel as well as all associated graphics , logos , and / or other trademarks , tradenames or copyrights are the property of the beacon theater and / or tribeca film festival - reservoir dogs panel and are used herein for factual descriptive purposes only . we are in no way associated with or authorized by the beacon theater and / or tribeca film festival - reservoir dogs panel and neither that entity nor any of its affiliates have licensed or endorsed us to sell tickets , goods and or services in conjunction with their events .
* please indicate in the description of the film which requirement has been met to avoid immediate disqualification .
so when you’re viewing the film again in nine months pay attention to that scene .
the aerial shots in beacon point were shot using a drone helicopter camera rig . the drone was operated by 2 people and flown over waterfalls , mountain tops and through the woods .
as / film reports , steven e . de souza , who wrote the movie with jeb stuart , revealed this factoid at a recent 30th anniversary screening of his film the running man .
jodie foster attends a special 40th anniversary screening of
taxi driver
during the 2016 tribeca film festival at the beacon theatre on thursday , april 21 , 2016 , in new york . ( photo by charles sykes / invision / ap )
robert de niro bypassed waiting media on the red carpet thursday night before heading into a tribeca film festival screening of
taxi driver
in celebration of the iconic film ' s 40th anniversary .
jodie foster attends a special 40th anniversary screening of
taxi driver
during the 2016 tribeca film festival at the beacon theatre on thursday , april 21 , 2016 , in new york . ( photo by charles sykes / invision / ap ) ( the associated press )
* * * the film must be shot in the hudson valley , ny or the filmmaker must be a resident of the hudson valley or currently attending a hudson valley college . indicate which applies to your film in the description of the film . films not meeting the requirements will be disqualified immediately . entry fees are non - refundable . please read the rules below . * * *
the washington free beacon ' s morning email lays out everything you need to know about the world of politics , foreign affairs , and national security right in your inbox .
a woman , grieving over the death of her young son , and her husband move into the charming old beacon apartments where she begins to see the apparition of a boy who was killed there .
actresses , actors and film crew members were out in full force this week for the production of the new ghostbusters movie .
selected films : • 1 efc film screens per short film event • a representative from the film must be present at screening to show film . • short films must submit a digital file through dropbox or google drive for screening purposes . ( no dvds ) • if we can’t play your media then it will not be screened . • a media kit isn’t required , but remember to include a 100 word synopsis of your • • project and a still short or one sheet . • all selected films may be excerpted for publicity purposes . cine beacon reserves the right to promote any film to broadcast or internet media as required to market the screening or our parent organization . • cine beacon reserves the right to interpret the guidelines and enforce them at its discretion . they can be changed without notice , so keep checking back .
beacon point throws a bunch of people into the wilderness , adds some native american myth making , a pinch of aliens and slathers it all in superfluous storylines and exposition .
serenity received mostly positive reviews from film critics , with a
fresh
rating of 81 % [ 8 ] from the movie review website rotten tomatoes , which compiles reviews from a wide range of film critics . ebert & roeper gave the film
two thumbs up ,
and the san francisco chronicle called it a triumph , [ 9 ] while the new york times described it as a modest but superior science fiction film . [ 10 ]
selected films • a representative from the film must be present at screening to show film . • short films must submit a digital file through dropbox or google drive for screening purposes . ( no dvds ) • if we can’t play your media then it will not be screened . • a media kit isn ' t required , but remember to include a 100 word synopsis of your project and a still short or one sheet . • all selected films may be excerpted for publicity purposes . cine beacon reserves the right to promote any film to broadcast or internet media as required to market the screening or our parent organization . • cine beacon reserves the right to interpret the guidelines and enforce them at its discretion . they can be changed without notice , so keep checking back .
“beyond the wilderness” , a short film drama directed by jackie illera is now live at beyondthewilderness . com . the director required an easy to update website for her production so she could share news and updates . we selected squarespace as the platform to showcase the film trailer , cast and crew , and production still photography .
however , some reviewers felt the film was unable to overcome its television origins , and did not successfully accomplish the transition to the big screen . usa today wrote that
the characters are generally uninteresting and one - dimensional , and the futuristic western - style plot grows tedious
while variety declared that the film
bounces around to sometimes memorable effect but rarely soars
.
this is one festival i wish i could have attended in person . well organized , filmmaker friendly and responsive to emails . thanks again for screening my film and hopefully will be back with another film soon ! : )
sonny bunch is executive editor of the washington free beacon . prior to joining the beacon , he served as a staff writer at the washington times , an assistant editor at the weekly standard , and an editorial assistant at roll call . he has also worked at the public relations and nonprofit management firm berman and company . sonny’s work has appeared in the above outlets , the wall street journal , commentary , national review , the new atlantis , policy review , and elsewhere . a 2004 graduate of the university of virginia , sonny lives in washington , d . c . his twitter handle is @ sonnybunch .
hey guys ! thanks for hanging in there for the last few months while we have been super busy with client related work and school . this is our first official film and it is not necessarily the direction we are heading with our channel but we thought you might enjoy it ! it is a epic sci fi that is set during a futuristic time period where the atmosphere has been diminished . healers such as charley in this film must fire a beacon into the sky to try and repair it . this film was made for our school final and on a 0 $ budget . sci - fi short movie - full hd
can i submit my film as a “rough cut” ? absolutely . please indicate your estimated completion date , and your intentions for the project .
serenity is a 2005 science - fiction film written and directed by joss whedon . it is set in the universe of the canceled fox science fiction television series firefly , taking place a few months after the events of the final episode . like the television series that spawned it , serenity is a science fiction western , using elements of both genres . the film was released in the us on september 30 , 2005 .
copy of a dvd - it ' ll be packed with all of our chapters leading up to the actual short film , and other featurettes .
a group of hikers on the appalachian trail become lost and stumble across an ancient secret that threatens their survival . beacon point is a sci - fi thriller full of suspense and surprises . you’ll never want to go camping again .
what are the submission deadlines for biff 2017 ? we encourage you to submit your film before january 15 , to take advantage of lower submission fees .
by submitting this form , you are granting : the daily beacon , , , , , , urltoken permission to email you . you may unsubscribe via the link found at the bottom of every email . ( see our email privacy policy for details . ) emails are serviced by constant contact .
- a process taking decades , to support human life , to be new earths . the central planets formed the alliance . ruled by an interplanetary parliament , the alliance was a beacon of civilization . the savage outer planets were not so enlightened and refused alliance control . the war was devastating , but the alliance ' s victory over the independents ensured a safer universe . and now everyone can enjoy the comfort , and enlightenment of true civilization .
am i required to obtain rights for copyrighted material included in my film ? legally , clearance for copyrighted material included in your film must be obtained before public screening . biff does not check for , nor take responsibility for the inclusion of uncleared materials in film submissions or selections . filmmakers are responsible for securing festival clearance rights for music , stock footage or any other material , to avoid potential rights infringements .
despite some gorgeous scenery – and i mean that sincerely , this looks absolutely fabulous for an independent feature – beacon point doesn’t really know what it wants to do with itself ; flip - flopping around till it reaches its ambiguous end . whilst there’s only so much you can do with the scenario of ‘people get lost in woods and eaten’ , what beacon point does try to do doesn’t gel and leads to a fairly unfulfilling event . a bit like hiking in a sense .
on october 5 , 2005 , universal also made the first nine minutes of serenity available online . [ 4 ] a browser plugin allowed the viewer to see the opening of the film in full - screen broadcast quality ( bandwidth permitting ) . the clip was removed a few weeks later .
australian audiences were the first outside north america to get preview screenings . after an exclusive sydney test screening , melbourne held a public screening on july 21 , 2005 . this was followed by a film festival screening on the gold coast on july 22 . public preview screenings were held in adelaide and sydney on august 1 , and perth on august 4 . further screenings were held in victoria , tasmania , and queensland in late august . a showing of the finished film billed as the
gala premiere
was held at the edinburgh international film festival on august 22 , [ 1 ] followed by an interview with whedon the next day , [ 2 ] and preview screenings across the united kingdom and ireland on august 24 , in london , birmingham , manchester and dublin . several of the screenings in all the countries featured the attendance of joss whedon and the film ' s cast , followed by a q & a session with the audience . whedon also attended two q & a sessions after sold - out screenings of the finished film in melbourne and sydney on september 12 and 13 .
it was one of the best experiences of my entire career ,
she said .
we were like a guerrilla film group . we were grabbing the stuff , grabbing the shots , and it was really thrilling .
another element to the film that i really enjoyed were the intense motorcycle chases . this is probably as similar to the television show that the movie got besides using the names of the characters . despite not being a huge action fan , i still found the chase scenes to be very entertaining and had me way more into motorcycles than i thought i would be .
an opera unmasked presentation of an opera on film : the terrific vienna state opera 2005 production , starring anna netrebko , leo nucci , rolando villazon . with english subtitles .
awards serenity won film of the year awards from film 2005 [ 5 ] and filmfocus . [ 6 ] it also won ign film ' s best sci - fi , best story and best trailer awards and was runner up for the overall best movie [ 7 ] ( batman begins received first place ) . won the 7th annual ' user tomato awards ' for best sci - fi movie of 2005 at rotten tomatoes . it also won nebula award for best script for 2005 . more recently serenity won the 2006 viewers choice spacey award for favourite movie .
in celebration of its anniversary , tarantino brings his own 35mm print from his archives to tribeca for a special screening . following the film , tarantino and members of the cast will take part in a conversation .
do you give out awards ? for our 5th season , biff will announce a juried best - film award . please stay tuned for details .
overall , the film was pretty hilarious , and i don’t regret seeing it . the best time to go see this movie would be if you are looking for something light and funny to go see with some friends . while i do not feel that this film was groundbreaking in any way , it was a nice distraction from responsibilities for a few hours .
emerging filmmaker competition rules : • may – november ( september excluded ) • up to 11 short films ( documentary / narrative / experimental ) • up to 10 minutes in length • must currently be attending a hudson valley college ( westchester , rockland , orange , ulster , dutchess , sullivan , putnam , greene , columbia , albany , or rensselaer county ) and be clearly indicated on each short . • 2 judges will determine a winner based on the following criteria ( scale of 1 - 10 ) : creativity plot editing cinematography ability to engage • if there is a tie , a third judge will be brought in as a tie breaker • all forms of 2d film are accepted . • all submission must be in english or have english subtitles . • student may submit only 1 film per competition cycle • winning film will be announced may 1st and will be screened at the 2016 beacon independent film festival
visitors reveals humanity’s trancelike relationship with technology , which , when commandeered by extreme emotional states , produces massive effects far beyond the human species . comprised of only seventy - four shots , the film is visceral , offering the audience an experience beyond information about the moment in which we live .
joss whedon , the oscar - and emmy - nominated writer / director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of buffy the vampire slayer and angel , now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut , serenity .
• film must be shot in the hudson valley ( westchester , rockland , orange , ulster , dutchess , sullivan , putnam , greene , columbia , albany , or rensselaer county ) .
there is an homage to the 1956 movie forbidden planet . in that other movie , nearly 50 years earlier , a search and rescue mission has been launched to discover the fate of the bellerophon expedition to the planet altair iv , which had stopped reporting back to earth shortly after arriving at its destination . the rescue ship is designated united planets cruiser c57 - d . in serenity , mal and crew follow a beacon to the crashed
research + rescue
ship in which they find the recording that reveals the secret fate of the miranda project . the designation
c57d
is visible in one exterior and two interior shots of the crashed ship .
this film , which is very loosely based on the television show of the same name , is perfect if you ' re just looking for a laugh . if you were a massive fan of the show , though , you may be let down a little .
mal reaches the second transmitter and finds that it is inconveniently located on a platform surrounded by a large drop . he is about to attempt to reach the platform when the operative shows up . they have a stand - off , which results in mal being quicker on the draw and shooting the stun gun out of the operative ' s hand . mal then attempts to reach the transmitter , but the operative follows him . a fight begins between the two men , with the operative employing the same pressure point that killed the alliance doctor at the opening of the film — however , in mal ' s case , that particular nerve cluster fell victim to a piece of shrapnel during the war , and mal had it moved .
director martin scorsese , who was a no - show on the red carpet , also attended . cast members jodie foster , cybill shepherd and the screenwriter , paul schrader , posed for photos and shared memories with reporters about their roles in the film considered by some to be in the top 100 of all time .
and i didn ' t like the hot pants . i was embarrassed to have to walk down the street like that ,
foster said . the film ' s frank violence , she added ,
today looks like nothing , but was ahead of its time .
bigelow and boal linger on the algiers itself—we are made to feel the desperation of the young men being beaten and mock - executed by the police , as well as the frustration of the cops trying to find the gun used to fire on them—but everything else feels rushed , compressed , condensed . our introduction to each set of players is modest and larded up with expository dialogue ; the trial of the cops and the security guard who joined them in their extralegal efforts at the end of the film is too succinct , though its brevity helps highlight the absurdity and injustice of the not - guilty verdict that inevitably comes crashing down . as such , it ' s sometimes hard to tell whose movie , exactly , this is .
“visit ors turns its predecessors’ concepts inside out… here , time slows to a near - standstill as the film peers into humanity’s troubled soul , glimpsed through the individual faces , which sometimes appear to be studying us as intently as we are studying them . ” – the new york times .
you sometimes get the sense that the focus of this film should be dismukes ( john boyega ) , an armed guard keeping an eye on a grocery store who gets roped into the algiers mess . as a black man also charged with upholding order , dismukes awkwardly straddles both worlds , at one point telling an abused young suspect that the kid ' s job is to survive the night . this is some of boyega ' s best work—his shaking hands as he realizes he may take the fall for the actions of krauss and his crew say more than any lines of dialogue could—but he is simply absent from large portions of the film , and we see almost nothing from his pov after the trial begins .
but who left that body i hear you ask ? well , it wasn’t drake as there are no antlers around . no , it’s down to some kind of malevolent creature that has something to do with aliens and / or native americans . after more walking then fellowship of the ring , the plot slips into neutral and beacon point becomes an exercise in who is going to be the next one to die .
the entire firefly set had to be rebuilt from scratch for the film , using frozen images from the firefly dvd set . zoic , the cg - rendering company that produced the graphics for the series , also had to perform a complete overhaul of their computer model of serenity , as its television model would not stand up to high - definition cinema screens ( and future hd dvd resolution ) . the set for the failed colony , miranda , was filmed on location at diamond ranch high school in pomona , california . ( the building into which the alliance ship is crashed is the drhs band and orchestra ' s rehearsal room . )
something else that caught my attention was the chemistry between shepard playing jon baker and michael peña playing frank “ponch” poncherello . the two were perhaps the most convincing couple of the film and helped to liven up the plot . for me , shepard’s character was as equally funny and easy to connect to ; although , peña’s ability to oversexualize women at random moments did leave me a little uneasy .
in an earlier cut of the movie , gruber and his terrorist henchmen synchronize matching tag heuer watches . as mcclane kills the baddies , he notices that the timepieces are all the same . and when he offers “clay” the cigarette , he spots the same watch .
the film opens with simon tam ( sean maher ) in the process of breaking his sister river ( summer glau ) out of an alliance facility where she is being experimented upon . after the pair escape into a ship , the adventure is revealed to be a recording being viewed by the operative , an alliance agent working on behalf of parliament with unspecified ( but clearly very great ) authority and responsibility .
alex smith recent woodstock transplant alex and his brother andrew recently made winter in the blood . their first feature , the slaughter rule , premiered at the 2002 sundance film festival . they are writing an amazon originals pilot , adapting the graphic novel son of the gun for fox searchlight and remembering laughter for director rodrigo garcía , and have written for hbo , warner bros . , disney , sony , and fx .
serenity ' s international box office results were mixed , with strong openings in the uk , portugal and russia , but poor results in spain , australia , france and italy . universal international pictures cancelled the film ' s theatrical release in at least seven countries , planning to release it directly to dvd instead . the box office income outside the united states was $ 13 . 3 million , with a worldwide total of $ 38 . 8 million , [ 16 ] slightly less than the film ' s $ 39 million budget , which doesn ' t include the promotion and advertising costs . the film ' s creators and supporters are hoping that strong dvd sales , similar to those of the firefly television series , may lead to a sequel production . as of 2006 , joss whedon himself has stated in at least one online interview that because of lackluster box - office performance , serenity will not see a sequel . [ source ? ]
universal also utilized a viral marketing campaign , producing five short videos that were released on the internet between august 16 and september 5 . these short films , known as the
r . tam sessions ,
depicted excerpts of counselling sessions with the character river tam while she was being held at a
learning facility
known only as
the academy
. the counsellor in these sessions is played by joss whedon himself . taking place before the events of the film or the television series , the videos shed some light on the experiments and torture
the academy
conducted on river . they
document
her change from a shy child prodigy to the mentally unstable character of the television series . [ 3 ] one aspect of river ' s psyche often overlooked is that once the secret of miranda came out , she no longer was unstable . presumably , the visit of the alliance officials happened during these sessions .
in the film , schrader ' s bickle , a vietnam war vet , becomes increasing agitated by the violence and sleaze of the city he sees as a night taxi driver . he grows obsessed with a beautiful presidential campaign worker , betsy ( played by shepherd ) , as his mental state deteriorates , culminating in a violent shooting .
go behind the scenes of the mission : impossible movies , check out the latest videos and trailers , and see which spy movies topped the box office in our mission : impossible guide .
in this april 9 , 2016 file photo , ed skrein arrives at the mtv movie awards in burbank , calif . a week after his casting in the upcoming “hellboy” reboot sparked outcries of whitewashing , skrein has withdrawn from the film . he was cast as ben daimio in the “hellboy” reboot “rise of the blood queen .
many objected to the role not going to an asian - american actor . the character is japanese - american in mike mignola’s “hellboy” comics . ( photo by jordan strauss / invision / ap , file )
when news broke of dax shepard’s plan to direct a modern version of “chips” based on the classic ' 70s television series , the idea was ( not surprisingly ) met with mixed reviews . personally , i have only seen the show once or twice in my 19 years of life , so i didn ' t have high expectations for this film and went into the theater with an open mind .
a better argument could be made for this being the story of larry ( algee smith ) , given that he has an actual arc and undergoes meaningful change . a callow performer concerned only with fame and fortune when we first meet him , larry has , by film ' s end , awakened to the ugly realities of the world and has no interest in making money by singing and dancing for white folks . and smith ' s performance is arguably the film ' s strongest , a gut - ripping trip into a world of terror unimaginable for most in the audience . but given his late introduction and the way in which we split time with so many others in the motel , it ' s hard to view him as a viable lead .
does biff have premiere requirements ? while we do not require premiere screening rights , we also take no responsibility for stipulations of your distribution agreements or copyrights for prior television , film , internet or festival showings .
after the crew buries the bodies of their friends mr . universe , shepherd book , and wash on haven , the crew patches up serenity in a repair yard on the planet persephone , arranged for by the operative . just as they are ready to leave , the operative arrives to tell mal that the tams are no longer being actively hunted by the alliance , and their regime has been weakened but warns they will not simply forgive the crew for getting the word out . mal warns the operative that he ' ll kill him if they ever encounter each other again , but the operative ( having abandoned the alliance ) promises him they won ' t .
the resources of earth have been depleted . humanity has moved to another star system and terraformed many of the planets . all the planets are controlled by the supposedly peace - loving , but actually authoritarian , alliance . a frontier justice still holds sway farther from the
core planets
, where outlaws like the crew of serenity can scrape out a living if they keep clear of alliance forces and the reavers , savage and cannibalistic humans who dwell beyond the outer planets and raid the alliance worlds around the rim .
the plan is to reveal this secret to all the worlds by using the transmitter equipment belonging to mr . universe . they contact him and he invites the crew to use the transmitter , but unfortunately the operative is already waiting at mr . universe ' s headquarters , along with an alliance fleet . he runs his blade through mr . universe , and orders the equipment destroyed . serenity slowly heads back through reaver territory , however just when she ' s about to leave mal uses the turret to opens fire upon a reaver ship . this provokes all the reavers present and they give chase . with the alliance fleet in orbit of mr . universe ' s planet , the operative waits to shoot serenity out of the sky . when the ship emerges , he sneers that the ship isn ' t even changing course . . . only to watch as dozens of reaver ships follow it . there is a massive battle between the alliance fleet and the reaver fleet , as wash steers serenity toward the planet with both the alliance and the reavers trying to destroy them as well as each other . during the attack , the operative ' s ship is destroyed , but he flees the battle in an escape pod and follows the crew to the surface .
the film ' s main action centers on a night at the algiers motel in the middle of the 1967 riots that engulfed the city—a night during which detroit cops tortured and executed several men they suspected of harboring a sniper . but the path taken to the algiers is a meandering one : a quick , animated history lesson gives way to a night club bust that sparked the riots before we slide into a squad car with a trio of abusive cops riding around town musing about their role as surrogate fathers for an unruly , ungrateful citizenry . we then slide to an unsigned motown group whose big break gets interrupted when the unrest shuts down their show before being introduced to a black security guard trying to placate white national guard troops when the gunfire begins .
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a former fighter reluctantly returns to the life she abandoned in order to help her sister survive the sadistic world of illegal fighting and the maniac who runs it .
after a brief discussion between the operative and doctor mathias in charge of the alliance facility , the operative accuses the doctor of allowing vital government information to fall into dangerous hands , alluding to river ' s psychic
gleaning
of alliance officials who monitored her in person . the operative quickly kills the doctor ' s bodyguards with an archaic sword . he prevents the doctor ' s attempt to flee by paralyzing him with a pressure - point blow to the side of his torso above his waistline . the operative lets him fall on the sword , which is standing upright with its hilt planted firmly on the floor as the operative kneels beside it . he orders an assistant to recover the mental conditioning triggers from the databanks as doctor mathias dies , and implies he is about to begin his search for the tam siblings .
this is a supernatural conspiracy theory thriller that turns gory at the end and is thought provoking at the same time . unlike the unreadable and unwatchable davinci code books and films , the 7th dimension is easy to get into but makes you work to keep up with each twist and turn . there ' s no let up and you have to pay attention as the story unfolds . after a relatively slow , low key start the film gets into its stride and turns up the suspense as the main protagonist declan , either becomes a higher being or gets more and more demented . there are some genuinely scary moments and the story , although mainly gobbledygook is plausible enough to let you suspend your disbelief . not a multi million pound blockbuster , but all the better for it .
) , an estate agent thoroughly bored with life . having ditched her job prospects in the bin , against the advice of any sensible or reasonable parent , she packs her problems in a backpack and decides go on a group hike across the appalachian trail with some likeminded individuals , including a man called cheese who used to like eating cheese . i have no need to tell you that , it’s just a character trait that’s stuck in my head since i saw the film . cheese . we have a grown man called cheese , whose name is shouted with intensity and emotion later in the film . think about that , being fearful for your friend , shouting out their name and sounding like you’re requesting a top up on a buffet .
mal doesn ' t kill the operative , and instead disables him with a similar move and leaves him trussed up to watch the recording from miranda . returning to the crew , he is informed that river was trapped on the other side of the blast door with the reavers — presumably killed . the door opens a moment later to reveal river , standing with her head bowed around a roomful of dead reavers . after a moment , alliance troops blow in the wall behind her and enter , but instead of giving permission to shoot her , the operative ( having seen the video from miranda ) orders the squad to stand down .
while there is nothing new or captivating about the narrative of this movie , the comedy was done surprisingly well . i couldn ' t help but notice the audience roaring with laughter at certain points , and i’ll admit i burst out a few times myself . it was a simple kind of humor you don ' t have to think much about , which made for an easy watch . whenever certain portions of the film felt as though they were dragging slightly , another hilarious situation would arise that distracted from the dismal story development .
i wrote this for the best of all reasons . i wrote it as self - therapy . i didn ' t write it as a commercial enterprise ,
he said .
i wrote it because i was afraid of becoming that character . it was the first script i wrote . fortunately the spirit of that script , the purgative element of it , survived through the direction and the acting and , eventually , the release . the impulse that caused me to write it is still there on the screen .
on march 2 , 2004 , according to an article in variety , the movie was officially greenlighted to enter production with a $ 40 million budget . principal photography started on june 3 , 2004 . joss whedon said that the film would be released as serenity , in order to differentiate it from the tv series . all nine principal cast members from the television series ( adam baldwin , alan tudyk , gina torres , jewel staite , morena baccarin , nathan fillion , ron glass , sean maher , and summer glau ) returned for the movie .
gruber’s planned getaway in an ambulance was improvised at the end of filming so when director john mctiernan shot the “synchronize your watches” scene , there was no ambulance visible in the background .
“one of the best cinema experiences of the year… . over the course of this strikingly beautiful movie , the directors alex and andrew j . smith pointedly close the gap between father and son , spinning a drama of estrangement and tentative bonding into a swift and brutal tale of survival . ” — la times
after moving into the home of a deceased relative , a family discovers they may have inherited more than just the house .
in the payoff to a subplot from both the series and the film , simon and kaylee finally make love . zoë tells mal that
she ' s tore up plenty , but she ' ll fly true ,
ostensibly referring to the ship but also describing her own state . mal then heads to the cockpit and meets with inara and asks her if she ' s ready to disembark . . . and inara admits , with a smile , that she doesn ' t know . mal tells her that it ' s a good answer and takes his seat at the helm with his new co - pilot , river . he is surprised when she already shows aptitude for piloting but tells her that it ' s not knowledge or expertise that keeps a ship in the air or makes her a home . . it ' s love . with that the two take serenity , now restored to her former glory , into the air and back out into space . the final shot shows the ship flying off triumphantly , until a random piece of metal flies from the back of the ship and hits the camera , prompting the movie ' s final line from mal :
what was that ?
two young women arrive at a curious penthouse apartment , led by one ' s crush on her tutor . however , her love interest doesn ' t live alone . he ' s part of a trio of computer hackers about to embark on the ultimate job on the world ' s most mysterious mainframe . whilst doing so , they unlock more than they bargain for with supernatural and ultimately fatal results . can this seemingly insignificant chain of events , which have thrown this group together , be construed as fate ? can the beacon provide a signal of hope or is it a web of manipulation , paranoia and ultimately . . . murder ?
caissie levy is stunning as elsa , the beautiful princess with the cursed gift to turn her kingdom into ice , and patti murin makes a darling anna , the earthbound princess whose love for her sister is the only thing that can set elsa free .
the backlash followed previous controversies including the castings of emma stone as a half - hawaiian , half - chinese air force pilot in cameron crowe’s “aloha” and scarlett johansson as the cyborg protagonist in the japanese anime remake “ghost in the shell . ” last week’s netflix release , the japanese manga adaptation “death note” also drew criticism for transferring a japanese story to seattle without any asian actors .
mal arrives to find mr . universe has been killed . however , before he died , he was able to leave a pre - recorded message with his robotic wife which informs mal that there is a secondary transmitter in another area of the complex . meanwhile , the crew is losing ground to the reavers and is forced to retreat when zoë and kaylee are injured . the operative arrives on the planet and runs into the robotic wife , who repeats the message , informing him where the secondary transmitter is . the crew try to close the blast door , but it does not close completely . this buys them some time , but when simon , the doctor , is hit by a stray bullet , there is no one to tend to the injured . he tells them he needs his medical bag which he left on the other side of the door . river goes to her injured brother ' s side , and tells him that he ' s always taking care of her , and now it ' s her turn to take care of him . she then dives through the gap in the blast door , throws the medical kit back through and closes the door to protect the crew before being swarmed by reavers .
detroit , the latest film from writer / director team kathryn bigelow and mark boal ( zero dark thirty , the hurt locker ) , is a compelling and chilling piece of work , one filled with performances that help bring to life a horrifying night in the midst of a dreadful tumult—a small tale of injustice bringing light to a greater evil . as a piece of narrative filmmaking , however , it ' s somewhat messy , with characters appearing and disappearing almost haphazardly .
in addition to traditional advertising methods , universal sought a few unique approaches to promoting the film . hoping to generate buzz through early word - of - mouth , universal launched an unprecedented 3 - stage campaign to sneak - preview the movie in 35 us cities where the television series had earned high nielsen ratings . the first stage of screenings was held in 10 cities on may 5 , 2005 . the second stage , held on may 26 , 2005 , added an additional 20 cities and was also the source of controversy when individual theatres began selling tickets before the official announcement was released , leading some shows to be sold out before being announced . the third round of screenings , with an additional 5 cities , was held on june 23 , 2005 . the screenings proved a success , with all three stages selling out in less than 24 hours , the second - stage screening in dc sold out in a mere 22 minutes and the second screening in phoenix sold out in 8 .
this isn ' t a
bad
film but it just lacks a compelling plot to keep you engaged and walking . it starts out fine as we meet the characters and they start the hike , but i think there really isn ' t enough conflict between them to keep it interesting . drake , the hike leader , is a little too underwritten of the characters . he has a secret - - which we know - - but he acts so nasty to everyone ( instead of being a nice guy ) that it sort of undermines the surprise of who he is . the acting across the board is fine , but i sense there was a lot of padding . at the 30 min mark , when we should be deep into the plot , it ' s still sort of aimless . and since not much of interest is going on , i was sort of bored . kept watching , but even when the alien aspect was introduced , it still didn ' t goose the plot . everything just settled back into the plodding narrative . it ' s then i checked and saw i was 55 mins into it with only about 25 mins left ! so yes , it ' s a short film , but if they can ' t keep me watching an hour into it , something is missing - - my interest . so i stopped and looked for something else to watch .
mal comes out and orders that serenity be remodeled to look like a reaver ship , which involves painting and mutilating the hull , making a dangerous modification to the engine to leak radiation , arming the weaponless cargo vessel with the settlers ' cannon , and tying the bodies of the dead settlers to the prow . everyone protests , but mal furiously informs them that they can either do what he says or leave the ship now and is ready to shoot anyone who tries to stop him , seconds before he put a bullet into a surrendering alliance soldier emerging from the wrecked ship . serenity , now painted red and looking far more menacing , leaves for miranda . sneaking through a fleet of reaver vessels , the ship finally reaches the other side without incident .
despite critical acclaim and internet buzz , serenity performed modestly at best at the box office . although several pundits predicted a # 1 opening , [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ] the film opened at # 2 in the united states , taking in $ 10 . 1 million its first weekend , spending two weeks in the top ten , and totalling a box office gross of $ 25 . 5 million . [ 14 ] movie industry analyst brandon gray described serenity ' s box office performance as
like a below average genre picture
. [ 15 ]
“you see his eyes look at the watch . that’s how he knows that he is one of the terrorists , ” de souza says .
set 500 years in the future , serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a transport and cargo ship . their lives of petty crime are interrupted by a psychic passenger who carries a dangerous secret .
on arrival , the crew discovers that the outpost has been ravaged by alliance forces , its inhabitants killed . mal finds book , who has shot down the attacking ship ; mortally wounded , he dies in mal ' s arms . several other outposts that had harbored serenity in the past have also been destroyed . captain reynolds receives a message from the operative claiming responsibility , and promising more of the same until river is turned over .
is the story of officer krauss ( will poulter ) ? we spend as much time with him , demens ( jack reynor ) , and flynn ( ben o ' toole ) as almost anyone else , sitting in the squad car with the three as they discuss their unruly wards , running with them as they shoot looters in the back , huddling with them as they try to suss out the identity of the algiers shooter , listening in as they try to plot their way out of legal trouble with detroit pd brass . poulter , as krauss , is particularly good . whereas reynor ' s cop comes off as a dullard and o ' toole ' s as a greasy - haired caricature of a racist pig , there ' s a scheming quality to poulter ' s face—the arched eyebrows , the widened eyes—that renders him unsympathetic yet intriguing . ( his turn as a demonic cop here is a reminder that he would ' ve been perfect as pennywise in the upcoming adaptation of it , a part for which he was long rumored . ) but krauss et al kind of fade away toward the end of the film , bystanders as the legal system bails them out for their bad behavior .