Excellent; should be a must see for all, especially J-school students

Rating: 10/10 (6 December 2005)

I was a 30 year old grad student when these particular events unfolded.
The climate of that time is somewhat reminiscent of our present era with its marked polarizations of views.
This film does not try to explicate an era during the "cold war" when people were building bomb shelters, searching out caves, wondering how much we'd need to survive for the 3-12 months before hoping it was safe to emerge, if ever, and come out on the surface of our planet again. There was a pervasive climate of fear.
Instead, it casts a narrow, incisive look at the process of reporting news and of the competing forces on that stage as Murrow, the dean of broadcasting journalism, took on Senator McCarthy, the dean of low blows and capitalizing on the "Red scare," as well as battling the corporate interests in maintaining good relations with any sponsors.
Making allowance for the writers and directors selecting out from thousands of Murrow broadcasts only Murrow's best -- yet, of those best, Murrow's delivery and message sound fully the equal of the greatest expression of our highest ideals in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
His words to the American people were like the voice of all wisdom, of Shakespeare, of God.
My only disappointment was that a snippet of Murrow's broadcasts from London during WW II was not included.
I thought the casting and performances were excellent -- absolute Oscar quality. (And the music, too.)