Seeing Red in Black and White

Rating: 8/10 (26 October 2009)

It's the 1950s, "and the piece of talking furniture called TV is still a novelty in America's living rooms. On it, Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin) uses fear, falsehoods, and belligerence to become arguably the most powerful man in the land. On it, (CBS) newsman Edward R. Murrow, who's had his fill of the senator's tactics, fights back," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.
"That pivotal clash of two titans is the focus of director/co-writer George Clooney's award-winning 'Good Night, and Good Luck.'. David Strathairn portrays Murrow, the principled 'face of television' who maps his strategy with his producer and confident, Fred Friendly (Clooney). A deft ensemble plays staff members in the bustling battleground that is the CBS newsroom. McCarthy is in the mix, too, intercut into the action via real-life footage. Don't touch that dial. A media and a nation are going to change - while on the air."
Documentary-styled feature films can look beautiful, thanks to Clooney. His thesis is a noble one; obviously Clooney agrees with Murrow's assertion, "I simply cannot accept that there are on every story two equal and logical sides to an argument." Are journalists obligated to report both sides of a story when facts show one side is wrong? Trusted reporters, like Murrow, occasionally put their reputations on the line. Relatively speaking, nothing like this challenged similar George W. Bush administration tactics - ay, there's the rub.
******** Good Night, and Good Luck (9/1/05) George Clooney ~ David Strathairn, George Clooney, Joseph McCarthy, Patricia Clarkson