Right wing hysteria meets intellectual challenge

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2005)

As a British born, Australian dwelling citizen, I only knew a superficial amount of the McCarthy years in the USA. This film was an enlightening and educating experience, prompting me to find out more about this era. The core subject matter  freedom of speech; litigation by due process (c.f. the witch hunts that went on in the McCarthy era)  evokes passion in many and is particularly dear to my heart.
I enjoyed this film on many levels. I found it intellectually stimulating, engaging and educational. It was well acted, with a particularly memorable performance by David Strathairn as Ed Murrow, delivering deliciously enunciated readings.
It is well scripted, in that it is short and sharp; getting the point across without labouring it and assuming that the audience has a reasonably high level of intelligence.
I felt it was appropriately filmed in black and white, which gave added realism to the archive footage shown.
One small detail I enjoyed was that it gave a sense of a bygone era. Almost everyone was smoking and at every opportunity, including those on camera during filming of the evening shows. I particularly liked the advert for Kent cigarettes  that was a brand that "intelligent people" were supposed to smoke! How the world has changed Plus ca change, plus c'est la même chose