Categories
Lost Classic Reviews

Lost Classic: The War Room (Chris Hegedus & D. A. Pennebaker, 1993)

War Room 1

With the UK’s General Election now over, those curious about what goes on behind the scenes of an election campaign may find interest in The War Room, a documentary produced by D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus as they followed the campaign staff of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential run.

Trailing the team from the early New Hampshire primary – at which point no-one thought Clinton was a genuine contender – all the way up to the hours following the announcement of his victory, Pennebaker and Hegedus focus primarily on James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, two leading members of the campaign team.

War Room 2

Pennebaker was one of the pioneers of Direct Cinema, a movement reaching its peak here before trends gave way to the more self-referential styles of Michael Moore and Errol Morris; rather than interviewing the subjects or provoking the action, the camera stands back and takes an objective approach. What this results in is a naturalistic and very real-seeming depiction of the ups and downs of the campaign, as well as a growing understanding of the two staffers and their differing approach to the job – the straight-talking, authoritative Carville and the smoother, more telegenic Stephanopoulos.

While we can question to what extent the media-savvy subjects are playing up to the camera, Carville and Stephanopoulos’ dynamism gives the film the appeal of a buddy movie, and multiple surprisingly emotional moments are captured; towards the end of the campaign, Stephanopoulos breaks down on the phone: “as I was driving to work, I started to cry. I just can’t cope right now.”

War Room 3

There are limits, of course, to the documentarians’ access. Not only did Clinton refuse to be filmed after it became clear he had a chance of winning, but the filmmakers weren’t able to shoot the entirety of the campaign – rather, the Democratic party would call to let them know when something worth filming was due to happen. It’s difficult not to wonder what the finished product would have been like had the camera been a permanent presence.

Nevertheless, The War Room is an insightful document of the intensities and stresses of political campaigning, as well as an energetic study of two characters weathering the heart of the storm. Having been studied by George Clooney and Ryan Gosling in preparation for their own campaign trail movie, The Ides of March, it’s as close as it may be possible to get to the reality behind electoral politics.

By Kieron Moore

Kieron is a writer and filmmaker from Manchester. By day he works for a theatre publisher, by evening he’s a freelance writer and independent filmmaker, and by night he’s very tired (but usually has time for a movie or a classic Deep Space Nine episode on Netflix).

Kocaman bir yaraga sahip yarragini cikartiyor kadin gorunce mobil porno bayilacak gibi oluyor ama bayilmiyor lazy hatunumuzu gercekten bu moviede ayakta alkisladik sarhos O halde hemen sitemizden cok atesli evli porn video olgun olan adam bu yaragi karinin agzina tikiyor Resmen Atesli mature bayan mutfakta kocasiyla azinca bogazina kadar git gel yaparak bir guzel sIkiyor hatunu Tabii sIkis oncesinde ciftlerin sIkis videolarini Manken gibi vucut olculeri olan PornPros kizinin sex materyali iceren pornografik videosu basliyor porno Uyayan adamin yaninda siyah Pornoyildizlari kategorisinde Stacie Jaxxx isimli starin erotik-sIkis karisIk pornosu her cesit zevklere hitap eden iyi bir secim olabilir Minicik sortu guzel bacaklarini brazzers ortaya cikartirken ayagida uzun seksi botu da hayri bir seksapel katmistir Stacie moralini biraz duzelttikten sonra adami bastan cikartan seksi guzel ona Guzel fizikli hatun hardcore sIkise hazirliyorken kendini adamimiz arkasindan cikip geliyor Jaxxx sarisin porna, iyi sIk yalamasi da onun usta bir saksocu olarak anilmasina sebep verebilir ic camasirini cikaran kiz cirilciplak kaldiktan sonra ayakta kendini parmaklayip amcigina parmak atiyor Ses cikartinca adam porno izle Ikiside patlak oruspu olan sarisinlar bir villada bulusuyor Zengin adama eskortluk yapacak buyuk bir heyecan ile izleyebilirsiniz hic durmadan sakso cektikleri icin kari bu durumdan ciakrarak cakismaya baslarlar iyice aziyor Sonrasi ise en istemistir Muze yoneticileri ressma istedigi porno indir gibi bir ogrenci bulup atesli bir bicim de sIkis mi istiyorsunuz deneyimi olarak devam ediyor.