Death of a President (Widescreen)
by Gabriel Range
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DVD details
Actor: Becky Ann Baker, Brian Boland, Hend Ayoub, Jay Patterson, Robert MangiardiDirector: Gabriel Range
Brand: Lions Gate
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Arabic (Original Language); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-04-03
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate
DVD Reviews of Death of a President (Widescreen)
DVD Review: Initial impression was wrong.
Summary: 4 Stars
My initial impression regarding this film was that it is some sort of political propaganda, but after finishing it I have discovered that I was wrong. What this film is really about is how our world has changed after 9/11. Although there are no overt statements being made, the general tone of the film is that these changes have not been for the better. I believe that the intent was to show how we are heading down a slippery slope, and that it would take very little in order to push us over the edge.DVD Review: Political Thriller as Cinema V?rit?
Summary: 3 Stars
The fictional "Death of a President" (2006) has more plausibility and resonance a year after its initial release. Despite the occasional heavy-handedness of his fauxumentary approach, director/co-writer Gabriel Range reveals some provocative truths about America and its reaction to a hypothetical assassination. Now that the controversy and critical brickbats have died down, this flawed but fascinating film can be seen in a more objective light.
DVD Review: Brilliant and Utterly Fascinating
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of those movies so brilliant in its conception, so smart and skillful in its execution (pardon the pun), and so disturbing in its implications that any intelligent American who isn't bogged down in political ideology should take a look at it... This is not a film that bashes Bush -- it's a piece of art that contemplates the hyper-violent society we live in and the implications of the angry, increasingly gun-obsessed nation we've become. Remember, folks, ideas aren't dangerous -- only people are -- so give this a chance.DVD Review: October 19th, 2007 - Where will you be?
Summary: 5 Stars
Possibly no man is so universally regarded as the strongest contender in the Worst President Awards than George W. Bush. I know I certainly would nominate him. He and his administration exploited the worst tragedy in our nation's history to push their own dreams of war with Iraq, tremendous gas prices for us (generating enormous profit for them), undermining our civil liberties and sacrificing so much precious human life in the process.
And yet, as one who considers myself a very liberal Democrat and card-carrying Anti-Bushie, this film made me cry. Make no mistake: I would never want to see Bush assassinated, his horrific transgressions notwithstanding. Karma is a very real thing, and the amount of negative karma the man has accumulated will be punishment enough for him.
Now, of course, I don't need to tell you that DEATH OF A PRESIDENT is a fictional documentary about the fictional assassination of The Decider (and Darth Cheney's subsequent reign of terror.) What is amazing about the film is how emotional every last second of it is.
The suspects include an anti-war protestor, A Yemenese-American, an Iraq war vet struggling with drugs and unemployment, the vet's father who is embittered by his other son's death in Iraq, and a Syrian immigrant office worker working in a building adjacent to the location of the assassination.
No prizes for guessing which one Cheney decides to pin the rap on and subsequently convict. At least he doesn't rip the dude's head off and drink his blood, as he did with so many innocent chickens on LIL' BUSH.
No Michael Moore documentary could have stirred up more outrage the a film about the assassination of a sitting President, however unpopular. Even Hillary Clinton denounced the film. The overwhelming majority of this criticsm was sight unseen, and that's no surprise, but this is not a movie made to express a desire to kill Bush, or even one that portrays him in a particularly unfavorable light (although, from the DVD special features, I gather that the filmmakers aren't fans of his themselves.)
Indeed, it seems to be more of a warning against such a tactic to unseat such a despicable leader. We may not like our President (actually, scratch that - We DEFINITELY don't like our President), but violence can do nothing but breed more violence, as the Iraq war has shown.
But in the end, the most likable and sympathatic character in the film is the young Iraq war veteran. Having lost his own brother in the war, being disillusioned over the reasons for the war, and seen his father crumble like a house of cards at the death of his son, he tries to put the past behind him and make a new life in Chicago, the location of the assassination.
In many ways, he represents the entire country living under the rule of The Bush Administration: Wanting nothing more than to live his life in peace, the Administration's foreign and domestic policies catalyze a war that will forever alter his life, and not for the better.
DEATH OF A PRESIDENT is a well-made, often highly emotional film comibing a suspenseful politcal murder mystery with a retrospective-documentary and featuring at it's center, the heart-breaking story of a man pushed over the edge.
DVD Review: Feels like a really poor false flag movie
Summary: 2 Stars
Man oh man, what film were most of these other reviewers watching?
The one I saw was quite amateurish and plodding, apart from the semi-controversial subject matter. By the way, regarding the contrived furor over this borefest, whatever happened to free speech? An American or any artist can only use his imagination if it pleases the ruling elite? Nice democracy in action there. We're fighting wars for this sort of freedom?
There are so many holes in this film it's almost a comedy. The biggest is that in the demonstration scenes, the cops all have clubs, but most have no guns. Hello? This isn't Britain (though the Chicago scenes looked mostly like poorly-disguised London streets), this is the Gun Porn Capitol of the world, the USA. All cops have guns here, and plenty of 'em. Look at the next demonstration you see (not that there are many anymore, most folks are too scared of missing American Idol to actually use any of their civil rights): cops covered with guns and swat gear and in general reinforcing the notion of a police state. In this film the cops are NOT like any American cops I've seen when in large numbers.
Then there's the matter of the almost unflagging praise of Bush, with little satire involved. In the end, this flick makes the case for W as a good, honest man and a decent President. So at least it is fictional, but as one other reviewer noted, it kind of feels like it was made BY the US false flag experts in our secret service propaganda apparatchik. It does NOT feel like a liberal, anti-Bush movie at all.
Our government is very familiar with false flag operations (just look up Operation Northwoods, and connect the dots to more recent events which have let the Patriot Act and other anti-Constitutional powers be handed over to the ever-growing police force here). Looked at objectively, that's what this ends up feeling like. A British tv film (our biggest war allies) full of real footage that fits a little too well, time and again.
At no point does DOAP make killing Bush seem wise; just the opposite.
The basic message of this so-called anti-American movie is that it could be a lot worse here, so don't rock the boat. Demonstrators are not democratic, they're ruffians and thugs, and police should deal with them appropriately. Even Cheney comes off looking noble and as if he cares about anyone outside of his war-profiteer mafia.
Bottom line: nothing controversial here, or even worth watching. It's just a boring, poorly-made movie. The Manchurian Candidate (either one) would be a much better use of your time.
Description of Death of a President (Widescreen)
Winner of the International Critics' Award at the Toronto Film Festival, DEATH OF A PRESIDENT is conceived as a fictional TV documentary broadcast in 2008, reflecting on a monstrous and cataclysmic event: the assassination of President George W. Bush on October 19th, 2007. The "documentary" artfully combines archival footage and carefully composed interviews presented in a respectful and dignified manner. The film doesn't advocate violence; rather, it shows its pernicious effects. It is exciting and questioning, and it offers viewers a riveting story -- creating a provocative political thriller that reveals larger truths.Drama DVDs
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