McLibel

McLibel
by Franny Armstrong, Ken Loach

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DVD details

Director: Franny Armstrong, Ken Loach
Brand: CINEMA LIBRE DISTRIBUTION
Cinematographer: Franny Armstrong
Producer: Franny Armstrong
Writer: Franny Armstrong
Editor: David G. Hill
Editor: David H. Hill
Editor: Gregers Sall
Producer: Peter Armstrong
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Running Time: 85 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-08-30
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Cinema Libre Studio

DVD Reviews of McLibel

DVD Review: McLibel is McBoring
Summary: 1 Stars

I am not a McDonald's sympathizer and in fact I have not even eaten at McDonald's in probably over five years.

It should come as no surprise that McDonald's, a global organization that for decades has been raking in the profits, is often times held in a negative light as being nothing more than a money grubbing organization making civilization fat. We have all heard the horror stories associated with fast food consumption and the business practices that fast food companies often employ.

So when the film McLibel came up as a recommendation in the trust ole' Netflix list, I figured what did I have to lose to gain some additional fodder for arguments relative to the Big Mac.

Answer to what did I have to lose: 85 minutes, the length of the movie.

McLibel was a terribly boring film attempting to highlight what seemed to be a somewhat interesting case that took place across the pond in England.

Directed by Franny Armstrong and Ken Loach, the movie tells the story of two British activists Helen Steel and Dave Morris who were part of a group that sought to promote social justice on several levels. Part of their mission was to attack McDonald's in terms of both their economic policies and their overreaching global endeavors, as well.

As any good activist would do, Steel and Morris took to the streets seeking to wage an information war against Ronald McDonald, Grimace and their pack of friends. With literature, leaflets and their voices, Steel and Morris wanted to disseminate as much information to the British general public as possible.

However, what ended up happening was some covert countering against their actions by individuals associated with McDonald's. Spies ended up coming to their meetings to learn more about the work that Steel and Morris were trying to do on their end.

The documentary gets its title from the fact that Steel and Morris were in fact sued by McDonald's for libel and slander, charges which the activists flat out denied. They felt as though it was more a case of McDonald's seeking to silence the voices of dissent more than it was that they were in fact in violation of any laws.

The movie jumps around a bit from interviews to sort of biographical or historical glimpses back to facts that preceded the making of the movie. The absolutely worst part of the documentary is when there are perhaps the most hokey reeenactments of the court room setting for the trial that McDonald's went through with against the activists. These dramatizations of the courtroom setting seem more as though they could be a skit from a British comedy show than a factual and professional documentary.

Nominated in 2005 as the Best British Documentary at the British Independent Film Awards, it is clear as to why the film was nominated and did not win the category. At the end of the film the viewer is sort of left with the notion that really nothing much was learned in the film and the overwhelming thought is, "Well, no duh." The film seems almost as though it was made as a way to thank Steel and Morris for their work more so than it was made to really show others factual information about the topic at hand.

Of course there was no reaching out to the other side of the table clearly evident in the film which makes me question why you would not want both sides of the issue. We learn plenty about Morris and Steel and about how great the director must feel they are but we do not get to see what McDonald's position was during the whole ordeal. Had this been done, I might feel a little bit differently about the overall quality of the film, except for those terrible courtroom reenactments.

McLibel sort of had the capability to be considered a somewhat decent film with at least the basis of a good factual story to tell. However, the film fell prey to becoming nothing more than what appears to be a bunch of friends making a film about how great they are. The quality of the filmmaking is quite poor and even that makes the film tank even more.

McLibel simply leaves this viewer wanting to know one thing: where's the beef?

DVD Review: Would You Like Ego With That?
Summary: 2 Stars

OK, it's interesting because it's an important part of history, but, hoo boy, are them there Liberals oh-so-preciously pleased with themselves.

Politically, I agree with the verdict, i.e. their claims about McDonald's were about half correct. (I also agree with the International Court, that the UK's libel laws have been way too strict.) I do not necessarily agree with the defendents in their sweeping claims about fast food destroying the world, or even whether the world has been or is being destroyed to the degree they think it is. And then there are those stubborn questions of personal responsibility and whether or not creating a Nanny State is all that wise a thing to do.

Definitely an OPumentary, this work does not even attempt to present anyone else's take on the issues (i.e. McDonald's arguments, or any arguments from a more centrist or right-wing position). Some of the smugness, especially in the commentary, is downright childish and provided more to stroke and titilate the vanity of the already converted than to make any particular point. The project overall is saturated with the usual unfortunate assumptions. Anyone who disagrees with us is evil. And greedy. And stupid. Tautologies reigh, and legitimate reason and argument are rarely insight. Oh, for the day when we see another societal shift and start debating like grown-ups again.

DVD Review: A decent film, nice follow up in 2005 edition.
Summary: 3 Stars

This film tells the tale of 2 people in London who got challenged by Mcdonalds for slander, and actually fought back. I thought this film was a decent look into British law, and to think that a coperation could squash the voice of decent by threatening to sue, unheard of in the US unless gross neglegence is in play. Besides, the effort corperation would have to go through to get all the little guys would be difficult in this country, I guess it must have payed off in Britain. Essentially, the two people were able to fight a big expensive legal team and win About half of the claims filed against them, not bad. But also, they proved a bigger point that the british system was flawed, and legal representation needed to be provided to these civil actions. The 2005 follow up show them at the European court aguing this point, and winning it. Neat story, worth a watch.

DVD Review: When Corporations Attack
Summary: 4 Stars

What happens when two environmental activists come head to head with McDonalds in court? One side has billions of dollars (or Pounds since this is in England), unlimited human resources to produce evidence, witnesses, and lawyers, and the other side has... two environmental activists. It doesn't necessarily turn out as you'd expect.

McLibel is the story of just such a scenario. Beginning with events as early as 1988, this low-budget documentary unfolds the tale of two activists (Dave Morris and Helen Steel- a postal worker and a gardener, respectively) who refused to bow to McDonald's demands, and instead ended up facing the fast food giant in court for a libel case over an anti-McDonald's pamphlet they had handed out.

The footage is fairly low-budget, but it hardly matters because it is edited together in such an expert story-telling fashion. With almost 20 years of footage unfolding bit by bit, it's hard to look away. The audience watches as the case that was supposed to end in 4 weeks ends up lasting 2 and a half years. Through the introduction of the internet, the two defendants are given a broader audience and thus able to call in more expert witnesses to help them.

Interviews with Fast Food Nation scribe Eric Schlosser, and several other experts on the subject help move the plot along and add substance to this delightful documentary. The court reenactments are a bit forced, considering they have actors playing the roles of the characters in court, but I guess it would be difficult to reenact the court testimonial in any other way. Also, it feels a bit as if the defense is over-playing their hand when they try to lay the blame on McDonalds for the McDonalds litter lying around the streets and the overly mechanized qaulity of a McDonalds kitchen. They are a business after all.

Also, even the defendants themselves acknowledge that they almost feel bad for McDonalds for being so singled out in the trial. For, as they say, McDonalds isn't the only business that's having a negative impact on the world, they're just the only one that tried to sue them for libel.

Overall, though, the audience will find themselves cheering for the two unlikely heros, Steel and Morris, as they plough through hardships in their personal lives and make a firm stand against almost insurmountable odds in a case that ends up breaking the record for the longest trial in English history. Later they go on to trial with the English government itself, which is a separate story altogether.

The DVD extras include a painfully exposing 27 minutes of a secretly taped meeting with McDonalds executives trying to settle out of court. This 27 minutes alone is enough to convince anyone that McDonalds is not on the up and up. That may seem like old news now, but without such people as Dave Morris and Helen Steel, it might not be.

DVD Review: Great film, low budget
Summary: 5 Stars

I agree with many of the reviews here that this is a VERY low budget film, but when you watch it and consider what this "low budget lawsuit" did to earn international freedom of speech, it's well worth it.

This is not a thrill ride docu, but the facts that it covers are fascinating and important. It interviews Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Colin Cambell (The China Study), and it covers nearly 15 years of footage (the lenght of the case being covered here alone makes it worth the ride).

The extras are really good, too. Even a thirty minute version of the secret tapes with the meeting with the McD's execs are included here. If you enjoyed Fast Food Nation, you should give this a go. It's low budget, and yes the court room scenese are bad enough to be funny, but they are all read from the acutal court transcript. All in all, this is a very important docu about the most important subject facing many of us today--corporate and governmental abuse of power and wealth.

Description of McLibel

Studio: Cinema Libre Studio Release Date: 04/22/2008 Run time: 85 minutes

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Genres > Art House & International > By Country > British Cinema
Documentary > General

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