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| Good Night, and Good Luck (Widescreen Edition) |
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List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $9.70
You Save: $10.28 (51%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $5.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 235 reviews)
Sales Rank: 83
Category: DVD
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Studio: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Label: Warner Home Video
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 93 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 012569736788
EAN: 0012569736788
ASIN: B000E1NXJ0
Release Date: March 14, 2006
Theatrical Release Date: October 14, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Without force-feeding its timely message, Good Night, and Good Luck illuminates history to enlighten our present, when the need for a free and independent press is more important than ever. In 90 breathtaking minutes of efficient and intricate storytelling, writer-director George Clooney and cowriter Grant Heslov pay honorable tribute to the journalistic integrity of legendary CBS newscaster Edward R. Murrow,
Director George Clooney
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who confronted the virulent and overzealous anti-Communist witch-hunting of Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy in 1953-54, and emerged as a triumphant truth-seeker against the abuses of corporate and governmental power.
David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow
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As played by David Strathairn, Murrow is a dogged realist, keenly aware of the smear tactics that will be employed against him; Clooney provides crucial backup as Murrow's "See It Now" producer and closest confidante Fred Friendly, forming a fierce but not entirely fearless triumvirate of broadcasting bravery with CBS chief William Paley (Frank Langella), who anxiously champions Murrow's cause under constant threat of reprisals. While using crisp black-and-white cinematography (by Robert Elswit) to vividly recreate the electrifying atmosphere of the CBS newsroom and the early years of television, Clooney (son of long-time Cincinnati newsman Nick Clooney) proves his directorial skill by juggling big themes and an esteemed ensemble cast, never stooping to simplification of ethically complex material. Good Night, and Good Luck is an instant classic, destined for all the accolades it so richly deserves. --Jeff Shannon
Learn More About Edward R. Murrow and Broadcast Journalism
George Clooney's Recommended Reading |
George Clooney's Recommended Movies |
The Edward R. Murrow Collection
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Description
"Good Night, And, Good Luck." takes place during the early days of broadcast journalism in 1950's America. It chronicles the real-life conflict between television newsman Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee. With a desire to report the facts and enlighten the public, Murrow, and his dedicated staff - headed by his producer Fred Friendly and Joe Wershba in the CBS newsroom - defy corporate and sponsorship pressures to examine the lies and scaremongering tactics perpetrated by McCarthy during his communist 'witch-hunts'. A very public feud develops when the Senator responds by accusing the anchor of being a communist. In this climate of fear and reprisal, the CBS crew carries on and their tenacity will prove historic and monumental.
DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:with George Clooney and Grant Heslov
Documentary:Good Night, and Good Luck companion piece
Theatrical Trailer
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Customer Reviews: Read 230 more reviews...
 The Bad Old Days of Good Journalism July 11, 2006
"Good Night, and Good Luck" reminds us that the 1950's saw the rise of television not just as entertainment but also as a powerful tool for journalists...and a dangerous weapon for the weak-minded. The movie takes you back to a frightening side of the 1950's when if you didn't go with the flow you were disparaged as an outsider - or even pilloried as a traitor. Edward R. Murrow's courageous stance against McCarthyism, corporate censorship and journalistic laziness slaps you across the face and makes us all remember that journalists and the public have the right - the obligation - to demand the most of their elected officials and are only being disloyal when they fail in that obligation. "Good Night, and Good Luck" also captures the 50's mentality that lighting up a Camel and having a stiff drink were the best way to top off a hard day's work. Should that make us miss the good old days? Our bodies are probably healthier now, but how about our minds? Watch the movie.
The History Channel Like You've Never Seen It Before! July 11, 2006
I went to see 'Good Night, and Good Luck' because I wanted to see history reinacted. I received what I wanted. The reinactment by the very able David Straitharn as Edward R. Murrow is noble and absorbing. It is also a great touch that we see the actual hearings by Senator Eugene McCarthy. It makes the movie part documentary and part reinactment, and both aspects are done admirably. George Clooney has helped create as part director, writer, and actor a fine movie. The behind the scenes drama where he acts as one of the key players at CBS give us a "you-are-there" immediacy. And the cinematography in black and white is not only effective but beautiful. The splendor almost gives us a fresh glossy, like from 'Life' magazine, certainly a nice touch. Additionally, the scenes where the crew enter the nightclub transport us to this place and time. 'Good Night, and Good Luck' transports us like 'Quiz Show,' only Redford did so stunningly in color.
Anyway, this is a tangible film. They present the threat and show us how it was overcome. Sometimes it seems so brief that we don't get all the ramifications of the McCarthy menace. However, if even stalwart capitalist and Soviet emigre' Ann Rand disapproved of McCarthy's tactics, something must have been seriously wrong. This was well done and fascinating.
Clooney Sends McCarthy to the ER July 7, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is one of the best political movies that depicts the mood of the nation durring the prime of the Cold War. A time when rightly choosing to join any organization associated with the communist party, either in the present of the 1950s or twenty years in the past when the US and USSR were stuanch allies, was a treasonous offense condemned by McCarthy's regime of the House of Un-American Activities Committee without trial and without evidence. This movie does a very good job in how the politicians of tyranny exploit the fear that the average American may sometimes exhibit. Good Night and Good Luck goes further to expose the slavery of censorship that the United States government, broadcasting corporations, and simple reporters are many times subject to.
Not only that, but the directing is phenomenal. Never thought Clooney had it in him. The most important scenes are highlighted by an intense errie silence at times. The black and white filming is simply classic. And the old cigarette commercials are simply hilarious. Simply put, this film is smart, historically accurate, and breath-takingly hypnotic.
A Re-Creation of Another Time and a Comment on Our Own Time July 5, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Good Night and Good Luck tells the story of Edward R. Murrow and his famous (or infamous) confrontation with Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his red-hunting crusade in the 1950s. Edward R. Murrow, a CBS newsman already famous at the time for his radio broadcasts in World War II, has a weekly documentary series on television and uses that forum to examine the tactics of Joseph McCarthy. The plot is completely predictable to anyone familiar with the events of the time, but it was still a pleasure to see it dramatized so effectively.
I enjoyed the movie very much for both its story and the dramatic tension evoked in a plot I was familiar with, but even more so for its wonderful re-creation of a different time, when a married couple was forbidden to work together and everyone smoked all the time, and the clothing was fabulous. The use of black and white photography necessitated by the incorporation of archival footage added to the atmosphere (especially with all that cigarette smoke swirling through every frame). And in a time when movies like Old School celebrate adults acting like children, it's nice to see a movie that focuses on the pleasures and problems of being a grown up and being responsible not only for one's own actions but for how one acts in the world.
And of course, it's impossible not to see the movie through the lens of current day affairs and feel the lack, which appears to be George Clooney's main goal in making this movie at this time. He accomplishes this quite well by the simple contrast of a journalist who took his profession seriously rather than acting merely as a mouthpiece for powers that be. It's difficult to turn on any news program from the local news to CNN immediately after watching this movie and not feel a sense of anger and frustration at what a powerful medium has been reduced to.
I wonder, would I have liked this movie so much if it wasn't for the current day context? We have a similar situation of a fear-driven government running roughshod over the Constitution and people's rights in the name of fighting an abstract ideology, and a different one of a spineless media sucking up to the powers that be rather than confronting them. It's impossible to separate the movie from the context I viewed it in, but at this time the craft and ability of Edward R. Murrow is something worth remembering and commemorating.
A masterpiece! July 5, 2006
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is an amazing film that draws some frightening parallels between McCarthyism and what's happening in our government today. I urge anyone who hasn't already done so to see it.
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Copyright Runningonkarma.com 2006
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