No Presidesnts, but Kane

I'm glad I've seen at least one of the top favorites!

Mr. Will Broaddus from the Salem News picks Between the Lines for his number one journalism movie. "Based on the now-defunct Real Paper, which was to Boston what the Village Voice was to New York during days when underground/countercultural news was a force to be reckoned with. It's simply a great movie, but also resonates today because it is about a paper that is struggling financially, a problem that confronts the field generally today."

Citizen Kane as number two. "When Orson Welles/Hearst writes that declaration of principles, and publishes it for his readers to see, so they can hold him to them--that's what journalism is all about."

Salvador was Broaddus' third favorite. "This man, a journalist played by James Woods, is divorced, broke, and desperate, but gives him a story to pursue, and he's all over it, with a vengenace."

Top 3

After contacting Salem News, Gloucester Times, Boston Globe, NY Times, and the Standard Times, the latter finally came through.

Andy Pomolonis of the Standard Times based out of Newbedford, MA loved All the President's Men, naturally. He claimed it was the movie that "kicked off the whole rush to be a journalist." Pomolonis said knowingly that "everybody wanted to be the next Woodward and Bernstein."

His second favorite was a 1931 film directed by Lewis Milestone simply because of it is a "classic."

His third favorite was Absence of Malice, an 80's film starring Paul Newman and Sally Field.

All the President's Men clearly stands out above the others that Pomolonis remembers.

Bloody Murder and Bob Woodward (unrelated)

Religion is hardly referenced in today's movies, which is why I was surprised to see a picture of Jesus on a wall of the Clutter's home. Then a lawyer read from the Holy Bible and recited Genesis 9:6. It doesn't get much more prophetic than that. Brooks briefly mentions having an evangelistic tone about him in an interview.

Director Richard Brooks simultaneously showed Perry Smith's father on the left reminiscing about the good old times with his son while the picture from years ago filled up the right portion of the shot (showing and telling helps reinforce the moment).

Though the actors are clearly well chosen, I still don't think they match up to Philip Seymour Hoffman's astounding performance in Capote.

In my opinion, investigative reporting has not nearly lost its appeal, but has become a major focus of entertainment in the media. CSI NY&Miami, House, Law and Order, Desperate Housewives, 60 Minutes, Hawaii 5-0 are some shows that are heavily involved with investigative material--even if they do not directly involve journalism.

Our friend Bob Woodward spoke at Tufts University this April about the need for investigative journalism.

In Cahoots with Capote

I honestly cannot remember the last time a movie horrified me so deeply. No amount of alcohol could block out that kind of psychological warfare, as Truman knew all too well. I have never had a trained eye for cinematography, but many elements stood out to me in Capote. For instance, the distant shots of the rather minimalist art forms of landscapes reminded me of the impressionistic era, such as the shot of a light sky and line of bare trees across the screen--pure and simple, naked and beautiful. These shots brought a lingering beauty to the dark story of the film, a much appreciated contrast.

A shot of a long black train coupled with the Truman’s unique voice had a great effect of personalizing the movie. The lead and ink height chart in the Clutter house also had a significant impact on me, making the Clutter family's story painfully more mentally tangible.

Another shot I was particularly fond of was when Perry Smith was being escorted by policemen through a crowd where Truman and Lee were standing. A slow motion shot panned out over the two as they steadily looked on amongst other faces, lights from the paparazzi illuminating them like angels with the pounding "cahchh" of the cameras appropriately accompanying the frame.

The Paper

Sometimes life circumstances escalate very quickly and in the wrong direction. Like when that average guy (who will be remembered as the guy from Seinfeld) loses control and shoots Glenn Close in the leg at a bar. Or when McDougal shoots a hole in the office so that Mr. & Mrs. Hackett can talk. Or that time when blood-smeared Close and Keaton par in the pressroom? Why do we feel there is no other way than to resort to violence just to make people listen to us?

OK, so usually the antagonist does not turn good overnight, but I'm glad that Close ran the true story. It would have been easier to run the wrong one, save time and money, and run the truthful paper the following day. But you can't put a price on the impressions of the public.

Also, do Keaton and McDougle remind you of anyone? In this case, they don't fight back...

Broadcast News

I'm with Ryan, amazed that news anchors can process incoming information while speaking about something else! How is this possible? I'm surprised there are not more mistakes on the air.

The plot resembles all lot of the other journalist movies--the news is always changing and therefore requires incessant attention. If you haven't sweat through your shirt it's been a slow day, seems to me. The pressure is constant, people use each other, some work harder than others, but everyone is pretty stressed. Director James L. Brooks captures the stress of the job: Holly Hunter (Jane) throws her head back and bursts out into a hollow moan when she finds time to herself, just to find some kind of verbal release.

He also utilizes comdey --when Jane hands the last minute tape to a woman who runs through a set of natural obstacles to get it to the right place in time--and is hardly applauded. Yet, the woman feels great joy. This behind the scenes action shows that a lot of work is done and a lot of people do not get credit.

I found the I'm slipping convo between Jane & Aaron to be absolutely human. These odd questions are the stuff of everyday living, so I'm glad it was incorporated.

The World Revolves around George Washington

The speech in Network about money being the center of our operating world really hit me as an all too true "natural order of things" (click to see the monologue on youtube). Another biting line from the film was when the middle aged man leaves the woman, making for a better story so they called it: "Dianna, everything you touch dies with you."


In The Parallax View, an interesting point from a cinamatographic view is when Robert talks business with a man about the possibility of sporatic serial killers attacking his friend group--on a choo-choo train.

Ace in the Hole

Toddi mentioned that the camera zooms up on the characters to create a sense of entrapment, which is clearly appropriate when a descent amount of film is taken from within a cave. Wilder's adventurous shots must have wowed audiences when it first came out.

Another interesting shot was when Charles claims he is taking over the small town newspaper (shot of Charles walking into the camera). When Charles is again that close to the camera he hits the ground, dead. Wilder seems to believe in the superiority complex going nowhere, that greed does not triumph truth.

Slant Magazine's review of Ace in the Hole spekas of the psychology of Charles , which is interestingly ironic--he has broken the rules of journalism yet clearly reprimands Lorraine for breaking mental bonds with her husband. Maybe he does not want Lorraine to like him because he himself doesn't even like him. This is evident when Charles reacts so strongly to Leo's diagnosis from the doctor--his face doubles over and he becomes more violent. Billy Wilder showed the slow death of Charles from the first day Charles picked one man's story over the crowd--when he put human interest before human life.

Sweet Smell of Roses?

"Sweet Smell of Success" was an interesting film that glided across the reels with more action that the others we have watched so far. Falco's twisted character fulfilled the greedy journalism thread throughout. I enjoyed the twists at the en with Susie, who thankfully set herself free from the one man creating all the trouble in the first place--her brother. At one point during the movie, we get a close up of JJ in a smokey haze, as usual. He is dictating orders to others, and a black shadow completely encompasses his eyes. This shot portrays JJ as more than an evil character but an evil idea--showing the dark side of journalism and how far people are willing to go to get what they want. Selfishness, lies, deceit, violence, and manipulation interweave throughout this film--in other words, bad journalism.

A review, check out the cinematography comments on my link.

Kane and Hildy

I agree with Kate about Kane's quote "If I hadn't been rich, I might have been a really good man." Though Kane claimed he did not care much about his money, he continued to purchase extremely valuable items throughout the world, collecting them in a palace for himself! How selfish, crude, and unaltruistic of a man who longed after the public's heart. Kane eventually only drowned in his insatiable lust for love--all alone. His character makes me think of how we treat Jesus more often than not--we want to be loved without putting the work in. Just some food for thought...Also, when Rosebud was the sled, it made me think that back when he was an innocent boy, life was good. Before the complications and moral dilemmas,before the masses, before the printed papers, life was simple and grand.

“His Girl Friday” could stand for the fact that Hildy is Bruce’s girl for a day, figuratively speaking, before she runs back to her first husband. I loved seeing Hildy as “one of the newspaper men” even with her pinstriped suit. Hildy’s wit was a fabulous thread to follow throughout the film, and along with her hubby, they made a smashing dynamic duo.