Fahrenheit 9/11 Reviews

• Censored in Japan - 50 Stars

  
  By A1FUMT2KGMQTT2 on 2004-06-14
  I have not seen this movie and it may be a long while before I do see it. I was told that the military, by the direction of the "highest authority in the Department of Defense", will not allow this movie to be shown in or on any military base regardless of popularity. So, I rate it with 50 stars, representing our country, our flag, our national pride, to beg the American people to regain the freedom that our forefathers fought and died for. Once we had a choice to see, read, what we wished. It was called Freedom of the Press. America - Please Wake Up!
  
  

• A Bit Disappointing

  
  By A1NPNGWBVD9AK3 on 2004-07-13
  I had high expectations for this film. Winner of the prestigious Palm d'or at Cannes. Widely praised, even begrudgingly so by some reviewers from a traditionally right wing perspective. Good word of mouth from some fellow reviewers for whom I have great respect. Too bad it didn't really deliver.

  I give it a middle of the road rating, because I found the film about half enjoyable. It's very well edited and generally moves at an excellent pace. There are some truly funny bits, especially the montages of Bush and his cabinet getting made up for various televesion appearances. Attorney General Ashcroft serenading the faithful is not to be missed. The usual assortment of Bushisms and the now infamous 7 minute scene of The Commander in Chief sitting with the kiddies after being informed of the second tower being hit. Moore hits the mark there.

  At other times, he misses the target completely. The segment in the ice cream truck was funny for about ten seconds, then nada. The bushwacking (pardon the pun) of the Republican Congressmen outside the capital was simply a concept whose outcome was predetermined. That Moore actually got any politician from the right to stop and speak to him speaks well only of those who were brave enough to engage him. It was a cloyingly empty exercise on his part. Which strikes to the heart of the matter of my problem with Moore. True, he acknowledges his bias, as if that alone were enough to get him off the hook in regards to presenting us with a "realistic" viewpoint. I don't expect objectivity from a documentary filmmaker, but I do expect a slightly less corrupted presentation. For instance, when he first inteviews the mom in Flint, MI who acts as a thread for his anti-war stance, it's obvious that she doesn't know of Moore's muckraking history. He basically nods in agreement when she delivers her views about the military and how proud she is of her family's collective contribution to the Armed Forces. He doesn't give her any hint that he has a hidden agenda. Then later in the film, he comes very close to exploiting the poor woman when she learns that her only son has been killed in Iraq. Moore has become infamous for this tactic (playing both sides of the fence, as when he pretended to be a gun lover in BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE).

  I also don't think Moore is half so funny or clever as he thinks he is. One half hour of THE DAILY SHOW with John Stewart delivers more laughs and more finely wrought political satire than does two hours here.

  There are definitely quite a few things that Moore gets right, however. The slow motion photography of the rain of paper after the collapse of the twin towers was very moving, as was the accompanying soundtrack. The brutal, graphic war footage is something every voting American should see. Many won't want to and never will, but there is no way one can idealize the carnage of war after viewing those images.

  On the whole, Moore does succeed in his indictement of the Bush administration and its single minded pursuit of regime change in Iraq at any cost. I can't say that he taught me anything I didn't already know before. I was hoping he would. Thus the disappointment. I still say it is a film that people should see, if only as a reminder of how far politics has sunk in this new millenium.

  BEK
  
  

• A movie every American should see before they vote!

  
  By A21B2TJBWCSK1R on 2004-10-05
  When Michael Moore delivered his controversial acceptance speech after winning the Best Documentary prize for Bowling for Columbine at the 2003 Academy Awards, he lashed out at President George W. Bush and the fictious war in Iraq. Little did anyone know but Moore was also offering a teaser of his next film, Fahrenheit 9/11, a scathing attack on Bush, his link to the rich Saudi oil families, the "War on Terror" and the war currently raging in Iraq.
  
  Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Moore's documentary is that he puts a human face on the citizens of Iraq-something that the mainstream U.S. media has failed to do. He shows graphic footage of dead and maimed civilians killed by U.S. bombs and soldiers. He lets them speak and it becomes readily evident why many Iraqis hate America so much and why the mission to liberate them has so far failed. Moore also gives the U.S. soldiers a voice, interviewing several serving in Iraq and how some are clearly tired of fighting for people who don't want them there. Some soldiers who have come back home are also featured and they talk about their experiences and how their view of the war has changed. Moore also shows how the deaths of American soldiers have devastated their families with one woman in particular, Lila Lipscomb, whose story is quite compelling and resonates on a deeply emotional level.
  
  "Release of Fahrenheit 9/11" is an 11-minute featurette on the film's reception at the Cannes Film Festival. There is also footage of long line-ups and sold out screenings as the film made its way through the country.
  
  "Eyewitness Account from Samarra, Iraq" is an eyewitness account by Swedish journalist Urban Hamid on a U.S.-led raid in Samarra. There is incredible footage of U.S. soldiers arresting a man accused of funding insurgents that is narrated by Hamid himself.
  
  "Lila Lipscomb at Washington, D.C. Premiere" features comments from the woman that Moore talked with in the documentary and whose son died in Iraq. She delivers an impassioned speech at the film's premiere.
  
  Finally, there are seven additional scenes of footage, including interviews with more average Iraqis on the streets of Baghdad on the eve of the 2003 U.S. invasion. Also included is more with Corporal Abdul Henderson and his experiences in Iraq and a very funny segment with Arab-American comedians doing routines about the "War on Terror" and how they are persecuted on a daily basis.
  
  Fahrenheit 9/11 is an incendiary zeitgeist movie that taps right into what is currently happening on our political landscape. It is an angry blast, a howling protest movie against a Presidency clearly out of touch with what is really going on. It is a brilliant film for these troubled times and is what every American, be they Democrat, Republican or undecided, should see before they vote in November.
  
  

• An important film to see, think about and talk about

  
  By A17FLA8HQOFVIG on 2004-07-22
  I was prepared to be critical of this sell-out film. I?ve seen Michael Moore's other films and I know he distorts things to his own agenda. He seems to be a bit of a bully. And I don?t like the fact that he?s going around the world bad-mouthing America.
  
  Yet, I'm concerned about the future of my beloved country. I sense deeply that George Bush and his administration have messed things up. There has to be a change in leadership. And this intrusive filmmaker looks like a catalyst to make that happen.
  
  Mr. Moore knows his craft well. He knows how to select just the perfect film clips that will make his subject look ridiculous. His background music makes us laugh. And his voice-over commentary is cutting and sarcastic. There are also images of horror, such as the victims of war with devastating wounds. He?s kind to the American soldiers though. They?re victims too and we meet the double amputees who are languishing in hospitals and not getting their proper benefits.
  
  The central theme of the film, however, is the tremendous wealth that the Bush family and other corporate executives are acquiring because of their ties to the Saudis. He makes our country look like a war machine with nothing but profits on its mind. Mr. Moore has first-hand experience the result of corporate greed in his hometown of Flint Michigan as he illustrated many years ago in his film ?Roger and Me?. And, indeed, he returns to Flint again in this film. Here, like other depressed area of the country, the military is a way out of poverty. We meet a woman whose son is in Iraq. She?s a proud American and even flies an American flag outside her family?s modest house every single day. Some time during the filming, her son is killed. The war now become up close and personal as we all share her grief.
  
  I did expect this film would manipulate my emotions. I wanted to resist and watch the film from a point of rationality. That was impossible though. I got caught up in the frenzy of Mr. Moore?s mission, which is to bring down the Bush administration. And at the end of the film I was applauding loudly with the rest of the audience.
  
  I know that this film had a hard time getting released and this just adds to the hype and publicity about it. And, in a way it is truly an American story. Because only in America would anyone dare to do this kind of hatchet job on the President. In other countries, Mr. Moore would have had his tongue cut out, or worse.
  
  This is an important film. See it. Think about it. Talk about it. And understand.
  
  Highly recommended. Don?t miss it.
  
  
  

• Anti-Bush film tops Cannes awards

  
  By A1CLACEORRU1WV on 2004-05-23
  One of Moore's chief accusations is Bush allowed planes to pick up 24 members of the Bin Laden family and fly them out of the US in the days following the attacks - when all other aircraft were grounded. To back this up, he shows a document that seems to list them - and uses it as a base from which to explore the relationships between the Bush and Bin Laden dynasties.

  When Bush was trying to make his way as a Texan oil magnate, this same man was hired by the Bin Ladens to invest their money in Texas, and he in turn invested money in Bush's company, the film says.

  Moore asserts that prominent Saudis invested in Bush's ailing companies to get access to his father, the former US president. But aside from the original military records, there is little proof to firm up links Moore goes on to make.
  The result is the oil and arms companies the Saudis invested in, and the Bush family and their inner circle have interests in, profited from the aftermath of 11 September, Moore says. Using a clip of former US head of counter-terrorism Richard Clarke talking about how Bush immediately wanted to find an Iraq link to the attacks, the film moves on to Afghanistan and Iraq.
  The Afghanistan section - including a screen shot of a BBC News Online story - is a claim that the military action in Afghanistan was really about laying a natural gas pipeline across the country.

  But the Iraq section is more substantial, and changes the film's direction - using interviews with US soldiers, footage of civilian suffering and highly moving testimony from bereaved parents of US servicemen.

  The film shows graphic footage of corpses of US soldiers being burnt, dragged behind a truck and strung up, and a scene of US soldiers apparently mistreating Iraqi prisoners.(...)
  
  

• At least someone is telling the truth
  By A1YQU5QTUTGXIU on 2004-06-22
  I have read allot of reviews that were posted here. And I have to agree with all the positive ones as apposed to thoughtless and arrogant single star ones.

  There is no reason to attack someone based on the way they look. I am not a democrat myself, though I hate the way conservative right wingers attack others who they don't agree with, by throwing personal remarks for example a "fat bustard" and so on.

  Let's put things into perspective. I have watched Bowling for Columbine and I have to say that this was the most eye opening documentary ever. Why? Well because I love America, I support our troops, but our government does whatever the hell they want to. Our media shows only one side and never the other.

  I have afforded a great opportunity to see this movie and it was excellent. Many will still say that Mike Moore lives in a dream, by all means let them, since 9/11 we all have been living a nightmare

  I encourage everyone to see this movie and read the books such as "Dude where is my country"
  It is not propaganda, is it a knife poke into the Bush's administration, I would think so. Does he deserve it.... This is only my feeling but the answer is YES.
  
  

• Keep on Rockin' in the Free World!
  By AO5F3MTTFCQR8 on 2004-06-27
  Let me just acknowledge my disinterest in the movies of Michael Moore in general. I usually go to see movies for entertainment and although he is entertaining his subject matter usually isn't escapism so I generally avoid his movies. I actually only saw one other movie by him, Roger and Me, and that was years ago. What interested me in this movie was a NPR interview that discussed both its merits and downfalls, the interview intrigued me and so I was compelled to get advanced tickets and stand in line to see the movie!

  This movie covers a lot of ground so at times you wonder what are we talking about now and then he meanders back to his point of view. Let's not forget this is a movie based on Michael Moores point of view no matter how many people share it. The movie has been called a documentary but it's not filmed like a documentary most people are used too. There is just too much ground to cover. So the film does have merit it's chocked full of facts that are disturbing about the Bush family and their connection with the Saudi's, contradictory interviews of Bush and his cabinet, and personal insights from a select number of Americans.

  I enjoyed the film it was humorous but at times hard to watch. The movie begins with the idea that the last four years was a dream but in essence a nightmare for Mr. Moore. This movie has validity I just wish Mr. Moore didn't hate President Bush so much. The movie certainly makes light of President Bush's ability as President and Leader of the Free World. Perhaps this movie would be embraced by the Republican's if Mr. Moore had stuck to just the facts and not immersed the film with his personal dislike of President Bush and therefore the controversy emerges.

  All in all the facts in this movie are incredibly disturbing! Even if you don't believe everything the movie tells you it makes you think about the dispersion of information by the media, the lack of leadership among the Democrats, the motivations of the current White House, and the distinct class distinction in America Today.

  As for the movie making, like I said there were a couple of times I wondered where this was going but Mr. Moore redirects often and takes you through the maze and back out and you say to yourself, WOW I never thought of that. This movie although not a classic documentary it does make you think and want to find out the truth whether you share Mr. Moores truth or not. It is, thank God, America!

  girldiver:) Proud to be an American!
  
  

• This film broke my heart.
  By AIGVTBK2CK4KJ on 2004-07-15
  Tears streamed down my face almost all the way
  through this film. could the story be sadder or more clearly presented? This band of out of touch and untouchable neo-cons have hi-jacked our country and wasted our beautiful and trusting children. They have moved this great country away from all that we stand for...Michael Moore may be ham handed but his movie speaks to the deepest part of who we are. We have the vote, we are obligated to use it...every one of us. I am seventy years old and there has never been a more important election in my memory.
  
  
• PATRIOTISM AT ITS BEST!!!
  By on 2004-07-15
  Every American who considers themselves patriotic should see this informative film. It takes us behind the scenes of the "spin" of the media such as Fox News, MSNBC, etc., to what's really going on in the Bush camp. It highlights the REAL IMPACT of war, the murder of children and disruption of families. Now, thanks to this administration, Iraq is a mess...no water, failed electricity. God help all of us. We need an intelligent and compassionate leader in the White House...whoever that may be.
  
  
• This movie was fact checked by lawyers and fact checkers
  By A1MLNX7BD2O1KG on 2004-08-07
  I'm sure that the people who say that this movie is full of lies probably don't know this FACT. They just listen to hate mongers like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly and don't bother doing the simplest of research on the internet that any child is capable of. Go to his website for a line by line affirmation of Moore's running commentary with sources listed. It was combed through by fact checkers for New Yorker Magazine and by three lawyers. It is legally true which means it is well within the bounds of Fox News and CNN.
  Oh, by the way it's an excellent film, with many clips that you won't see elsewhere. There is footage of the news, of government documents, of average folks, and in Iraq. The occasional tastefully placed humor and tear-jerking moments really round out this excellent movie.
  
  
• How do you know something?
  By A2CG7ZPUUKB9KN on 2004-10-18
  I had a sociology professor ask my class that question on our first day in college. The class fumbled along, attempting to please him with their answers. "When you're able to repeat it." one said. "When you can use it to understand other concepts," was another response. I want to address the fundamental controversy behind Fahrenheit 9/11 using this very question I was asked back in college. The fundamental controversy behind this film, is that it portrays our government as motivated by the potential to make huge profits at the expense of innocent lives. The innuendo boldly set forth by Michael Moore is that we invaded Iraq to gain strategic control of the Mid-East oil supply. Moore outlines this point very well: he shows Hamid Karzai, a Bush connection from his oil company days being appointed leader of Afghanistan, and shows how shortly thereafter a pipeline began to be built in that country. These are facts. If you watch the special features to this DVD, (and I hope you did) than you saw the lengthy interview with former Marine Abdul Henderson, who told Michael Moore that their first duty in Iraq was to secure the oil supply, and then go about "liberating" the country.
  
  Why is it hard for the film's detractors to accept that our government is greedy and disingenuous? We all know we were told this war was to find WMDs, but it only takes a little research to see what the bigger picture is.
  
  So I return to my original point. How do you know something? How do we as Americans know the government invaded Iraq for control of the second largest oil supply in the world? For some people, they would only know it if President Bush admitted it in a state of the union address.
  
  It's time to be active Americans. We can't rely on the spin that we get from the White House. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a good first step for a lot of people to wake up to what's going on. If documentaries are your thing, there's a whole slew of them that deal with these kinds of issues coming out. Hijacking Catastrophe is one that I will see this week. If you're angry after seeing Fahrenheit 9/11, (at the content, not the presentation) then I stand with you. We know what's going on because all the pieces are adding up...
  
  
• God Bless America . . . God Bless Americans
  By A1GOJJQ3EK8NB9 on 2004-08-05
  When I was in grade 10 back in 1990, my high school history teacher showed us a documentary called "Roger and Me". It was by a man named Michael Moore. He had filmed this in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. He wanted to show what devastation his town had undergone after General Motors had shut down a plant there that had employed a large percentage of Flint. His goal was to confront the CEO of General Motors, a man named Roger Smith. Hence the name of the documentary.
  
  This was the beginning of Michael Moore.
  
  Many years later, after several more films, TV appearances and books, Moore released a shocking documentary called "Bowling for Columbine". About what you ask? Well, 'Columbine' is the name of the high school where, in 1999, the worst high school shooting in American history took place. Two students shot and killed 13 students and 1 teacher. 'Bowling', because that is what those two did on the morning of the shootings.
  
  "Bowling for Columbine" grossed 21 million dollars. An astronomical figure for a documentary. But as Michael Moore said himself "The moment I will always treasure. . ." was when he won the Academy Award for this film, and received a standing ovation at the 2003 Oscars.
  
  But controversy is his favorite recipe. His Oscar acceptance speech included: ". . . We live in the time where we have fictitious election results that elects a fictitious president. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons. Whether it's the fictition of duct tape or fictition of orange alerts we are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you. And any time you got the Pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up!".
  
  Dear God. After this, the Religious right-wingers and many others were calling for his head. Never had there been so much booing at an Academy Award show. But Michael Moore was only setting the stage. The stage for. . . "Fahrenheit 9/11"
  
  I am honestly very suprised that any movie company agreed to release this documentary. But the courage to do so has paid off. Millions have seen it worldwide. It has already grossed over 100 million dollars! It only cost 6 million to make. We all know what this film is about. But for more about it visit: michaelmoore.com
  
  I hesitate to take the reader of this review down my path of opinion. These issues are far too important for that. So I invite all of you, to have an open mind and watch this film. Then tell ten of your family and friends about it. Give Michael Moore the credit he deserves. He has worked very hard, for the benefit of all of you. May his efforts not go in vain. He is a true American, very proud and deserving patriot of a great country. A country that brings hope to the world.
  
  Mahatma Gandhi once said "In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in an clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth."
  
  Well said sir, Michael agrees with you.
  
  
• This Documentary Made Me Feel Overwhelmed with Guilt
  By A1K1JW1C5CUSUZ on 2004-07-03
  This is the first time I've ever reviewed a movie.

  Seeing Fahrenheit 9/11 reminded me of my reaction to looking at the concentration camp films of what the Nazis did in World War II. When I looked at those films, I wondered what was wrong with the Germans who went along with such atrocities.

  Watching this movie made me feel guilty that our country had done so much harm to innocent people around the world in our apparently misguided efforts to locate Saudi-Arabian led Al Qaeda terrorists. Now I wonder what's wrong with me for allowing this to happen.

  I hope you will look at the movie and make your own judgment about what each of us needs to do. I know that I need to begin to speak out and write against the self-serving nonsense that we are being fed from Washington, D.C. If you want to know more background about the Iraq War please see Bob Woodward's book "Plan of Attack" and Michael Moore's book, "Dude, Where's My Country."

  If you have read "Dude, Where's My Country," you may feel that you know what's in this movie. I had read that book, too, and expected few surprises at the movie. But Mr. Moore has updated his research and information quite a lot since the book was written. What he added really floored me.

  As I read in the New York Times this morning that a military draft reinstatement is just around the corner, I realized that unless we stop our attacks on other countries and our search for oil and military profits we will doom hundreds of thousands of other young people to go through what just happened in Iraq . . . as well as millions of innocent civilians around the world.

  Let's start acting like Americans again. We're not sheep who can be led around by those who have hidden political and personal agendas.
  
  

• Bravo!
  By A1H6W8M7E28G32 on 2004-08-10
  Bravo to Michael Moore for producing a courageously honest AND entertaining movie. Don't listen to critics, just see it for yourself.
  
  
• Straight Outta Flint
  By A1906RZITWT2K2 on 2004-08-08
  Michael Moore has said he made Fahrenheit 9/11 to force Americans to discuss the invasion of Iraq, and the greater war on terrorism, both of which which he felt had been rubber-stamped by Congress and rushed past the American people.
  
  It is impossible to argue that he has not reached that goal. If nothing else, note that there are nearly 700 reviews of this DVD on Amazon two months before it is to be released.
  
  Whether or not you agree with Moore's politics, you have to agree that he makes powerful films. I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 in the theater about a month after it's release, when the Bush administration had had plenty of time to do all they could to discredit Moore and his film. The audience by then was small, but they CHEERED at the end of the movie.
  
  Fahrenheit 9/11 may be the best finger-in-the-eye-of-the-powerful you will ever see. It's also great film making.
  
  
• Absolutely Amazing
  By A1RQ7VD64R5GJI on 2004-10-04
  Perhaps the most important film of the year (or the next 4 yrs. for that matter). Moore delivers the hidden facts to those who are willing to view them w/the hope of adding more understanding to the Bush administration. Each fact is presented & backed up w/evidence, it's unbelievable how there are these reviews that state it's all fictional ideology! If you're hesitant on purchasing this documentary, rent it first (it may be checked out every time you go to blockbuster though), then you'll most likely place your order afterwards. The dvd edition has evidence & hard facts that back up everything in this film! So please, don't believe that this is a fictional piece. Ignore the many voices trying their hardest to keep the truth from the public! Everyone needs to see this documentary...especially before Nov. 2nd! This film is successful for a reason: The American People Want To Know The Truth!!
  
  
• Shows a different side
  By A31BSQVDEJIA88 on 2004-10-07
  This really is a very well done film. Everyone should watch it, both with an open mind, but also critically. What struck me more than anything was the way that some of the kids fighting in our armed forces today (and I mean kids -- 18-19 year olds) seem so inadequately prepared by the system to psychologically deal with the horrors of war and what it is they're called to do. The character formation of some combatants (though certainly not all) seemed to be based on having grown up playing shoot-'em-up video games. It seems as though our military needs to do a hell of a lot more to overwrite this very harmful mentality.
  
  
• Worth Watching
  By AJWDOCM9BLAQ3 on 2004-08-30
  From the reviews I've read so far it's obvious to see how polarized views on this film -and current American discourse for that matter- are. Yet it is hard to talk about it without revealing one's own feelings about the war.
  
  Overall the film was well done, both in content and structure. And contrary to what the reviews written here by the right-wing sympathizers (consisting usually of one paragraph and saying nothing substantive about the movie-just ad hominem attacks against Moore) there are no lies in this movie. Moore himself has said he thought about offering $10,000 to anyone who finds anything factually wrong in it, yet some in the right love to bash it. Ironic, since the reasons this administration used for taking the US to war have been proven inaccurate -to say the least-, but the "Party of Self-Responsibility" does not seem to admit to them. I'm willing to bet that most of these reviewers who give the movie one star have not even watched it.
  
  What the movie contains however, is a string of selective facts that Moore can be very manipulative in using. A good example is the footage of Iraqi civilians on the eve of the war; children flying kites, happy families, followed by... the attacks. This is followed by scenes of mayhem and death, and one particularly heartbreaking scene of a bloody baby wailing while being carried to a hospital (that scene still haunts me). This was an undeniable part of the war, this really happened, and Moore elicits from the audience the response he intended. Yet as I watched this, I thought that if instead of those scenes he had chosen footage of Saddam's
  torture houses, children being tortured in front of their parents, wives being raped in front of their husbands and children, then the response to the bombing from the audience would have been a very different one. This was part of the war too.
  
  Further, while I believe there was foul play in the 2000 elections, I would not go as far as Moore. And seriously, can anyone say with a straight face that the last name Bush HAD NOTHING TO DO with the Supreme Court ruling in favor of junior? Yet Moore builds up this case in a way that makes it seem as a watertight conspiracy theory, when in reality it was many people, at many levels of government, putting aside objectivity and integrity and ruling out on partisan allegiance, not unlike a struggling democracy elsewhere. Moore does show an amazing amount of papers and concrete proof to base his argument on, but again, one is left feeling that it could not be so "perfect" as Moore would have you believe.
  
  The documentary does articulate the outrage of many people who feel we were taken to war for dubious reasons, and then it turned out that those reasons were downright wrong. Right now American credibility around the world is zero, and half the people in this country feel the same way about the Bush administration. Moore's intention with this movie is to keep Bush for winning office again, which is in my view a necessary step for our own survival and to signal the rest of the world that this country does not approve of the lies we have been fed. If re-elected, we will be seen as co-conspirators and American reputation will sink even deeper. Although this reader needs no convincing, Moore's film makes the case even more persuasive.
  In the end if Michael Moore hates America or not only he must know; but raising a mirror to America's face is probably the most patriotic you can do right now.
  
  Fahrenheit 9/11 ends with a thought that should be given nothing but respect and approval from the audience; "Our young men and women put themselves on the line and ask that we only put them in harm's way when absolutely necessary." How some people can say they agree while at the same time still support what Bush has done -all evidence against him- is to live a contradiction. Yes, Saddam Hussein was the scum of the earth and his sons and cronies were no better, but this was not our war to fight. If the reasons for taking us to war were to "bring the gift of freedom from the Almighty" to Iraq or oil or strategic security or whatever, accusations of WMDs and imaginary links to al quaeda do not justify it. That the people who did everything possible not to serve in uniform when it was their duty, are the ones who now so carelessly take us to war, is nothing less than a tragedy.
  
  
  
  
• Let's wait and see
  By on 2004-06-22
  It is very strange to witness the vitriol and condemnation against this film leveled by people who have not seen it, and proudly declare that they have no intention of seeing it. No contrary notions will mess with my concrete mindset!! One astute fellow even insists that this movie has no validity due to the fact that it was made by someone who was born in Canada. This is odd for two reasons: Moore was born in, and continues to reside in, USA, and the idea that any but homegrown perspectives should be ignored leads to insular idioicy. People who believe that blind acceptance of national policy equals patriotism are doing their best to wreck democracy, as democracy cannot function without open discussion and dissent. I challenge all members of the paranoid right to view the film, and perhaps think about it for five minutes or so, before offering their opinions of it. I'll do the same.
  
  
• I voted for Bush in 2000, BIG MISTAKE
  By A3C08T5K46E4QU on 2004-10-03
  Some background, I have a college degree in CIS, I used to be a republican I even (regretfully) voted for Bush in 2000. I met Dole once and voted for him as well. But soon after the Patriot act was signed I started to wonder about our good friend Bush and Ashcroft. I wondered why they would push the Act that destroys so much of our privacy, and our rights in the name of 'security'. That was the beginning of my research.
  
  I started to realize things were not as they seemed. As I watched Bush, I started to see his faults, his unbelievable ignorance and certainty which can be seen by any footage of him, but more specifically in the recent debates with Kerry (9/30/04).
  
  I began to see his lack of diplomacy and realized after talking with my Indian friends at work how much the world really hates us, because of our policies and our [lack of] diplomacy.
  
  The invasion of Iraq was mind-boggling to me, I wondered why would we involve ourselves in such a thing? My ignorance at the time didn't tell me about the the massive oil reserves in Iraq.
  Which is clearly the plan.
  
  Since 2001 I notice Bush constantly talking about terrorism and I realized that it sounds a lot like fear mongering after a while. I admit I was duped too, I felt very afraid for a long time after 9/11. Not saying we are safe from terrorism, because there could be more terrorist attacks. Mainly because of our foreign policies and their affect (read Chomsky's Hegemony of Survival).
  
  Bush has pushed me so far to the left it's ridiculous. Keep in mind I have a deep distrust of the democrats in power as well. As Chomsky says, the two party system is deeply connected to huge corporations and their interests.
  
  As for the movie, yes, it is opinionated and political, but it is also rooted in fact. I knew a lot about the movie before I saw it from reading/news etc. So much of it was NOT a surprise to me. The movie is excellent, and I have to seriously question anyone that says Moore is not a patriot of the highest degree.
  
  The day that the Moore's of the world are silenced is a very frightening day indeed. Rush Limbaugh gets to speak every day, and so does Moore. One should hear both sides, then watch the news (more than 1 source), then listen to foreign news, then make decisions.
  
  The movie is a must see. I have learned to look at all points of view before making decisions. Look at actions of the politicians not their words.
  
  The movie shows a human face to the war- what it's really like. Not 1 life is worth a single barrel of oil. And you can see that millions of lives are affected by this need for oil. We won't talk about ridding ourselves of oil dependency. Hmmm... I wonder why?
  
  The movie is enlightening (for those that don't do their research other than political ads on tv), but I strongly urge everyone to see this movie, read the patriot act, try to understand it. Take a close look at Bush and understand how scary it is the way our government treats other people. Look at Guantanomo bay prisoners and their treatment. Are they innocent or not? They are being held illegally, and without representation. What if Ashcroft decides to do that to you or me? If they don't follow the rules there, why would they follow them here.
  
  In the movie, there is a scene where the soldiers break down the door of a home, and come in to arrest some guy, and they hold everyone at gunpoint. This is especially scary, because it shows a use of force that is blatant and random. And it can very well be in your own doorstep some day. I've seen it.
  
  Celebrate the Moore's of this country! See the movie!
  
  
  
• Perfect Example of Patriotism
  By A15KA5UFPZ1B8A on 2004-10-07
  Most important movie ever made?
  Don't laugh, its possible!
  Any claims that this movie exadurates or misrepresents truth are not at all surprising, as we Americans have become so used to being fed propaganda from the right.
  Reclaim American democracy on Nov.2, and let history start recording truth about the Bush Dynasty and its near successes in redesigning our country into a corporation that they own.
  
  
• The truth hurts at times
  By A2J705ITI98KSH on 2004-08-06
  its funny how most people say that this was a bit over hyped but according to the 9/11 commission report the facts are there..
  
  The September 11 Commission's 567-page final report has confirmed key facts presented in Fahrenheit 9/11. These include:
  
  Attorney General John Ashcroft told acting FBI director Thomas Pickard that he did not want to hear anything more about terrorist threats.  Confirmed, Commission Report at p. 265
  
  After Bush was informed of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center, he went ahead with his classroom event.  After Bush was informed that the nation was under attack after the second plane hit, Bush stayed in the classroom for nearly seven more minutes, continuing to read with the children. Confirmed, Commission Report at pp. 35, 38-39.
  
  Bush failed to have even one meeting to discuss the threat of terrorism with his head of counterterrorism Richard Clarke.  Confirmed, Commission Report at p. 201.
  
  Bush failed to react to the August 6, 2001 security briefing, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S. Confirmed, Commission Report at pp. 260-262.
  
  142 Saudis, including 24 members of the bin Laden family, were allowed to leave the country after September 13. Confirmed, Commission Report at p. 556, n. 25  [Note that Fahrenheit 9/11 understates the number of Saudis who left.]
  
  Individuals were interviewed by the FBI before being allowed to leave (although the report confirms that most individuals on these flights were not interviewed.)  Confirmed, Commission Report at p. 557, n. 28.
  
  White House former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke approved these flights. Confirmed, Commission Report at p. 329.
  
  It should also be noted that the 9/11 Commission does not address or deem important a number of other issues either addressed in Fahrenheit 9/11 or revealed since completion of the film, including:
  
  What exactly was the rush in getting these individuals out of the country so soon after the worst attack in U.S. history, why did Saudi Royals and bin Laden family members receive such special treatment at a time when most Americans still could not get flights (even though airspace may have been open), and how exactly were the flights arranged by the U.S. government?
  
  Several unanswered questions posed by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) in a July 20, 2004, Grand Forks Herald column: "At a time when 14 of the 19 terrorists from Sept. 11 were Saudi citizens, how and why were six secret flights allowed to sneak 142 Saudi citizens out of the United States in the days after Sept. 11 before they were properly interrogated? How do we know they weren't properly questioned? Because Dale Watson, the No. 2 man and former head of counterterrorism at the FBI has said none of them were subjected to `serious' interrogation or questions before being allowed to leave.  In fact, we now know that at least two and perhaps more of the Saudis who were allowed to leave after Sept. 11 were under investigation by the FBI for alleged terrorist connections."
  
  Information that came to light in Dana Milbank's July 22, 2004 Washington Post article, including the fact that at least one bin Laden family member who was allowed to leave lived with a nephew of Osama bin Laden, who "was involved in forming the U.S. branch of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth" (WAMY), which the FBI has described as "a suspected terrorist organization," and that the bin Ladens flew out of the country on the same airplane that "has been chartered frequently by the White House for the press corps traveling with President Bush."
  
  
• go see it
  By on 2004-06-24
  Five stars for freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of information!! America Rocks!!
  
  
• biased?
  By A36CXTGVCM0EOA on 2004-08-05
  I find it humorous that people in this forum seem to be reviewing their own political positions and purposes rather than going into or after the film itself which is the real state of grace here. Michael is an excellent documentarian, perhaps the best today, with a more historically bent nod to the Burns brothers (sic) and a few others. He is a great one because he wakes people up and gets them to display thoughts and emotions, while many of these films just make us grab for some more popcorn, change the channel, or nod off. And almost all of Moore's films have made us think and feel STRONGLY (Roger and Columbine especially).
  
  As a documentary junkie I have never seen anything perform the effect that Fahrenheit 911 has and does. It is the cattle prod for the polarization of America today and seems to be getting more and more defined as we move towards November. Well so be it. Whether you are a Bush monger or a Kerry cutie this is a movie that needs to be seen. You decide for yourself whether its purpose is propaganda, entertainment or to overthrow the world in a nicer way than Dick Cheney (corporate takeover) or even John Edwards (legal eagle) ever thought possible.
  
  I was so disappointed in a recent New York Daily News or Post cover story (can't remember which but they're pretty much the same, right?) when 911 Tragedy standard bearer Rudy Giuliani (I voted for him) blasted this film, sizzled Moore and went on to say he never saw it. What!?!? Siskel and Ebert moment ala Rudy: I loved the film Gene. I hated it Roger, you're an idiot. Why? Don't know, never saw it. Sounds like my Robin Hood book report in the 4th grade. Skipped the book, watched the cartoon, wrote a parody (got an A+).
  
  What is everyone so afraid of? Changing sides, a firmer position, not having the best hairdo? Maybe Mr. Moore should make a documentary about THAT. But Rudy should stay out of that race for sure.
  
  -Joshua Leland Evans (bald as well)
  
  
  
• Wasn't surprised by anything in the film..
  By A27G2AKXY1PQCZ on 2004-10-04
  Great film that every American should see. What is it about GWB that won't let people see through his BS? I've said numerous times that if all these were just lies, why hasn't Mr Moore been sued yet? He made over 100 mill and hasn't been sued? Wake up people!! The corperate ties are all lies? The film clips of this guy popping his gums (in his own words), all lies? The fact that this war, was the wrong war at the wrong time? These are indefensible facts and occurances. The debate last week showed that the man can't handle pressure on his own. Kerry had him pulling his hair out, he started talking in circles. Watch the film, check out the facts and make your own determinations.
  
  
• Definitely A Must-See Movie For The Summer!
  By ALR35EFI69S5R on 2004-07-16
  This film is a brilliantly-contrived and choreographed emotional roller coaster ride that incites a quite palpable resulting attitude of disgust, dismay, and disdain on the of the viewer. Mr. Moore manipulates the images, voice-overs and antics to both amuse and outrage us all at once, in an obviously outrageously satirical (and sometimes hysterical) look at the war in Iraq and the people who engineered us into invading that country, at terrible cost to ordinary American men and women.

  In essence that is the simple message of this pseudo-documentary; that simple, trusting and basically honorable young and patriotic Americans are being badly abused and misled by an administration and a government out of control, a government which, in Mr. Moore's view of the world, serves its people up to slaughter without worry and care. After all, it is not, as he so comically and memorably demonstrates, the sons and daughters of the governing elite who serve and die in God-forsaken places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

  Thus, in one chaotic series of vignettes, Moore corners unsuspecting Congressmen and makes a pitch to have them volunteer their kids as potential cannon-fodder for Iraq. Needless to say, the point is well taken, as only one current member of Congress has a son stationed in harm's way in Iraq. He counter-poses such banal images with those of battle casualties and struggling working class mothers crying over their lost sons after the fact. One must hasten to acknowledge that in fact, Michael Moore makes no pretense in the film of attempting to be balanced or fair; on the contrary, he is puzzled by the suggestion that he do so.

  After all, as he says, the opinions coming from the environs of the Oval Office have hardly been balanced or fair. And while one may argue that he has sometimes played fast and loose with the sequences of events, or the connections between various elements tied together in the movie, there are few outright falsehoods one can point to as an example of downright misrepresentation.

  He also quite cleverly puts the lie to the idea that protest or argument is somehow unpatriotic. This places an enormous burden on those who would argue one must remain silent in solidarity with the troops as a show of respect for their sacrifice. Yet it is hard to argue with Moore's logic that anyone who really cares about the welfare of the troops would take care not to misuse them or continue to place them needlessly or carelessly in harms' way. As James Bovard contends in his new book, suggesting, as Mr. Bush does continually, that by fighting the terrorists in Iraq we will avoid fighting them here, is at best an almost criminally naïve notion, and at worst, a cynical and murderous misrepresentation of what is going down in Iraq.

  We are not becessarily there to preserve their freedom or ours, argues Mr. Moore, and any suggestion that such is the case will have a hard time explaining events that now transpire on an almost daily basis. Moore's intent was to ratchet up debate on the policies and practices and rationale of the neo-conservative regime current in power, and to suggest that perhaps Americans begin to question it and its motives much more closely. Thus, despite it dramatic excesses or its willingness to sometimes take liberties in connecting things which may or may not indeed be so tied, I believe in creating public controversy and stirring public debate the movie will be a stunning success, and that it may well lead to having some measurable resulting political impact on the election in the fall. Enjoy!
  
  

• Oops! I Crapped My Pants!
  By AXDOEQCFEGWYU on 2004-08-09
  That's what dubya was thinking during those seven minutes in that Florida school room.
  
  Even though I knew what a weasel dubya was before I saw F911, I was still very disturbed after viewing the movie. I recommend this movies to all voters. Watch this movie before you cast your vote on November 2.
  
  
• The Truth is Hard to Handle
  By A2I5USLIHXWBIB on 2004-08-05
  I spend far too much time reading the news online, especially the foreign press, so I wasn't shocked or suprised by the film. In fact, I was very moved by it in many ways. I felt frustrated that the American people choose to overlook so much and give our trust so freely. You can't dispute the footage - It's real. Bush's actual documented actions do more to undermine his credibility than Michael Moore ever could make up. One thing that can't be disputed, Michael Moore is a TRUE PATRIOT, his love for America shines through!
  
  
• I couldn't believe it.
  By AC7XKLNU16CKV on 2004-10-12
  Where does George Bush senior make most of his money nowadays?
  Who is the Carlyle Group?
  What company does Dick Chaney have millions of $$$$ invested in?
  
  **Who in the Bush Administration benefits when the US goes to war?
  
  If you don't know, then how can you dismiss this film so quickly?
  
  Go to Michael Moore dot com. Mr. Moore has listed his sources for every sentence in F911. You don't have to trust Michael Moore...check his sources. See for yourself.
  
  "Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
  
  (...)
  
  
  
• Why Didn't The "Liberal Media" Show Us This?
  By A31Y9DLKVASJQY on 2004-10-13
  Michael Moore obviously can't stand George W. Bush, and goes out of his way to make him look bad in this film, but making him look bad doesn't seem to take much of an effort.
  
  The most amazing part of the movie was the film of the president sitting in a classroom, listening to kids read a story, when one of his aides told him the country was under attack. He sat there for seven minutes, frozen, before getting up to do something about the attacks.
  
  We always hear about the "liberal media" in this country, but if the media is so liberal why didn't we ever see his failure to react to the news until this movie came out? Obviously, there was no time to show this at the time, but why didn't the networks go back and show us this lack of reaction a month or two later?
  
  Anyway, if you haven't decided how you will vote you should watch this movie and it might help you decide. A few of the points Moore makes in the film include:
  
  1. There was no reason to go to war with Iraq.
  2. Only one member of Congress has a child serving in Iraq.
  3. Most of the soldiers are from poor areas like Flint, Michigan
  where there are no other jobs.
  4. The Homeland Security Act makes very little sense.
  5. The greed of companies like Haliburton is disturbing. They
  are the big winners in this war.
  
  Of course if you back Bush, you'll say the film is totally biased and a waste of time, so you probably won't want to bother with it. On the other hand, if you're a Bush backer with an open mind you might learn a thing or two from this film.
  
  

• Sicko (Special Edition)
• Bowling for Columbine
• An Inconvenient Truth
• Roger & Me
• Super Size Me