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The War Room: The Criterion Collection
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Criterion Collection Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (2nd September 2012). |
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The Film
 One of the most interesting relationships that formed from Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 was that of James "The Ragin' Cajun" Carville and George Stephanopoulos, campaign strategists, they were key coordinators to Clinton's successful run at the White House. The film "The War Room" from filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus takes viewers behind-the-scenes of a political campaign from the perspective of Carville and Stephanopoulos. Capturing their challenges, the strategies, the working relationship and their friendship. "The War Room" while never delving too deeply into the "strategy", secrets of the campaign (mainly because they weren't allowed to film those meetings) and Clinton himself aren't spotlighted, yet it offers a rarely seen glimpse into the political world. What the "War Room" did in 1993 was what no other political documentary was really able to achieve, and that's an insider look at the running of a Presidential Campaign. From the primaries to the end of the line, where Clinton is announced as the newest President of the United States. Strategies were not allowed to be film, but instead the filmmakers took a more "personal" and "human" look at the campaign by focusing their lenses on Carville and Stephanopoulos. Smartly shot and edited, these two really shine as the memorable characters of the piece as we the viewer become involved in the decisions and outcomes these two are apart of. Allowing viewers to see what it takes to win an election but also access to the people behind the candidate that do all the work to ensure a victory at the polls. Carville and Stephanopoulos interactions are infectious, and it's interesting seeing a campaign run by (essentially) youthful people, when most people's ideas are of large conference rooms filled with curmudgeon old men pulling the strings of a candidate. "The War Room" offers the opposite, a collaboration that captured in a cinema-vérité style makes for compelling viewing. If anything "The War Room" is an educational film as much as it is a documentary, and should be compulsory viewing in schools if anything to energize and motivate the future of politics. D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus have crafted an important document in a time where America was looking for a change.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of full screen 1.33:1 mastered in high definition 1080p 24/fps using AVC MPEG-4 compression. The Criterion Collection have presented this film as the filmmakers intended by maintaining the visual aesthetic. Shot on 16mm film, the film doesn't have the same depth, detail and clarity as its 35mm big brother, but 16mm has it's own unique characteristics. These characteristics are treated with great respect here and the result is a decent high definition image of a 16mm film. Grain can be heavy at times but it's preserved, colors aren't always the brightest but it's consistent and looks good. There are some minor specks here and there, but otherwise we're looking at a fairly clean print.
Audio
A single audio track is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 surround mixed at 48kHz/24-bit. The film is a fly-on-the-wall documentary so the audio is dialogue reliant and limited in that respect. There isn't much depth, hardly any direction sounds and mostly it's front focused dialogue driven track. The audio is clear and distortion free, it's free from hiss and pops but for a mostly modern film the audio track wouldn't have been a huge challenge to present cleanly and The Criterion Collection have done just that. Optional subtitles are also included in English for the hearing impaired.
Extras
The Criterion Collection has released this film with a few beautifully produced supplements that include two documentaries, a panel discussion, an interview, the film's theatrical trailer plus a booklet with liner notes. Below is a closer look at these extras. First up is a panel discussion (1080i) hosted by the William J. Clinton Foundation, featuring Clinton advisers James Carville and Vernon Jordan, journalist Ron Brownstein, and also features Bill Clinton. The feature runs for 25 minutes 51 seconds, it's hard to believe it's been 20 years since Clinton announced his candidacy for President but this panel discuss that anniversary and is filmed in Clinton's hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. The panellists discuss the turn points of the campaign and share their thoughts on those moments in time. Next up is the "Return of the War Room" documentary (1080i) which runs for 81 minutes 40 seconds, this is a sort-of sequel, follow-up, retrospective type feature that includes Carville and Stephanopoulos as they reflect on the film and the 1992 Presidential Campaign in which they worked to help elect Clinton into office. The documentary is quite candid and also features Paul Begala, Mary Matalin, Bob Boorstin, Dee Dee Myers, Mark Miller, among others that whom where featured in the 1993 documentary film. "Making the War Room" is a 3-part ,documentary (1080p), the segments feature interviews with the filmmakers that cover the genesis, production process, the challenges and difficulties of shooting around a Presidential Campaign among other things. The segments include: - "Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker, Cutler, and Ettinger" Are the filmmakers and producers which runs for 41 minutes 28 seconds. - "Frazer Pennebaker" is an interview with the film's producer and runs for 8 minutes 59 seconds. - "Doob" is an interview with the film's director of photography and runs for 6 minutes 23 seconds. The disc also features an interview (1080p) with strategist Stanley Greenberg and runs for 10 minutes 46 seconds. In this clip Greenberg comments on his job, what it means to American campaigns and how that polling information is used. The film's original theatrical trailer (1080p) runs for 2 minutes 2 seconds. The disc is packaged with a liner notes booklet that features the essay "Being There" Professor of English at Harvard University Louis Menand.
Overall
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