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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
'President Cheney', anyone?, 5 Feb 2007
A brilliant film all round: top-quality acting, excellent editing, and superb soundtrack scoring. The best films are those that defy description and even create their own genre, and this British-made 'fictional documentary' does just that.
The film makes us think about the state of the so-called 'war on terrorism' without preaching to the anti-war choir and without going out of the way to appease the U.S. critics (current presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, for one, had publicly called this movie "despicable"). This film even has its own subtle humor that at times makes you want to burst out laughing: testimony by the former 'Bush aide' who attests to the president's God-given talents with a twinkle in her eye, for example, or the soft-talking, square-jawed 'police official' who speaks of the need to use brute force against anti-Bush protesters.
A winner at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival (and temporarily blocked in 2007 by Japanese film censors from being screened at movie theaters in Japan), "Death of a President" shows us, once again, that some of the best movies in the world are not from Hollywood and are not made by Americans -- even when the film is about America.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not what you might expect and really very good, 24 Oct 2008
Death of a President caused quite a stir on its release, not surprising considering the subject matter. This is a documentary style movie looking back at the assassination of President George Bush; it is fictional, political and highly emotive. It is also rather good.
I was surprised that this plays out like a thriller, not something I expected from a documentary, even a fake one. We know the conclusion of course; the assassination of President Bush, but the film very cleverly draws the viewer into events, what was the lead up to these events? Who could have done this to the President? How was this allowed to happen? Why would anyone do this to the President? Going into the film you may think you know this already, thirty minutes in I defy anyone not to be caught up in it all and playing detective, waiting for the inevitable and yet somehow hoping that it doesn't happen.
I confess that I watched this not because I particularly wanted to, but because I knew someone on the production. So what a pleasure it was to find I enjoyed it enormously. I have subsequently recommended and loaned this film to friends who have all been similarly surprised by how enjoyable and dramatic this film is. The commentary is pretty good too.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Death of a President, 10 Nov 2008
Absolutely brilliant movie which portrays the imagined assassination of George W Bush. It is filmed in the style of a documentary with interviews with Secret Service agents, FBI investigators, protestors and families of the accused. The acting is superb and it isn't hard to believe you are watching a real documentary.
Obviously, with each passing day the movie loses its punch as George W's term comes to an end. The larger picture and the issues it touches on are still pertinant.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this and will be recommending it to others. Worth the 2 or 3 pounds it now seems to be selling at.
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