The Hunting of the President (Harry Thomason and Nickolas Perry)
The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill Clinton
The timing for this film couldn’t be more perfect. As the Republican Party Convention ended this week in New York, filled with hypocritical speeches including one by a Hollywood star posing as a politician, accusing Americans of being “girlie man” on the state of our economy, we are hit with additional evidence that there is much more than special interest politics going on Washington. And it’s all going on right under our nose.
This intriguing and captivating documentary is based on the New York Times Best Selling book by Joe Conason and Gene Lyons, and takes us through numerous interviews with journalists, politicians, political analysts, lawyers, and every other Tom, Dick, Harry and Suzie who were involved in the predator-like conduct of appointed “independent” counsel to investigate Bill Clinton. Through these interviews and presentations of how Kenneth Star and cooperatives went after Clinton, it becomes very clear that the right wing party was attempting to oust the president in whatever means possible. How Bush was able to claim his presidential seat after what happened in Florida starts to make sense.
What was also infuriating were the admissions by journalists who were assigned to stories in a witch hunt fashion, sent out to dig up dirt that wasn’t really there. We’re talking reputable news organizations and papers that are supposed to be reporting the facts, acting like a cheesy Star columnist fabricating a story on a woman who just gave birth to her alien love child. And it was for nothing more than greed and the hopes that they may romance the stone into a Pulitzer Prize or best selling novel the likes of Woodward and Bernstein.
The one thing that had me puzzled was the use of obscure film clips from a variety of sources, mainly movies from the ’40s and ’50s. While entertaining in the way they mocked the ridiculous methods these men in black used orchestrate the investigation, it tended to take away from the serious nature of what was taking place. I know that wasn’t their intension in any way, but that’s how it felt to me. I was too angry to laugh.
This documentary did an excellent job in showing us how our government ate at it’s own tail, and stuck us taxpayers with the hefty dinner tab of tens of millions of dollars spent in that 10 year period. And at the end, you’ll be interested to see how our own Colorado Republican legislators have crafted their own scheme for control.
www.thehuntingofthepresident.com/
Now playing at Starz Film Center for one week only, September 3 – 9
-Kim Owens, September 3, 2004
Starz Special Programs Through September 9
MARCO POLO: RETURN TO XANADU – Kids Movie for Ages 5 and up – Saturday Sept 4, 12:30pm, Starz FilmCenter
MAJOR BARBARA (1941) – Tattered Cover Book Store Free Classic Film – Saturday Sept 4, 7:00pm, Starz FilmCenter
ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW – Live Shadowcast – Saturday Sept 4, midnight, Starz FilmCenter
BLUE VELVET (1986) – David Lynch film with stop-start deconstruction by Denver screenwriter and filmmaker Alexandre Philippe – Tuesday Sept 7, 7:00pm, Starz FilmCenter
BROADWAY: THE GOLDEN AGE – Premiere with director Rick McKay in person, with special guest host The Denver Post theater critic John Moore – Thursday Sept 9, 7:00pm, Starz FilmCenter
Denver Film Society Special Programs
September 10-12 – NOUVEAUX CINÉASTES – Exclusive series with five new French films – Starz FilmCenter
September 13 – GRANDPA’S STILL IN THE TUFF SHED – Colorado Filmmaker Showcase – 7:00pm, Starz FilmCenter
September 14 – Denver Art Museum Cinema – Monster Chiller Horror Theater – Tuesdays through Oct. 26, Starz FilmCenter
September 16 – THE RIGHT STUFF – Americana Film Series – 7:00pm, Starz FilmCenter
September 19 – LIBERTY BOUND – Denver Premiere! – 4:00, 6:00 and 8:00pm, Starz FilmCenter
September 21 – DEADLINE – Denver Premiere with directors Kirsten Johnson and Katy Chevigny, and former Illinois Gov. George Ryan in person – 7:00pm, Starz FilmCenter
September 21, 22, 29 and October 6 – Cinematic Capital Punishment Series – Four films including the Denver premiere of DEADLINE (9/21), Krzysztof Kieslowski’s A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING (9/22), 1958’s I WANT TO LIVE (9/29) and 1938’s ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES (10/06)
Oriental Theater
Sept 1 – Sept 7 THE NANNY
Sept 8 – Sept 14 LES MISERABLES
Sept 15 – Sept 21 TO BE ANNOUNCED
Sept 22 – Sept 29 ALL ABOUT EVE
The Historic Oriental Theatre
4335 W. 44th Avenue
Denver, CO 80212
Box Office: 303-433-3786
