| Movie Review | The Journal of American History, 93.3

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to JAH online. About 233 words from this article are provided below; about 514 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the Organization of American Historians, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a member of the Organization of American Historians, you can:: • Join the OAH and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the Journal of American History.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two-hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Journal of American History (86.1-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Journal of American History.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Movie Review | The Journal of American History, 93.3 | The History Cooperative

Movie Reviews

Good Night, and Good Luck. Dir. by George Clooney. Prod. by Grant Heslov. Warner Independent Pictures, 2005. 93 mins.
In Good Night, and Good Luck, director George Clooney and screenwriter Grant Heslov employ the 1954 confrontation between cbs newsman Edward R. Murrow (played in stoic fashion by veteran character actor David Strathairn) and Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy to comment on contemporary politics in the age of terror. The liberal Clooney contrasts the timidity of a corporate media that failed to challenge the George W. Bush administration's assumptions regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq with the courage Murrow and his producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney) displayed.	1
The film evokes the mood of the 1950s through ubiquitous swirling cigarette smoke, claustrophobic newsrooms (there are no exterior scenes in the film), stark black-and-white cinematography, which allows the filmmakers to show historical footage of McCarthy, and a classic jazz soundtrack featuring Dianne Reeves as a performer in the style of Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald. The ambiguity and paradox of the era are also apparent in the film's conclusion. Murrow plays a key role in bringing McCarthy down, yet the reporter's role at the network is reduced by board chair William Paley (Frank Langella), who is concerned about the impact of political controversy on corporate sponsorship. This astute film eschews the simplicity of the liberal hero slaying the reactionary dragon.	. . .

There are about 514 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.