DonnachaOne

I SAW THE MOVIE

Good, not great. Nothing that a relatively well-informed person wouldn't already know, but quite a good source of information. While Moore's opinion is fairly clear, and he presents a lot of information, he rarely makes a connection between that information and his point. It's rather aimless in many parts.

I do recommend the film, however. I reckon that if this film was seen by more people, it would seriously affect the 2004 election. The film isn't rock-your-socks-off brilliant, nor is it groundbreaking, but it's entertaining, informative to the less-well-informed and entertaining.

rfduncan

Yeah you'd be right about the Avalon which is showing it 4 times today (and has ONE screen).

The Loews Georgetown 14 is showing it TWENTY TIMES daily. And added shows last night by popular demand. I was intending to have no problem seeing this at the midnight opening at 12:01 or 12:05. Both sold out. I saw the 12:15 which also sold out. There was also a 12:20. This theater was the ONLY place to offer decent a shot at seeing this movie because they kept adding screens. Kudos to them for filling a need. All 4 screens will be showing this film as often as time will alow.

I thinking the thing that bothered me the most was the woman who repeatedly attacked the mother by saying "This is STAGED! This is all staged!" in front of the White House. I personally had no idea how this parent was able to do anything more than continue to live, breathe and stand erect not to mention give this "know-it-all" demanding something to the effect of "OH yeah? Who? When? Where? Why?" The mother delivered every answer her inquisitor needed with a straigt face! "MY SON."

rsaccone

From the trailers I've seen Moore alleges some sort of Bush based conspirarcy to whisk the Bin Laden's family out of the country after 9/11. Well we now know from Richard Clarke's own words that it was he who had the idea to fly them out. Did Moore fix this in the film?

HistoryProf

well crap....my wife stopped to get tix on her way to work and every show today is sold out...even the midnight one. I've never seen that for any movie in this town. ever.

jtorres138

What town/state are you in?

HistoryProf

up in Northern Michigan....so it's not unexpected.

Actually, the Bank he visited in BfC that was one of the sources of criticism is here in town and i drive by it every day. I stopped in once and lo and behold, they have guns there on the premises. Moore visits up here regularly and holds talks and stuff, so he's got quite the following up here.

MrX

I got my tix for Sunday

slop101

I agree - but you'd be surprised at just how many people really are flat out ignorant. I'd say about 75% of the U.S. population won't know about more than half the things presented in the movie - and that's a conservative estamate.

Frank TJ Mackey

saw an afternoon show in a small and it was very well attended

it was good but not great as i thought i might be

the second half was much slower and he should've focused more on us not finding the weapons over there

Lipcomb woman was nice to show her story but there was too much of it.

it's still quite funny and entertaining

you can bet they'll drop the DVD by September or so for the entire country to get to see it.

yes it was sloppy at times, but i'm sure it was rushed to be finished in time as well.

more later.

MrN

I went to the early morning show - at that theatre all shows after 1:00 pm were already sold out and I think my was also full.

I for one thought the film worked - yes it is propaganda showing Michael Moore's opinion of the George Bush election, connection to the Bin Ladens and the Iraqi 'liberation.' But it is effective, showing the point of view of the troops and the families and the film elicits plenty of laughs at the same time. This area of tragi-comedy especially when dealing with ripped-from-the-headlines material is very hard to do - but there it is.

I think its better than "Bowling" but no doubt people who hate Moore's previous work won't think much of this one either. By staying off camera and thereby putting less hijinks, Moore lets the story speak for itself. The interesting thing now is to see how many distortions there are - but I've only heard about the 9/13 flight being 'debunked' - I haven't verified this for myself yet...

There are some disturbing images here btw - I definitely think its an R-rated film, as I saw it. There are too many good moments to mention but the one thing that really pissed me off was that woman coming around saying "this is all a set-up" or words to that effect. I'm not sure what was the 'emotional blackmail' that a previous poster was referring to - the other side is doing a darn good job of avoiding showing caskets of soldiers, so this scene I thought was not only justified but shows the whole story of the mother.

Peace, out.

chess

I cought a sold out show here in San Antonio. Fortunately, a gentlemen had a few extra tickets due to friends not being able to make it and he sold them to me at a discount.

I understand and agree with many of the previously posted points, but I think that the current posts marginalize the emotional impact of the film. It's a very effective film in that regard. Much of the film is what I would have put together myself to present Bush as what I think he is, but the film is at its best when it explores the human impact of the decisions that these folks make and the sheer absurdity of the current state of affairs. This is Michael Moore's forte.

For what it's worth, the sold-out audience gave a standing ovation that must have lasted a full 2-3 minutes. The line was already formed for the next showing, which was sold-sold out as well, and the press was outside covering it. This is definately the cinema event of the year thus far and will make a lot of money. I also can't imagine it not having an impact on the election, which is the point, I suppose.

Bottom line: As an American and a service member, I think that everyone should see this film. For some, it will galvanize previously held opinions, and for others, it will force critical analysis. Either way, it is a compelling piece from a provocative film maker. At the risk of cliche': I laughed. I cried. I preordered the DVD (well, not really).

lisadoris

Saw the film this morning and for those of you in the Chi-Town area, there was quite the line waiting to see this film.

As others have said, there wasn't any real new information for those who have been paying attention. However, as someone else mentioned, there are a whole lot of people who haven't been paying attention. I have to disagree with the poster who said the mother was a bit much. I was physically and emotionally moved by her grief. Was it manipulative on Moore's part - maybe but I came away feeling that she was in real pain. That was the part of the movie that struck me the most.

I also loved the beginning with the minority congressmen and women trying to be heard on the floor. Maxine Waters is a trip and Rev. Jesse Jackson Jr. just would not give up the floor. I found that section to be humorous, compelling, and more than a tad troubling.

When the DVD is released in October (because you know it will be out in time for the election) I will buy it and maybe find a way to use it in my classes.

RMSpuhler

I got about the last ticket for today at Arclight in LA - every show sold out and tomorrow's tickets were going very, very quickly.

The "ironic juxtaposition" really gets a workout in F9/11; it seems like damn near every cut leads to one. Mike, it's only one device, man.

The war footage was very difficult to watch, and even the sounds of September 11th (played while the screen is black) were hard to stomach. This film deserved its R rating (for the former, not the latter).

My main problem is with the evidence itself. Michael is the master of putting out there 2 and 2 and then trying to lead the audience to add them up and get 18. I felt that way through most of the Bush-Bin Laden stuff. Find me an oilman in Texas who DIDN'T have connections to the Bin Laden family (it's a big freaking family), and I'll show you a horrible failure. Some of his accusations against Bush 41 were also out of line; he does everything but accuse him of being more worried about Saudis than Americans.

However, I liked that he took himself out of the limelight a bit more, especially with the Iraq footage. For some reason, his usual stunts don't sit well when it's life-and-death, as opposed to jackass CEOs. He still pulls a couple of good ones (including the congressman enlisting thing that's getting all the press, but is only about three minutes or so in length), but he is more interested in putting facts out there instead.

RS

Apocrypha

I haven't seen it yet, but it obviously has someone scared.
My local paper and movie information line have no listing of its showing despite its presence on a screen somewhere in my town.... anyone else having trouble finding out where its playing and when?

chess

My usual theater wasn't showing it. I was thinking of giving them a call to ask why. Thankfully, the internet was a good resource for finding a showing.

Best of luck. Hopefully, your local brownshirts haven't succeeded in keeping it out of your town.

Dr. DVD

Saw it. Probably the best movie going experience of my life in terms of feeling a connection to the audience and what we were watching. There were more applause moments at this than anything I can remember, and when the movie was over, we applauded for about two full minutes.

Like him or hate him, one cannot deny that Moore is a good filmmaker. While it is obvious he had it out for some people, if one views the film objectively it can still be very powerful and come across as well made, especially with the editing.

I give it *** 1/2 out of **** or a grade of solid A.

vwbeetlvr

I wanted to go see this movie, my cousin wanted to see white chicks. when we got to the theater everyone was standing outside (in the pouring rain) because someone allegedly called in a bomb threat. I didn't get to see any movies tonight.

gross@iastate

Use it to teach kids? God help us all.

RoboDad

That was completely offensive and totaly uncalled for.

chess

Offensive? Maybe. I should have worded it otherwise and I apologize. Nothing but respect for you Robo.

Uncalled for? I don't think so. There is an overt effort going on to discredit this film and to even keep people from seeing it on a number of fronts. As I said before, I think it is an exceptional film on a number of levels and warrants a view whether you are inclined to agree with Moore or not.

We live in surreal and scary times, and this film illustrates that point in a refreshingly direct manner. Some would prefer that it weren't available to a free market and they aren't afraid to use intimidation tactics to make it happen...see bomb threat above.

I am offended by the continued movement to protect Bush from criticism, warranted or otherwise. Calling people who question him "unpatriotic" is uncalled for...investigating them under the "patriot act" as shown in the film is...well, I just don't know what else to call it.

But this thread isn't about efforts to subvert the film, it is about the film itself, so (again) I apologize if I offended.

FWIW, I was just lamenting for a member who couldn't find the film in his town due to (my assumption) theater owner fear. I believe Al Gore used the term "brownshirts" the other day, and he and I both should know better than to undermine our own arguments with over the top comparisons.

regards,
chess

Chrisedge

Saw it tonight and agree with the newest posts. Extremely effective in evoking emotion and at least questioning authority (Both Reps and Dems).

(I think it was my favorite MM film, and possibly my fav movie of the year)

angryyoungman

As I've seen the film, let me finally debunk this once and for all. The film only says that the White House approved the planes to fly 142 Saudis, including members of the bin Laden family after Sept. 13th. The film does not say who specifically gave the order, but obviously Richard Clarke worked in the White House, and made the decision. Since they said simply that the White House approved it, there was nothing to fix.

Further, contrary to some of what has been said in the forum and elsewhere, the movie does indeed note that there were some interviews done with some of the Saudis before they left. What Moore, author Craig Unger, Sen. Byron Dorgan and a former agent who worked on the FBI-CIA Al Qaeda task force argue is that the terse investigation was simply not thorough enough given the circumstances (in spite of even the 9/11 commission's assertions that no further investigation was need).

I've seen a lot of posting on this forum about a supposed flood of mistakes, lies, outrageous distortions that fill this movie, but as others have pointed out, much of what is presented in this film is public record, things that have been publicized to some degree and debated about before. What Moore does is to organize all of these arguments into what is, in his opinion, a very pointed indictment of the Bush administration.

The film does also take a shot at Democratic lawmakers who didn't question the plan for Iraq, but it is admittedly a small note in the film.

The "Move America Forward" website complains that the left is trying to "rally the public against the military," and I assume by their actions they are suggesting F9/11 tries to do this. I believe that exactly the opposite argument is made in the film. The mother who appears in the film (whose family has a strong military tradition) dares to point out that the people criticizing the war are critizing the politicians that made those decisions and the concepts that supported those decisions, not the soldiers themselves. These critics want the soldiers to return home safe and sound. Moore seems to also lament that little attention is paid to the American soldiers who have died, pointing out the well-publicized blocking of pictures of coffins returning from Iraq.

The packed crowd I saw it with (I had trouble finding tickets as many shows around my area were sold out) was surprisingly young overall, and seemed to enjoy the movie. There was applause throughout the movie and even more at the end. I have to agree with slop101 that although most of what's presented is public record, most people aren't very aware of current events and thus this film will raise a lot of interesting questions for them to debate.

IMRICKJAMES

I've seen Roger & Me, Bowling for Columbine, and now Farenheit 9/11 and I've come to the conclusion its rather easy to figure out when Michael Moore is lying, stretching to truth, or trying to show his opinion as fact...very easy in fact...the movie theatre projector is on.

scale of 1-10 Farenheit 9/11 is a 2.5-3

Frank TJ Mackey

i agree with the above people who said most of this is not new info to the public who stay informed, but as we all know, a good majority do not.

i like that the film in a small way pointed out that those people against the war ARE NOT AGAINST THE TROOPS in Iraq.

We're against the people who decided to focus on Iraq instead of bin Laden and Al Quada full force. the film does go all over the place when talking about Bush's connection with Saudi oil, the Saudi Royal family. but they are connected in one way or another.

FatTony

Personal politics aside, this was a pretty good film. It was thoroughly effective at evoking emotion (mostly of the negative persuasion). But I do have to say that it started to drag quite a bit at the point where there was all the war footage from Iraq. I realize it's stuff that can't be seen in the mass media and should be seen, but I reached a point where I felt like I was just watching the news. But once that was over with, it found its footing again just fine.

I was also disappointed with the way it omitted or glazed over any events that were damaging to the point he was trying to make (vague as it was). But moreso, I was thoroughly disappointed that it made no mention whatsoever of the largest worldwide protest in the history of our silly little species! How better to say "Bush sucks" and "this war is wrong" than to show millions of people across the globe uniting in saying just that? An odd filmmaking choice, if I do say so myself.

Overall, I'd give the film a 7 out of 10 and rank it below both Roger & Me and Bowling For Columbine which are both much better in terms of filmmaking (haven't had a chance to see The Big One).