The War Room (1993)

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

A documentary of the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign and the organization who ran it.Wile this film was great in its own time, it has only gained in importance since. First of all, the choice to follow Clinton is an interesting one. While he ultimately won, at the beginning of the campaign, Clinton was losing to Paul Tsongas. It would be a very strange film if it followed a candidate who never even won the primary. Would such a film be completed or would they just scrap the whole project? But those involved have risen. George Stephanopoulos has become an important political commentator. James Carville is a legend. The Clinton family has had political influence far beyond 1992 (though it took quite a hit in 2016). And then there is Rahm Emanuel, who could someday make a run of his own.

"The War Room" is a fantastic documentary that shows the behind the scenes and takes an inside look at a presidential campaign for president. This film follows then Arkansas governor Bill Clinton's track from the snowy cold first Primary in New Hampshire in January of 1992 to the final victory party on election night in November of 1992. The best scenes are shown in the campaign room when you hear the plans and game plans of the two most important Clinton insiders that being James Carville and George Stephanopoulos. Carville the outspoken and fiery southern who ran the campaign with charm and hard working passion. Really an emotional moment is when James gives his speech at the end by breaking down and crying really a touching moment for the viewer. While Stephanopoulos the brilliant and young bright mind who was an ex Rhodes Scholar does a fine job as the communications director helping Bill dodge and maneuver around such scandals as Gennifer Flowers and the draft dodge. The film also has plenty of highlights from the debates, speeches, campaign tours, and highlights of final election results too. Really a fine documentary of how a political campaign should be done, which most will find both educational and informative.

You know all you need to know about this "documentary" with a statement George Stephanopoulos makes early to reporter Sam Donaldson.Stephanopoulous, a member of the unbiased (ahem) media since the end of the Clinton Administration and a former member of said administration, looks Sam right in the eye and says, with all sincerity, that Bill Clinton's "character has never been in doubt."Yeah, right.Well, if you want a lot more Liberal slants, especially by another crony, James Carville, this video is for you. It's all about how wonderful the Clintons are and how they got elected by smart guys like the above-mentioned pair. Actually, it's more of a praise-a-thon to Stephanopoulos and Carville than Mr. Bill. By the way, Hollywood would never make something like this if a Republican had won. They are only thrilled enough to make something like this if a Democrat wins.One other thing: it was a shock to see this on tape a couple of years after it was made just to see how young Clinton looked. It's amazing how quickly the job of President of the United States can age you.

This is one of the great political films since All the President's Men, and one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. The story is fascinating, the characters are very interesting, and its all real. Even the music adds to the frenetic pace of the film.The documentary follows the 1992 Clinton Campaign from the doldrums in New Hampshire, through the Democratic convention in New York to its summit on election night in Little Rock. But Clinton spends very little time on the screen. The film captures the behind-the-scenes action of James Carville, George Stephanopolis, and the rest of the cast and crew of Clinton campaign headquarters. The film shows how TV spots are written, how interviews are managed, how the candidates' message is distributed, and how the "spin doctors" do their stuff.The pace is quick. Staffers come into and out of scenes constantly, and there is a great deal of off-camera dialogue, much like an emergency-room scene from E.R. The mix of standard documentary footage with news reports and interviews is terrific. Some of the best scenes are of the pols watching the news reports and reacting to what they see. The central character is James Carville, who is more interesting than anyone else in the campaign, much moreso than the candidates themselves. He reveals that his "Ragin' Cajun" image is genuine, for he is truly passionate about his work. But it also reveals a mind working on overdrive, and a sensitive nature that you wouldn't expect to see. His "people will say you are lucky" speech to staffers at the end of the film is as moving as anything written for the studio, and moreso because it is genuine. Stephanopolis came off less well. Behind his youthful looks and seeming intelligence comes a certain shallowness. Much of his contribution was more of a "me too" nature than anything truly creative or deep. He also had a moment at the end of the film when, in a room with a starry-eyed female staffer, he's describing how he feels. And the conclusion is, not much. It is not hard to understand why years later George was a washout in the Clinton White House, never managed another campaign, and is now earning his living in front of the camera.After all is said and done, it is clear that the candidate is secondary in a modern presidential election. He's like the hand your dealt in a game of poker. It's important, but what you do with it once it is dealt to you is much more important. And these guys are pros.So are the filmmakers. There were several times when I had to remind myself that this was a documentary, and not a work of fiction. In fact, if you see it immediately after seeing "Primary Colors" you'll see that truth is not only stranger than fiction, but it can be more interesting as well.