Spring Break
Murrow Revived In 'Good Night, And Good Luck'
Magesh Nandagopal
Issue date: 10/21/05 Section: Focus
"Good Night, and Good Luck" is one of the most gripping, terse 90 minutes to be spent in front of the silver screen. One of the important and the most difficult contributions a director makes to the film is setting and implementing its' tone. This film is an achievement of tone and mood.
The movie is based on the legendary face-off between Ed Murrow and Sen. Joseph McCarthy over the actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1954. Exploiting Cold War hysteria, McCarthy launched a witch hunt in the early 1950s which was aimed at branding and isolating left-leaning intellectuals and artists as Communists. This unleashed a reign of terror in which artists such as Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles, among numerous others, were black-listed.
Murrow was the host of the weekly news program "See it Now," in which, along with his producer Fred Friendly (played by George Clooney), he criticized the methods used by McCarthy and HUAC. This led to a protracted battle in the media which galvanized anti-McCarthy sentiments in society, which eventually led to the downfall of McCarthy and the U.S. Senate passing a censure motion condemning his conduct 67 votes to 22.
David Stratharin brings Murrow to life through an inward looking performance of steely resolve. His performance serves the film in the best possible way - unobtrusively. The only casting choice which doesn't serve the movie well is Clooney himself. It was mildly unpalatable to see Clooney in anything less than a leading, larger-than-life role. To see him play second fiddle to Murrow's character was bit of a reach. But, that is only a minor aberration in this genuine achievement of a film.
The movie provides a good window into the workings of a television network in the 1950s. The issues discussed in this movie bring to the forefront the current role (or the lack thereof) of TV networks in maintaining the balance between news and entertainment. This movie joins an illustrious list of movies that expose the inner workings of TV networks such as "Network" and "Broadcast News."
When Murrow and Friendly decide to take on Sen. McCarthy, the TV networks' (CBS) advertisers back-off and Murrow and Friendly are forced to spend $1,500 of their own money to promote the program in newspapers. The scene showing the airing of this live episode is a deliciously orchestrated orgy of great cinematography and editing. At the end of the program, after Ed Murrow signs off with his trademark "Good Night, and Good Luck," there is the wonderful scene in which everybody's attention turns to the telephone expecting adverse feedback. The deafening silence that permeates the theater during this wait is one of those true moments that only cinema can manufacture, and is a testament for what good cinema can achieve.
The movie is based on the legendary face-off between Ed Murrow and Sen. Joseph McCarthy over the actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1954. Exploiting Cold War hysteria, McCarthy launched a witch hunt in the early 1950s which was aimed at branding and isolating left-leaning intellectuals and artists as Communists. This unleashed a reign of terror in which artists such as Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles, among numerous others, were black-listed.
Murrow was the host of the weekly news program "See it Now," in which, along with his producer Fred Friendly (played by George Clooney), he criticized the methods used by McCarthy and HUAC. This led to a protracted battle in the media which galvanized anti-McCarthy sentiments in society, which eventually led to the downfall of McCarthy and the U.S. Senate passing a censure motion condemning his conduct 67 votes to 22.
David Stratharin brings Murrow to life through an inward looking performance of steely resolve. His performance serves the film in the best possible way - unobtrusively. The only casting choice which doesn't serve the movie well is Clooney himself. It was mildly unpalatable to see Clooney in anything less than a leading, larger-than-life role. To see him play second fiddle to Murrow's character was bit of a reach. But, that is only a minor aberration in this genuine achievement of a film.
The movie provides a good window into the workings of a television network in the 1950s. The issues discussed in this movie bring to the forefront the current role (or the lack thereof) of TV networks in maintaining the balance between news and entertainment. This movie joins an illustrious list of movies that expose the inner workings of TV networks such as "Network" and "Broadcast News."
When Murrow and Friendly decide to take on Sen. McCarthy, the TV networks' (CBS) advertisers back-off and Murrow and Friendly are forced to spend $1,500 of their own money to promote the program in newspapers. The scene showing the airing of this live episode is a deliciously orchestrated orgy of great cinematography and editing. At the end of the program, after Ed Murrow signs off with his trademark "Good Night, and Good Luck," there is the wonderful scene in which everybody's attention turns to the telephone expecting adverse feedback. The deafening silence that permeates the theater during this wait is one of those true moments that only cinema can manufacture, and is a testament for what good cinema can achieve.