Presidential Politics as Show Biz: the War Room (1993) February 13, 2008

Directed by D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus. With James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, Bill Clinton. Entering the primary season in 1992, a little-known governor from Arkansas named Bill Clinton faced an adultery scandal, accusations of draft-dodging, and a popular president named George Bush who had a military victory against Saddam Hussein under his belt. 'The War Room,' a surprisingly candid inside view of Clinton's comeback campaign, by cinema verite masters Pennebaker and Hegedus, is a suspenseful, exciting chronicle with two charismatic stars, James Carville and George Stephanopoulos. The rough-and-tumble tactics of modern politics, with hardball tactics at the service of lofty ideals, is revealed in this intimate record of one of the most brilliantly run campaigns of recent American history. David Schwartz, Chief Curator at the Museum of the Moving Image, will introduce the film.