| Fahrenheit 9/11 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Moore |
| Written by | Michael Moore |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | Michael Moore George W. Bush Donald Rumsfeld |
| Narrated by | Michael Moore |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Lions Gate Films IFC Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 122 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages |
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| Budget | $6 million[1] |
| Box office | $222.4 million[1] |
Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 Americandocumentary film directed, written by, and starringMichael Moore.[2] The subjects of the film are thepresidency of George W. Bush, theIraq War, and the media's coverage of the war. In the film, Moore states that American corporate media were cheerleaders for the2003 invasion of Iraq, and did not provide an accurate or objective analysis of therationale for the war and the resultingcasualties there.
The title of the film alludes toRay Bradbury's 1953 novelFahrenheit 451, adystopian view of the future United States, drawing an analogy between theautoignition temperature of paper and the date of theSeptember 11 attacks; one of the film'staglines was "The Temperature at Which Freedom Burns".
The film debuted at the2004 Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded thePalme d'Or,[3] the festival's highest award. It received generally positive reviews from critics, but it also generatedintense controversy, particularly including disputes over its accuracy. The film became thehighest-grossing documentary of all time, grossing over $220 million (although it was later surpassed byMichael Jackson's This Is It in 2009). A follow-up, titledFahrenheit 11/9, about thepresidency of Donald Trump, was released in September 2018.
The documentary begins by suggesting that friends and political allies ofGeorge W. Bush atFox News Channel tilted theelection of 2000 by prematurely declaring Bush the winner. It then suggests that the handling of thevoting controversy in Florida constitutedelection fraud.
The documentary then segues into theSeptember 11 attacks of 2001. Moore says that Bush was informed of thefirst plane hitting theWorld Trade Center on his way to anelementary school inFlorida. Bush is then shown sitting in anEmma E. Booker Elementary School classroom with children. When told that asecond plane has crashed into the World Trade Center and that the nation is "under attack", Bush allows the students to finish their book-reading, and Moore notes that he continued readingThe Pet Goat for nearly seven minutes.
Moore then discusses the tangled relationships among theU.S. government and theBush family, thebin Laden family, theSaudi Arabian government, and theTaliban, which span over three decades. Moore then states that the United States Government had evacuated 24 members of the bin Laden family on a secret flight shortly after the attacks, without subjecting them to any form of interrogation.
Moore moves on to examine George W. Bush'sTexas Air National Guard service record. Moore contends that Bush'sdry-hole-oil-well attempts were partially funded by the Saudis and by the bin Laden family through the intermediation ofJames R. Bath, whose name is shown to have been blacked out from Bush's records. Moore alleges that theseconflicts of interest suggest that the Bush administration does not serve in the interests ofAmericans. The movie continues by suggesting ulterior motives for theWar in Afghanistan, including anatural gas pipeline throughAfghanistan to theIndian Ocean.
Moore suggests that the Bush administration induced a climate of fear among the American population through themass media. Moore then describes purportedanti-terror efforts, including government infiltration ofpacifist groups and other events, and the signing of theUSA PATRIOT Act.
The documentary then turns to the subject of theIraq War, comparing the lives of Iraqis before and after the invasion. The citizens of Iraq are portrayed as living relatively happy lives prior to the country's invasion by theU.S. Armed Forces. The film also takes pains to depict war cheerleading in the U.S. media and the general bias of journalists, with quotes from news organizations andembedded journalists. Moore suggests that atrocities will occur in Iraq and shows footage depictingU.S. abuse of prisoners.
Later in the film, Lila Lipscomb appears with her family after hearing of the death of her son, Sgt. Michael Pedersen, who was killed on April 2, 2003, inKarbala. Anguished and tearful, she questions the purpose of the war.
Tying together several themes and points, Moore thanks those serving in the U.S. military. He claims that the working class of America are always the first to join the Army, while people of higher class display less such readiness. He states that those valuable citizens should not be sent to risk their lives unless it is truly necessary to defend America. The credits roll whileNeil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" plays. (Moore had originally intended to useThe Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" but was denied permission byPete Townshend).[4]
Moore dedicated the film to his friend who died in the World Trade Center attacks and to those servicemen and women fromFlint,Michigan, who died in Iraq: "Michael Pedersen, Brett Petriken, and all the men and women from the Flint Area who have died in the Iraq War ... Bill Weems and the 2,973 who died on 9/11/01 ... and the countless thousands who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq as a result of our actions."
Originally planned to be financed byMel Gibson'sIcon Productions (which planned to give Michael Moore eight figures in upfront cash and potential backend),[5]Fahrenheit 9/11 was later picked up byMiramax Films andWild Bunch in May 2003 after Icon Productions had abruptly dropped the financing deal it made.[6] Miramax had earlier distributed another film for Moore,The Big One, in 1997.
At that time,Disney was the parent company of Miramax. According to the bookDisneyWar, Disney executives did not know that Miramax agreed to finance the film until they saw a posting on theDrudge Report.Michael Eisner (the CEO of Disney at that time) calledHarvey Weinstein (co-chairman of Miramax at that time) and ordered him to drop the film. In addition, Disney sent two letters to Weinstein demanding Miramax drop the film. Weinstein felt Disney had no right to block the releasing ofFahrenheit 9/11 since the film's $6 million budget was well below the level at which Miramax needed to seek Disney's approval, and it would not be ratedNC-17.[7] But Weinstein was in contract negotiations with Disney, so he offered a compromise that he would drop the film if Disney did not like it.[7] Disney responded by havingPeter Murphy send Weinstein a letter stating that the film's $6 million budget was only a bridge financing and Miramax would sell off its interest in the movie to get those $6 million back; according to the same letter, Miramax was also expected to publicly state that it would not release the film.[7]
AfterFahrenheit 9/11 was nearly finished, Miramax held several preview screenings; they were "testing through the roof".[8] Weinstein informed Eisner thatFahrenheit 9/11 was finished, and Eisner was surprised by the fact that Miramax had continued making the film.[8] Weinstein asked several Disney executives (including Eisner) to watch the film, but all declined; Disney stated again that Miramax would not release the film, and Disney also accused Weinstein of hidingFahrenheit 9/11 by keeping it off production reports.[8] Disney sent production vice President Brad Epstein to watchFahrenheit 9/11 on April 24, 2004.[8] According to Weinstein, Epstein said he liked the film; but according to the report Epstein sent to the Walt Disney Company board of directors, Epstein explicitly criticized it.[8] Eisner told Weinstein that Disney's board had decided not to allow Miramax to release the film.[8] Weinstein was furious and he askedGeorge J. Mitchell (chairman of Disney at that time) to see the film, but Mitchell declined.[8] Weinstein asked lawyerDavid Boies to help find a solution;[8] the Weinsteins and Moore had also hiredChris Lehane to consult on the film's release strategies.[9] Lehane suggested to reveal Disney's decision toThe New York Times.[10]
The New York Times reported about Disney's decision on May 5, 2004.[11] Disney stated that both Moore's agent (Ari Emanuel) and Miramax were advised in May 2003 that Miramax would not be permitted to distribute the film. Disney representatives said Disney had the right to veto any Miramax film if it appeared that its distribution would be counterproductive to the interests of the company; indeed, Disney had blocked Miramax from releasing two films before:Kids andDogma.[12]
Because of these difficulties, distribution was first secured in numerous countries outside the U.S. On May 28, 2004, after more than a week of talks, Disney announced that Miramax film studio founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein had personally acquired the rights to the documentary after Disney declined to distribute it. The Weinsteins agreed to repay Disney for all costs to that point, estimated at $6 million. They also agreed to be responsible for all costs to finish the film and all marketing costs not paid by any third-party film distributors.[13] A settlement between the Weinsteins and Disney was also reached so that 60% of the film's profit would be donated tocharity.[14]
The Weinsteins established Fellowship Adventure Group to handle the distribution of this film. Fellowship Adventure Group joined forces withLions Gate Entertainment (which had released two other Miramax-financed filmsO andDogma)[15] andIFC Films to release it in the United States theatrically. (Fellowship Adventure Group also handled the film's U.S. home video distribution throughColumbia TriStar Home Entertainment). Moore stated that he was "grateful to them now that everyone who wants to see it will now have the chance to do so.[16]
After being informed that the film had been given anR rating by theMotion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Moore appealed the decision, hoping to obtain aPG-13 rating instead. Moore's lawyer, formerGovernor of New York,Mario Cuomo, was not allowed to attend the hearing. The appeal was denied on June 22, 2004, and Cuomo contended that it was because he had been banned from the hearing. Some theaters chose to defy the MPAA and allow unchaperoned teenagers to attend screenings.[17]
The film was released theatrically by The Fellowship Adventure Group through a distribution arrangement withLions Gate Entertainment. On the opening weekend of June 25–27, 2004, the film generated box-office revenues of $23.9 million in theUnited States andCanada, making it the weekend's top-grossing film. Its opening weekend earned more than the entire U.S. theatrical run of any other feature-length documentary (including Moore's previous film,Bowling for Columbine). The film released in theUnited Kingdom on July 2, 2004, and inFrance on July 7, 2004.[18]
Moore has credited part of the theatrical success to the efforts ofconservative groups to pressure theaters not to run the film, conjecturing that these efforts backfired by creating publicity. There were also efforts byliberal groups such asMoveOn.org encouraging attendance, in order to defy their political opponents' contrary efforts.[19]
Fahrenheit 9/11 was screened in a number ofMiddle Eastern countries, including theUnited Arab Emirates,Lebanon, andEgypt, but was immediately banned inKuwait. "We have a law that prohibits insulting friendly nations", said Abdul-Aziz Bou Dastour of theKuwaiti Information Ministry.[20][21] The film was not shown inSaudi Arabia as public movie theaters were not permitted from 1983 until 2017. The Saudi ruling elite subsequently launched an advertising campaign spanning nineteen U.S. cities to counter criticism partly raised in the film.[22]Democratic members of theCoalition Provisional Authority inU.S.-occupied Iraq had the film screened at theRepublican Palace inBaghdad.[23]
InCuba,bootlegged versions of the film were shown in 120 theaters, followed by a prime-timetelevision broadcast by the leadingstate-run network. It had been widely reported that this might affect itsOscar eligibility, since the film was broadcast on television less than nine months after its theatrical release. However, soon after that story had been published, theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement denying this, saying, "If it was pirated or stolen or unauthorized we would not blame the producer or distributor for that".[24] In addition, Wild Bunch, the film's overseas distributor for Cuba, issued a statement denying a television deal had been struck withCuban Television. The issue became moot when Moore decided to forgo Oscar eligibility, in favor of a pay-per-view televising of the film on November 1, 2004.
The film was received positively by critics. Review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 82% based on 237 reviews, with an average rating of 7.33/10. The site's critics' consensus reads: "Extremely one-sided in its indictment of the Bush administration, but worth watching for the humor and the debates it'll stir."[25] It also received a score of 67 onMetacritic, based on 43 reviews.[26]
Film criticRoger Ebert, who gave the documentary three and a half stars out of four, said that the film "is less an exposé of George W. Bush than a dramatization of what Moore sees as a failed and dangerous presidency", adding: "Moore brings a fresh impact to familiar material by the way he marshals his images".[27]
Joe Morgenstern ofThe Wall Street Journal described the film as "rambling, troubling and sometimes rousing", and wrote: "At its best, "Fahrenheit 9/11" is an impressionist burlesque of contemporary American politics that culminates in a somber lament for lives lost in Iraq. But the good stuff—and there's some extremely good stuff—keeps getting tainted by Mr. Moore's poison-camera penchant for drawing dark inferences from dubious evidence."[28]
Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Michael Moore's anti-Bush polemic gave millions of frustrated liberals exactly what they needed to hear in 2004—and infuriated just about everyone else. Along the way, it became thehighest-grossing documentary of all time."[29]
Grossing over $222 million total worldwide, the film is the highest grossing documentary of all time according toBox Office Mojo.[1] The film had a general release in the United States and Canada on June 23, 2004. It has since been released in 42 more countries. OnAl-Jazeera in August 2012, Moore claimed that the movie "grossed about half a billion dollars" worldwide.[30] It was the highest-grossing film released byLionsgate until it was surpassed byThe Hunger Games in 2012.[31]
Fahrenheit 9/11 was released toDVD andVHS on October 5, 2004, an unusually short turnaround time after theatrical release. In the first days of the release, the film broke records for the highest-selling documentary ever. About two million copies were sold on the first day, most of which (1.4 million) were sold as rentals.[32]
A companion book,The Official Fahrenheit 9/11 Reader, was released at the same time. It contains the complete screenplay, documentation of Moore's sources, audience e-mails about the film, film reviews, and articles.
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The two-hour film was planned to be shown as part of the three-hour "The Michael Moore Pre-Election Special" oniN DEMAND,[33] but iN DEMAND backed out in mid-October[34]. Moore later arranged for simultaneous broadcasts on November 1, 2004, at 8:00 p.m. (EST) onDish Network,TVN, and the Cinema Now website and material prepared for "The Michael Moore Pre-Election Special" was incorporated into "Fahrenheit 9/11: A Movement in Time", which aired that same week on The Independent Film Channel.
The movie was also shown on basic cable television in Germany and Austria on November 1, 2004, and November 2, 2004. In the UK, the film was shown onChannel 4[35] on January 27, 2005. In Hungary, it was shown onRTL Klub, a commercial channel, on September 10, 2005, onm1, one of the national channels, on August 13, 2006, onm2, the other national channel, on September 1, 2006. In Denmark, it was shown onDanmarks Radio (normally referred to as just DR), which is Denmark's national broadcasting corporation, on April 11, 2006. In Norway, it was shown onNRK, the national broadcasting corporation, on August 27, 2006. The film was screened in New Zealand on September 9, 2006, onTV ONE, a channel ofTVNZ. The next day, the Dutch networkNederland 3 aired the film. In Belgium, it was shown onKanaal 2 on October 12, 2006. In Brazil, it aired on October 10, 2008, onTV Cultura, theSão Paulo public broadcasting network.
| Fahrenheit 9/11: Original Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Released | October 5, 2004 (2004-10-05) |
| Length | 1:00:44 |
| Label | Rhino |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [36] |
The soundtrack toFahrenheit 9/11 was released on October 5, 2004, byRhino Entertainment.
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Un-President" | Jeff Gibbs | 3:32 |
| 2. | "Vacation" | The Go-Go's | 3:00 |
| 3. | "Bush Waits...and Waits" | Jeff Gibbs | 2:14 |
| 4. | "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, For String Orchestra & Bell" | Paavo Järvi andEstonian National Symphony Orchestra | 6:41 |
| 5. | "We Gotta Get out of This Place" | Eric Burdon | 4:08 |
| 6. | "Weapons of Deceit" | Jeff Gibbs | 2:18 |
| 7. | "Deserter" | Jeff Gibbs | 4:08 |
| 8. | "Cocaine" | J. J. Cale | 2:49 |
| 9. | "Shiny Happy People" | R.E.M. | 3:44 |
| 10. | "Magnificent Seven Theme" | Elmer Bernstein | 2:00 |
| 11. | "Afghan Victory Dance" | Jeff Gibbs | 3:16 |
| 12. | "Fire Water Burn" | Bloodhound Gang | 4:53 |
| 13. | "The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)" | Joey Scarbury | 3:14 |
| 14. | "Aqualung" | Jethro Tull | 6:35 |
| 15. | "All They Ask" | Jeff Gibbs | 3:30 |
| 16. | "Rockin' in the Free World" | Neil Young | 4:42 |
| Total length: | 1:00:44 | ||
In April 2004, the film was selected to compete for thePalme d'Or at the57th Cannes Film Festival. After its first showing inCannes in May 2004, the film received a 15–20 minutestanding ovation; Harvey Weinstein, whose Miramax Films funded the film, said, "It was the longest standing ovation I've seen in over 25 years".[37][38]
On May 22, 2004, the film was awarded the Palme d'Or.[3] It was the first documentary to win that award sinceJacques Cousteau's andLouis Malle'sThe Silent World in 1956. Just as his much publicizedOscar acceptance speech, Moore's speech in Cannes included some political statements:[39]
I have a sneaking suspicion that what you have done here and the response from everyone at the festival, you will assure that the American people will see this film. I can't thank you enough for that. You've put a huge light on this and many people want the truth and many want to put it in the closet, just walk away. There was a greatRepublican president who once said, if you just give the people the truth, the Republicans, the Americans will be saved. […] I dedicate this Palme d'Or to my daughter, to the children of Americans and to Iraq and to all those in the world who suffer from our actions.
Some conservatives in the United States, such as Jon Alvarez of FireHollywood, commented that such an award could beexpected from the French.[40] Moore had remarked only days earlier that: "I fully expect the Fox News Channel and other right-wing media to portray this as an award from the French. […] There was only oneFrench citizen on the jury. Four out of nine were American. […] This is not a French award, it was given by an international jury dominated by Americans."[41] The jury was made up of fourNorth Americans, fourEuropeans, and oneAsian.[42]
Responding to suggestions that the award was political, Moore said: "Quentin [Tarantino] whispered in my ear, 'We want you to know that it was not the politics of your film that won you this award. We are not here to give a political award. Some of us have no politics. We awarded the art of cinema, that is what won you this award and we wanted you to know that as a fellow filmmaker.'"[43] In comments to the prize-winning jury in 2005, Cannes directorGilles Jacob said that panels should make their decision based on filmmaking rather than politics. He expressed his opinion that though Moore's talent was not in doubt, "it was a question of a satirical tract that was awarded a prize more for political than cinematographic reasons, no matter what the jury said".[44] Interviewed about the decision four years later, Tarantino responded: "As time has gone on, I have put that decision under a microscope and I still think we were right. That was a movie of the moment –Fahrenheit 9/11 may not play the same way now as it did then, but back then it deserved everything it got."[45]
The film won additional awards after its release, such as thePeople's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture, an unprecedented honor for a documentary.[46]
Nine months afterFahrenheit 9/11 received the Palme d'Or, George W. Bush,Donald Rumsfeld, andCondoleezza Rice won the Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actor, and Worst Screen Couple (Bush/Rice) at the25th Golden Raspberry Awards ("Razzies") because of their mishandling of the 9/11 attacks and the Iraq War.[47]Britney Spears, who appeared in the film in a pre-recorded interview where she expressed her support for Bush,[48] won the Golden Raspberry for Worst Supporting Actress.[49]
The film generated criticism and controversy after its release shortly before the2004 United States presidential election. British-American journalistChristopher Hitchens contended thatFahrenheit 9/11 contains distortions and untruths.[50] This drew several rebuttals, including an eFilmCritic article and aColumbus Free Press editorial.[51] Former Democratic mayor of New York CityEd Koch, who had endorsed President Bush for re-election, called the filmpropaganda "for its many blatant lies".[52]
The film was released in June 2004, less than five months before the2004 presidential election. Michael Moore, while not endorsing presidential candidateJohn Kerry, stated in interviews that he hoped "to see Mr. Bush removed from theWhite House".[53] He also said that he hoped his film would influence the election: "This may be the first time a film has this kind of impact".[53] However, some political analysts did not expect it to have a significant effect on the election. One Republican strategist stated that Moore "communicates to thatfar-left sliver that would never vote for Bush", andJack Pitney, a government professor atClaremont McKenna College, suspected that the main effect of the film would be to "turn Bush-haters into bigger Bush-haters".[53] Regardless of whether the film would change the minds of many voters, Moore stated his intention to use it as an organizing tool, and hoped that it would energize those who wanted to see Bush defeated in 2004, increasingvoter turnout.[54] Notwithstanding the film's influence and commercial success, George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004.
Because Moore had opted to have it played on television prior to the 2004 election, the film was ruled ineligible to compete for theBest Documentary Feature in theAcademy Awards.[citation needed]
In February 2011, Moore sued producersBob andHarvey Weinstein for US$2.7 million in unpaid profits from the film, stating that they used "Hollywood accounting tricks" to avoid paying him the money.[55] They responded that Moore had received US$20 million for the film and that "his claims are hogwash".[55] Eventually, Bob and Harvey Weinstein reached a settlement with Moore for undisclosed amounts and terms.[56]
On September 6, 2018, Moore released a film entitledFahrenheit 11/9 about the2016 United States presidential election and the subsequentpresidency of Donald Trump. The title is reference to the original film, with the date 9/11 being reversed to 11/9.[57]
And, contrary to what everybody said would happen, the film to date has grossed about half a billion dollars worldwide.
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