Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Michael Moore

Writer (WGA):

Michael Moore (written by)

Release Date:

25 June 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Comedy | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

The temperature where freedom burns!

Plot:

Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11; and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Plot Keywords:

Interview | Iraq | George W. Bush | USA | Paranoia

Awards:

26 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Ben Affleck	...	Himself (archive footage)
Stevie Wonder	...	Himself (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
James Baker III	...	Himself - Former Secretary of State (archive footage)
Richard Gephardt	...	Himself - Congressman (archive footage)
Tom Daschle	...	Himself - Senator (archive footage)
Jeffrey Toobin	...	Himself - Author of "Too Close to Call" (archive footage)
Al Gore	...	Himself - U.S. Vice President and Senate President (archive footage)
Condoleezza Rice	...	Herself - National Security Advisor (archive footage)
Donald Rumsfeld	...	Himself (archive footage)
Saddam Hussein	...	Himself (archive footage)
George Bush	...	Himself - Former U.S. President (archive footage)
Ricky Martin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Byron Dorgan	...	Himself - Senator in Subcommittee on Aviation (archive footage)
Osama Bin Laden	...	Himself (archive footage)

Also Known As:

Fahrenheit 911 (USA) (working title)
Fahrenheit 9/11 (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Fahrenheit 11 de Setembro (Brazil) [pt]
Fahrenheit 9/11 (Finland) [fi]
Fahrenheit 9/11 (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Fahrenheit 9/11 (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R for some violent and disturbing images, and for language.

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:18PL | Australia:M | USA:R (certificate #40791) | Italy:T | Argentina:13 | Brazil:12 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Czech Republic:12 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | Kuwait:(Banned) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 (theatrical) | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Baghdad, Iraq

Company:

Fellowship Adventure Group

Trivia:

Broke Rocky III (1982)'s record for the biggest box office opening weekend ever for any film that opened in less than a thousand theaters. The record was broken again in 2006 by Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Was it all just a dream?
Al Gore: God bless you, Florida! Thank you!
Narrator: Did the last four years not really happen? Look, there's Ben Affleck. He's often in my dreams. And the Taxi Driver guy. He was there too. And little Stevie Wonder, he seemed so happy... like, like a miracle had taken place. Was it a dream? Or was it real?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Guy: FOX-y Lady (#7.10)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Bobby's Walk

Heavy-handed piece of political propaganda

This film has clearly provoked strong reactions and that is a very positive thing. It has also helped break down some of the political apathy that plagues the West. Another positive thing. However, as a documentary it resorts to bludgeoning its viewers with its ideology rather than advocating for it and that I found hard to swallow. I have enjoyed Moore's efforts being a fan of the Awful Truth and even finding Bowling for Columbine thought-provoking but there were too many strained conclusions in this movie for me to not rebel. There were probably three key points that nauseated me: 1) It assumed its audience would be basically ignorant of most of its key premises (or possible alternative facts and hence conclusions), 2) It drew the worse possible conclusions from the facts available or the conclusion most suggestive of Bush family incompetence or conspiracy, and 3) It was definitely not above using its subjects in the worse possible way either to be held up to ridicule or manipulated for its own purposes. One key example - the Bushes are responsible for special treatment of Saudi Arabia... The US and the Saudis have had a close relationship for decades and Saudi Arabia has long been seen as one of the few Allies the US has in the Middle East. This is a relationship which has been extremely valuable to the US and will continue to be, regardless of the President of the moment. The Wahabist involvement in terrorism is well-known as is the funding coming out of Saudi however, that doesn't change the fundamental state relationships. That it got a rousing ovation at Cannes is certainly no surprise - it played right up to the prejudices of the Europeans and Hollywood's liberal luminaries. Some interesting and important points could have been made in this film - it is just a shame they weren't. As propaganda this film was highly successful, as a piece of advocacy it was sadly lacking.