Tell the Truth and Run (1996)

Tell the Truth and Run is a documentary film about George Seldes and the American Press. Here is some basic information about this film which premiered in 1996:

** Director: Rick Goldsmith

** Writers: Rick Goldsmith and Sharon Wood

** Narrator: Susan Sarandon

** Run time: 110 minutes

This film is about the dissident reporter George Seldes who lived to be more than 100 years old (1890-1995). What about the title? Where does it come from? Tell the Truth and Run is the title of a book by George Seldes that was published in 1953.

George Seldes was the editor and publisher of a weekly newsletter, In Fact, which was published for a decade (1940-1950). It was a precursor of I. F. Stone’s Weekly, which was edited and published by another dissident reporter (I. F. Stone) for almost two decades (1953-1971).

Several people are interviewed in the film. Here are their names in alphabetical order:

** Ben Bagdikian (1920-2016), author of The Media Monopoly (1983)

** Jeff Cohen, executive director of FAIR

** Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023), subscribed to In Fact when he was a freshman at Harvard University

** Nat Hentoff (1925-2017), columnist, The Village Voice

** Jack Hollander, subscribed to In Fact at age 15

** Philip Knightly (1929-2016), author of The First Casualty (1975)

** Colman McCarthy (born 1938), columnist, the Washington Post

** Morton Mintz (born 1922), a reporter, now retired, who worked for the Washington Post

** Ralph Nader (born 1934), read In Fact when he was in junior high school

** Victor Navasky (1932-2023), editor, The Nation

** Marian Seldes, George’s niece

** Timothy Seldes, George’s nephew

** Victor Weingarten, associate editor, In Fact

What do reviewers say about this film? Here are the results of two review aggregators:

** 80 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes

** 85 per cent = IMDb

As you can see, the average ratings are quite good, quite high. But if you ask me, they are not high enough. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars.

PS. For more information about the US government and the US media, see the following items:

** All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I. F. Stone (2016) (88 minutes)

** The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee (2017) (90 minutes)

*****

 

  The American reporter

 

George Seldes (1890-1995)

 

*****

Inside the New York Times (2011)

Page One: Inside the New York Times is a documentary film about the past, the present, and the future of “the Gray Lady” – one of the most famous and most important newspapers in the world. Here is some basic information about this film which premiered in 2011:

** Director: Andrew Rossi
** Writers: Kate Novack & Andrew Rossi
** Available on DVD and Amazon Prime Video (with English subtitles)
** Run time: 100 minutes

What do reviewers say about this film? Here are the results of three review aggregators:

** 68 per cent = Metacritic
** 69 per cent = IMDb
** 79 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes

If you ask me, all these average ratings are too high. Why? This film is chaotic; not systematic; we are jumping from one topic to the next and from one person the next without any good reason. There is no structure, no plan, and no focus.

The topic is important, but this is not enough to save the film. I am sure the director has good intentions, but good intentions do not guarantee a good result. In this case, the result is a total disaster. Halfway through this film, I had to give up. I could not take any more of this.

What a shame! What a missed opportunity! It could have been a great film. Unfortunately, it is not. It is a deep disappointment. This is why I have to go far below the average ratings mentioned above. This film cannot get more than two stars.

*****

For more information, see the following items that were posted on this blog in February 2018:

** Shattered Glass (2003, 2004)
 

** A Fragile Trust (2013, 2014)

*****

All Governments Lie (2016)

All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I. F. Stone is a documentary film about the US government and the US media. Here is some basic information about this film which premiered in 2016:

** Directed by Fred Peabody

** Based on Myra McPherson’s book All Governments Lie: The Life and Times of Rebel Journalist I. F. Stone (2006, 2008)

** Run time: 88 minutes

As the title says, this documentary film is about the life and work of I. F. Stone (1907-1989), who was a pioneer in the field of investigative journalism. But not only that. It is also about Stone’s legacy; and about some of the reporters who want to follow in his footsteps.

Many people are interviewed in the film. Here are their names in alphabetical order:

** Carl Bernstein

** Dick Cavett

** Noam Chomsky

** Jeff Cohen

** Desmond Cole

** Tom Engelhardt

** John Carlos Frey

** Amy Goodman

** Glenn Greenwald

** Chris Hedges

** Myra McPherson

** Michael Moore

** Ralph Nader

** Jeremy Scahill

** Jeremy J. Stone (son of I. F. Stone)

** Matt Taibbi

Some people will like this film, because they agree with what is being said, while other people will hate it, because they disagree with what is being said.

Whether you agree with the film or not, I think it is worth watching, because it presents a lot of information; information that is important; and information that you may not hear or see anywhere else.

What do reviewers say about it? Here are the results of three review aggregators:

** 63 per cent = Metacritic

** 72 per cent = IMDb

** 92 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes

As you can see, these average ratings are quite good, quite high. But if you ask me, they are not high enough. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars.

PS. For more information, see the following items:

** Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press (1996) (111 minutes). This film about George Seldes (1890-1995) is not available from Amazon UK.

** The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee (2017) (90 minutes). This film about Ben Bradlee (1921-2014) is available from Amazon Prime Video.

*****

 

I. F. Stone (1907-1989 )

*****