Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia is a documentary film which premiered in 2013.
The topic is the life and career of the famous American writer and commentator Gore Vidal (1925-2012).
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Director: Nicholas D. Wrathall
** Distribution: IFC Films
** Production company: Audax Films
** Subtitles: not available
** Run time: 89 minutes
Gore Vidal is the host and narrator of this film, which covers his life and his career. The story is illustrated with old photos and archive footage.
But Gore Vidal is not the only person who gets to talk in this film. There are interviews with many people who knew him and worked with him. Here are the names of the participants (listed in alphabetical order):
** Jodie Evans (born 1954) – a political activist
** Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022) – a former politician from the Soviet Union and Russia
** Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) – an author and a commentator
** Chris Matthews (born 1945) – a political commentator
** Jay Parini (born 1948) – a writer and a producer
** Tim Robbins (born 1958) – an actor
** Robert Sheer (born 1936) – a journalist
** Burr Steers (born 1965) – Gore Vidal’s nephew
** Sting (born 1951) – a musician
** Nina Auchincloss Straight (born 1937) – Gore Vidal’s half-sister – and the mother of Burr Steers
Archive footage is used to present some statements by the following persons:
** William F. Buckley (1925-2008)
** Dick Cavett (born 1936)
** Norman Mailer (1923-2007)
** David Mamet (born 1947)
Gore Vidal was an author and a commentator. He was a well-known and very controversial representative of the left wing of politics in the US. He had a home in the US and a second home in Italy. Many of his popular books were written in his home in Italy.
What about the title? What does it mean? The title of the film is inspired by one of Gore Vidal's books:
Imperial America:
Reflections on the United States of Amnesia
(Hardcover 2004)
(Paperback 2005)
What do reviewers say about this film?
Here are the results of three review aggregators:
** 72 per cent = Meta
** 77 per cent = IMDb
** 83 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
** 84 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
On Amazon there are at the moment 75 ratings of this product, 35 with reviews.
The average rating is 4.6 stars which corresponds to a rating of 92 percent.
Some viewers may like this film, because they can agree with Gore Vidal’s point of view, while other viewers may dislike it, because they cannot agree with his point of view.
Whether you agree with him or not, this film is worth watching, because it offers a lot of information and it is a work of art in itself.
The ratings are quite good, as you can see. But if you ask me, they are not good enough.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
PS # 1. The following review is available online:
Michael O’Sullivan
“Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia movie review,”
Washington Post
5 June 2014
PS # 2. For more information, see the following items
Gore Vidal: The Man Who Said No
A documentary film which premiered in 1984
Director = Gary Conklin
Run time = 99 minutes
A short version of this film is available on YouTube
The Education of Gore Vidal
A documentary film which premiered in 2003
Director = Deborah Dickson
Run time = 84 minutes
It is an episode of the long-running program American Masters (season 17) (episode 08)
This film is available on YouTube
*****
Imperial America:
Reflections on the United States of Amnesia
by Gore Vidal
(Hardcover 2004)
(Paperback 2005)
*****
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