James Carville, with his Louisiana twang, and penchant for LSU gear might seem like a typical down home guy. Don’t be fooled; behind the scenes, this is a guy who lives and breathes politics. He never hides his political aptitude; he can simultaneously crack a joke and cut an opponent off at the knees. His partner, George Stephanopoulos, looks like something out of the 1960 Kennedy campaign, neatly dressed in dark suit and tie topped with a Kennedy styled hairdo, the former Rhodes scholar does his job very well.
Most of the highlights in The War Room come courtesy of James Carville and his one-liners. About George Bush: “He reeks of yesterday. If I think of an old calendar, I think of George Bush.” About Ross Perot’s overblown and self-aggrandizing campaign: “…the biggest single act of masturbation in the history of the world.” Stephanopoulos is smart as a whip but not particularly interesting. On the other hand, nearly everything Carville says gets your attention. While most of the movie focuses on Carville’s professional activities, an interesting side story is his personal life. Carville’s girlfriend (and future wife) just happens to be Mary Matalin, President Bush’s campaign strategist.
Given the carefully controlled nature of presidential campaigns, it’s doubtful that many others would be open to the scrutiny of having a camera crew following them around. Pennebaker and Hegedus begin in New Hampshire, where the long trek for the Democratic nomination begins. Here, office space is at a premium, an army of dedicated volunteers get the word out about their candidate, even going as far as ripping down opponents posters. Amidst the chaos of candidates jockeying for position, the Clinton team prove themselves to be very competent.
Well known for his cinema verité style (see his film about Bob Dylan’s 1965 London tour, Don’t Look Back), Pennebaker effectively edits clips to show key moments in the campaign. As well run as the campaign was, things were often far from rosy. They found themselves forced to deal with the infidelity question as Gennifer Flowers holds a press conference in which she claims to have been Bill Clinton’s lover for 12 years. At another point, the entire staff gets excited over a tape showing Bush-Quayle campaign materials being manufactured in Brazil. Carville gets on the phone to leak the information to CBS News, only to experience total dejection when the network refuses to run with the story.
The War Room presents real political drama at the highest levels. If nothing else, watching this documentary nearly twenty years after its release proves that the process stays the same, even as the major players change. One scene has stayed with me: Before Clinton’s acceptance speech on election night, a choked-up Stephanopoulos, talking to the president-elect on a cell phone, tells his boss, “This is the best thing I ever did.” In the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Stephanopoulos resigned as President Clinton’s Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy, and eventually join the media he had so fiercely protected Clinton from. Clearly, some things do change.
Shot nearly twenty years ago in 16mm, viewers shouldn’t expect a pristine HD transfer. Even so, Criterion’s 1080p, 1.33:1 aspect ratio transfer manages to impress. While not brimming with color or crystal clear sharpness, when compared to the untreated clips seen in some of the special features, Criterion has done a solid job removing scratches and debris from the print.
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 surround track won’t blow you away but it provides a clean, crisp listening experience. Surround separation is effective throughout, and dialogue is always clear.
English SDH subtitles are included.
The following special features are available:
- Return of The War Room (1:21:41, SD) Perhaps the best feature on the disc, this 2008 film by Pennebaker and Hegedus revisits James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, Mary Matalin and others as they look back at the ’92 campaign. Boy, did they all look younger then!
- William J. Clinton Foundation Panel (25:51, SD) Shot in 2011, this segment begins with remarks by Vernon Jordan and James Carville, but is quickly taken over by surprise guest Bill Clinton who discusses the campaign and the lessons he learned from it.
- Making The War Room serves as an umbrella title for a series of featurettes: a roundtable about the film featuring Pennebaker and producers R.J. Cutler and Wendy Ettinger (41:28); and one-on-ones with producer Frazer Pennebaker (8:59) and camera operator Nick Doob (6:23). Campaign pollster Stanley Greenberg (10:47) is along for a brief featurette on the practice of polling.
- Theatrical Trailer (2:01,108p)
- Booklet: contains an essay by professor Lewis Menand, as well as cast and crew details.
The War Room (1993) by ItsBartman
