In the Face of Evil: Reagan's War in Word and Deed (2004)
Ronald Reagan was the President of the Screen Actor's Guild during the incredibly violent Hollywood trade union strike in the 1940's. Reagan saw first-hand the brutality, destruction and oppression that defined the communist party as it attempted to overtake the unions to convert them into propaganda mills for the Soviet Union. The strike incited in him a call to action and an unshakeable belief that communism was a "form of insanity" which must be wiped from the earth. From SAG President, to GE Spokesman, Governor of California and finally, to President of the United States, this film chronicles the rise of Ronald Reagan, his unwavering conviction that America was the world's last best hope of man, and shows why he is hero to over a billion people who he helped free from the bonds of Soviet domination.
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Wow! Such a good movie.
People are voting emotionally.
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
The acting in this movie is really good.
The reviews from a liberal community should usher in a "ah-huh" on this masterpiece covering what not only Ronald Reagan held dear but what our current society is trending towards.Soft Communism and Marxism is rabid in American society today. The things Reagan fought hard to defeat once again has raised its ugly head. This covers the basics of these two subjects in a light format. The premise is to show how things slowly grew over years culminating to a near climax. A one-world communist nation is still on the agenda list. Today the word communism is softer, gentler term (defined by those that want this madness).You have to understand and learn from the past or be destined to repeat it in either the same manner or a different but similar fashion.The composition of the film has truth wrapped all around it.
This film does a tremendous job of displaying the fact that "evil is evil", whenever and wherever it is, you can see it by the fruit that it bears. From the gulags of the Soviet Union, the mass slaughters perpetrated by communist dictators to seize control, or the fanatical frenzy caused by the leaders of Fundamentalist Islam this very hour, evil can be spotted by the results it yields.And while none of us are perfect, and all of us have done bad things in our lives, there is a whole other level when it comes to the truly evil things that have been perpetrated by people who seek to solve all the world's problems through government control. The Communists did it through forcing strict adherence and allegiance to "the good of the state", and if you didn't comply, "Here, hold this bullet for me... in your head". And the leaders of Fundamentalist Islam today do it through forcing strict adherence to a set of guidelines set forth by their holy book, and if you don't comply (or try to convert to another religion), "Here, hold this bullet for me... in your head".
Whatever your personal thoughts are about the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan was a key participant in the dramatic shift of the geopolitic at the end of the 20th Century. This film is a mess, self-serving to the Religious Right who feel Reagan could do no wrong and should receive sainthood. As a Lincoln Republican and son of a Goldwater Democrat I was expecting a warts and all serious, balanced documentary about Reagan's rise from affable Hollywood "B" actor to concerned citizen to "Leader of the Free World". The filmmakers intentionally leave out any critical analysis of Reagan, starting from his alleged ties to organized crime in Hollywood, selling out of his members during his presidency of the Screen Actor's Guild (and violation of SAG regulations, but then we can blame that all on the counsel of MCA honcho Lew Wasserman) through his kowtowing to the Religious Right wing of the Republican Party (Senator Rick Santorum gets a special thanks in the film among others) and the financial shenanigans of his campaign financiers and key staffers. Hopefully a much better film that has non-biased research is made in the future.
This documentary covers a lot of old ground. Some may think that it is unnecessary for a rehash of old ground but I don't. This film is obviously an attempt by the right wing of politics to answer the conservative bashing of Michael Moore style docs that have become increasingly popular in recent times.This film is based on a book but comprehensively covers Reagan's rise to power and his development of views on communism. We see how he came to see it as the greatest threat to freedom in the world and how he stood up to the Soviet Union in a deeply courageous way. Whatever your views on Reagan's politics this is a very interesting topic to examine.In terms of film making this documentary does fall short in a few ways. One gets the impression that the maker had limited access to interviews and footage as a lot is told by narration and only a few people (i think 4) are interviewed for the documentary. In some ways it is not as slick as we have come to expect from recent documentaries and comes across more like a history channel biography but nonetheless I would recommend this film to anyone wanting to know more about Reagan's contribution to the cold war.