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I thought I'd chuck in my tuppence on this film, since there seem to be plenty of politically aware types on the board - but I don't think I can genuinely give an objective overview.  Familiar as I was with the majority of Moore's  allegations levelled at the Bush (mk2) presidency, the second half of the movie veered off the usual catalogue of Bush's hijacking of the highest political office in the free world and his ties to Saudi oil families (the Bin Ladens in particular), and instead concentrated on the plight of US marines and their families.  The sight of Lila Lashcomb in tears as she relates the story of her son's death in Iraq isn't one that's going to leave me for some time.  Moore covers the same territory as Bowling For Columbine in his assertion that corporate interests need a frightened populace to encourage them to consume and keep the economy healthy, but quickly moves into other, more emotionally charged territory when he begins to chart the destruction of lower-class American communities (particularly African-Americans)and their exploitation by the ruling class American elite.
Like I say, it's hard to be objective about something that makes you angry in the way this documentary does - the treatment of the freedoms upon which the democratic principles of America were founded and sustained is truely blood-boiling.  I defy anyone to walk away without SOME image sticking in the mind, be it the ridiculous anti-terror propaganda that makes Brass Eye look like a documantary, or the mutilation of charred and blackened American corpses by baying mobs of Iraqis.
One thing I didn't like about Bowling For Columbine was Moore's doorstepping of Charlton Heston.  Held up as the highpoint of the movie, I always thought that verbally outsmarting a man with Parkinson's Disease wasn't the best way to prove a point.  Farenheit 911 doesn't have any such scenes, simply battering you with scene after scene of things that either make you angry or put a lump in the throat - it might be argued that the viewer is being manipulated, but everything the viewer sees is real and demonstrable fact, rather than the half-truths and mud-slinging preferred by the right-wing media Moore has issues with.
About the only really bad thing I can say about the movie is that it'll only end up preaching to the choir.  If you're a really committed conservative/republican type, you're going to have issues with the film and are unlikely to be swayed by the arguements raised, and if you're a liberal type, you'll probably already be familiar with much of the subject matter.  I'd say most boarders will already have made up their minds about whether or not they'll go see this, but if you're wavering on the issue, I can only reccommend it, as it packs more of an emotional punch than anything else you'll watch in the cinema this year.

Unless you're a REALLY big Spider-man fan, obviously.

i might go see it, or i might just wait for it on video, i havn't been to the cinema in 2 years. I havn't read your post yet, it's just so long.

Whatever anyone thinks of Moore and this film, the thing is, he's using the administration's, and the media's, own hypocracies to undermine both; this stuff has been said, done and is already out there, Moore has just put it all together in one film. We choose how we will interpret it.

I consider that to be fair and it may be the only real way to unseat these muderous fuckers this year.

I'll always defend Moore's treatment of Heston in BfC.  If an intellectually impaired person is held up as the spokesperson and figurehead of an influential group, then that person's mental feebleness needs to be exposed.

And you can prise that argument from my cold, dead hands.

Oh great.. We went to war becuase of one nutty women's paranoia...

Link: From today's Guardian

The Film will change nothing..Ok suppose Bush is thrown out by the American electorate, the people behind Bush(Corporations,Multi-Nationals,Military-Industrialists et al) will throw their considerable weight some other Sap candidate or even 'pressurize' Kerry in a similar way they did with Bill Clinton...its the system that stinks and until that is changed nothing will alter..to be honest the general public the world over lacks the will to retake control of their own destiny's and put a stop to all this 'Globalization' abbhorance

Heston has never really struck me as feeble-minded in any way, and most people forget he was a visible proponent of civil rights during the 60's, appearing alongside Martin Luthor King at many rallies, even though Heston's right-wing conservatism led him to butt heads with King on many issues.  Also, we now know that at the time of the interview in BFC, he was in the early stages of Alzheimers.  Moore seemed to be badgering Heston on the issue of the gun rally held in Denver so soon after the Columbine massacre - despite pointing out that it had been planned months in advance.  Yes, Heston and the NRA should have shown more tact, but I just think it's a shame that Moore could only manage the humiliation of a sick man in his twilight years, rather than a more worthy target among right-wing American republicanism such as Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh.  I don't think it damages the salient points Moore raised in BFC, it just isn't the victory for common sense and decency over a right-wing nutbowl that the more militant lefties claim.

Oh, I'd love to have seen him turn over Ann 'let's invade those barabaric countries and convert them all to Christianity at the point of a bayonet' Coulter.

It is the system that sucks, I agree, but the power of certain personalities is also a big factor eg. Kissinger, to take one case history,  a one man crimewave going from one administration to the next for many years and now ensconced as a corporate raconteur.

At the moment the Bush admin. is the greatest collection of loonies we''re likely to see for quite sometime, a gallery of pro-zionists, fundamentalist christians, backed by amoral -business as usual- private sectors of military power -a veritable militaristic, right-wing coup has basically happened and needs to go.

A lethal combination that must be broken apart to allow, at least the lesser evil, namely corporate Democrats et al., to hopefully pull back some of the way.

 A sad, sorry situation,  but there you go.

Fantastic.

10/10

Honest, raw, and fucking powerful.

Go see it.  Then reflect on the improbability of a British filmmaker getting the same kind of access to the documents that allow Moore to construct his film.

Now that WoD and Mr. Dribbles have found it for me I may as well drag this thread back up the list again.

It's a brilliant film (I saw it last night - still digesting it).

Yeah, very powerful movie.
As for the arguement that it won't change anything. I'm not so sure.
I mean, by how narrow a margin did Bush win the election (if he won at all...)?
If only 3 or 4% of the population are swayed by this movie, then it might just be enough. And add in the fact that it's video release in the states is just a few weeks before the election...

"One thing I didn't like about Bowling For Columbine was Moore's doorstepping of Charlton Heston. Held up as the highpoint of the movie, I always thought that verbally outsmarting a man with Parkinson's Disease wasn't the best way to prove a point."

sorry to jump on that point but Mr Heston has bee doing the NRL shit for years if he was being led by the nose by his peers then he needed a wake up call if he was doing it with full knowlege he also needed a wake up call because from the look on his face he seemed to be ashamed of his actions and so he should even if he was dippy and being led he should of FOUND OUT what he was doing
any way um... carry on

One thing that grabbed me very early on in this film was a segment where 10 Democrat congressmen moved to start a debate on the outcome of the election that put Bush in power, which they contended had been conducted dishonestly (remember that 16,500 black voters in Florida had been moved from the electoral role, and later ballots were thrown out because they hadn't been punched properly). All they needed to get a debate was the signature of one senator, but not one senator would sign the motion.

Al Gore asked each one in turn if they had a Senator's signature, and repeated the rule each time, until one woman, told that she needed a senator's signature, declared "I don't care!".

I was moved to applause.

There are a hundred other reasons why I would recommend anyone to see this very disturbing film.

Usher - where is it showing in cardiff?

here here

WoD - every cinema in Cardiff at the moment.

Link: Here, here, and here:

Dumb WoD!

Good old BBC online! It's funny how useless the websites of the cinemas themselves are.

And....I think I'd go and see SpiderMan 2 first.  Now all I have to do is get Mrs WoD to look after the kid and away I go...It is her Birthday tomorrow so maybe, just maybe, she'd fancy a quiet night in on her own and I'll be able to go out and see the film...

Or then again..maybe not.