Good Night, And Good Luck

Edward R. Murrow vs Senator Joe McCarthy. Written, acted and directed by George Clooney (this man is a genius). Nominated for six Academy Awards. Let's hope it picks up a few and that speeches are given about those being held without charge in prisons in the US and around the world. The parallels between the war on communism and the war on terror are obvious and the right tone struck; the right tone, of course, being whatever one I agree with.
No surprise that Murrow died of lung cancer - the swirling blue smoke in this movie was enough to make me feel as nauseous as if I were inhaling it. Since smokers have become pariahs, I'm always struck by the amount of smoking on fifties and sixties television; Patrick and Laurier smoked up a storm on This Hour Has Seven Days, for instance. The Dianne Reeves soundtrack fits the fifties smokiness perfectly.
Shot in black and white and well acted, this is a good left wing political movie with a documentary feel.