Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

'The Power of Nightmares' is not only an amazing documentary, it is a fantastic piece of entertainment and an example of how to make something truly watchable and informative. The program documents the rise of both the Al-Quida and the Neo-Conservatives and draws worrying and powerful comparisons between the two. The program is a masterpiece of editing, superb narration and soundtrack, and most importantly, it breaks information down in a way that is easy to understand without dumbing it down so much that it looses its point. I would easily count the opening montage of this program as one of the best i've ever seen.I don't like to think of myself as a liberal or a conservative, and that is probably part of the reason I find this show so fascinating. Right-wing groups and bloggers have been quick to scream about liberal conspiracies and demonising the United States, but the show simply reports the tale through simple facts. The idea of the liberal dream in the 60's is held as responsible as the conservative dream of the 80's, and terrorism is demonised for what it truly is, a murderous and totally wrong idea.The interviews are similarly conducted in a simple and factual way. There is no need for quick edits, sound effects or clever angles in these sections, the interviewer simply asks a question and allows the response to speak for itself. The interview when a US intelligence officer admits that he truly believes that having no evidence of Soviet weapons was evidence in itself is easily one of the most disturbing things to come out of this documentary.No program is perfect however, large portions of the story appear to have deliberately sliced out to keep the pace and length down, the Arab-Israeli conflict is totally omitted and the facts start to become a bit too speculative towards the ending, with predictions taking the place of narrative.Overall this is one of the best political documentaries ever commissioned, I urge you to see it, even if you view it as a piece of propaganda the productions alone are well worth enjoying, as is the superb soundtrack and use of some brilliant stock footage.

3 part BBC documentary/essay that is unlikely to get a regular release in the US. I got a copy from the first 3 issues of Wholphin the McSweeny's sister DVD magazine which had one part in each issue. The film shows how the rise of fundamentalist Islam began at the same time as the birth of the neo-conservative movement and how the two are variations of the same theme (you understand why this won't play in Peoria). the film suggests that both groups want to gain power by creating a world view that will allow them to rule by fear. It also supposes that the grand terrorist network isn't there and that the Islamic we fear isn't going to happen.Enlightening, frightening and the sort of thing that gets the little grey cells going this is an interesting historical look at the way things are and why we are in the situation we're in. Its not the be all and end all since while it does connect many of the dots it also leaves out many details that could color the central thesis. As with many films history isn't this neat. The film was made 4 years ago and much has happened since then, and I'm not certain all of the points still hold true.The films biggest flaw, if you can call it that, is that the film is much too long at three hours. To be certain the film was made to be seen on three nights over three weeks, but the amount of information contained is so dense even that is too much (I watched this over a couple of days and feel overwhelmed by it. I was almost ready to hang it up half way in simply because its just too much.) Too much or not its worth seeing, or rather it still demands to be seen simple because it will put things in to a new perspective. Is it the correct one, I don't know that would be fore you to decide, but make the choice and try and see this.

This is a highly intelligent, informative, sometimes humorous and superbly edited series of programmes that look at two types of dominant fundamentalist groups that exist in the Twenty First Century. On the one side we have the Neo-Conservatavists, mostly all white, affluent Christian men (believers in Creationism mostly), who Western society is obviously supposed to value highly compared to the dark, foreign 'others' that make up the 'terrorists' from 'un-civilised' lands. The programmes chart the historic roots of these two fundamentalist groups, and reveal that they both came about from a belief in the corrupt and morally unsound nature of Western society after the threat of the Cold War dissolved. The programmes look at the the War on Terror and Curtis clearly presents the way that 'Nightmares' about terrorism can coerce and manipulate the 'big beast' that is society. Through propaganda, the media becomes a tool where lies are peddled and fear is stoked up to tame and create (un)believable truths in the mind of the general populace. For example a clip from a news programme shows lies about Al Qaeda being a highly organised network with vast caves full of high tech computers and complex equipment. This has been shown as a complete fabrication among many supposed truths presented to the general public.The series is principally excellent in enlightening us with 'facts' but also the way in which music and editing is used to bring the message across. For example a plethora of clips from the film 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' and the use of traditional American music with images of Al Qaeda. I found this to be a humorous and unique touch that really makes these programmes stand out. Overall what this film reasserted once again is that these Neo Conservativist terrorists are no better than un-organized or partly organised Islamic terrorists. George W Bush is a terrorist of the worst kind, who through repeating lies long enough and hard enough to his scared citizens can manipulate them into believing ,for example, that an unprovoked and illegal war is justified. This idea of good versus evil is a dominant myth within Western societies, and George W Bush et al know that through creating this 'other' evil and building it up continouously, whether it exists or not one can win people on your side. The prime example being his victory in the Presidential elections, a great many of the people interviewed said they would vote for Bush because he would keep U.S.A safe. Which is of course quite the opposite in my opinion. A great series I hope Curtis and his team make many more enlightening and technically competent documentaries.

This is a superb 3-part BBC documentary about how gov'ts overblowthreats to create "nightmares" which can then be used for domesticpurposes/control. It traces the US neo-cons back to the Cold War daysand examines how both the neo-cons and Islamic fundamentalists falselyclaim credit for destroying the overblown threat of the USSR. The filmthen examines the so-called War on Terror (WoT). It includesoutstanding "evidence" of the terrorist "sleeper cell" trials in the US(you have to watch and see this evidence to believe it!!). This is anextremely well done, insightful look at the post-9/11 reactions by theUS and UK and will challenge propaganda about the WoT (e.g. the USgov't named Al Queda not Bin Laden; nuclear scientists and the Pentagonboth say a "dirty bomb" would most likely not kill anyone) withreasoned and well-sourced logic and arguments. For more information, see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/3755686.stm The first episode is not the most exciting, since it does thehistorical background to set up the last two episodes. (You can getthe gist of the entire documentary just by watching the last two. Viewing the BBC's link above will give some add'l info.) Few can claimto know about the clash of the US/west versus Muslim fundamentalism andthe interaction of US politics in that clash without seeing this video-- it's that good!