Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11; and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Director:

Michael Moore

Writer:

Michael Moore

Stars:

Ben Affleck, Stevie Wonder, George W. Bush

27 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Affleck	...	Himself (archive footage)
Stevie Wonder	...	Himself (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
James Baker III	...	Himself (archive footage)
Richard Gephardt	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tom Daschle	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jeffrey Toobin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Al Gore	...	Himself (archive footage)
Condoleezza Rice	...	Herself (archive footage)
Donald Rumsfeld	...	Himself (archive footage)
Saddam Hussein	...	Himself (archive footage)
George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ricky Martin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Byron Dorgan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Osama bin Laden	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

Following up on 'Bowling for Columbine', film-maker Michael Moore provides deep and though-provoking insights on the American security system, the level of paranoia, fear, uncertainty, false values and patriotism, which all combined together to set a stage for George W. Bush to launch a war on Iraq instead of focusing on getting the real culprit(s) behind the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This documentary also focuses on how some Saudis were safely and secretly flown out of America while planes were ostensibly grounded after the attacks. Archived film footage, candid interviews with politicians, and an overall waste of public funds for a war that was initiated on false pretension to wit: a weapon of mass distraction - to take the focus away from the real enemy and get Americans glued to their TV sets to watch innocent Iraqis and Afghans getting killed. And a war that would eventually alienate the U.S.A. and it's citizens from almost every country on Earth.

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Plot Keywords:

iraq | interview | war on terrorism | afghanistan | terrorism | 

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Taglines:

Your country. Your future. Your movie.

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Genres:

Documentary | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent and disturbing images, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Dog Eat Dog Films

Country:

USA

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

25 June 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fahrenheit 911

Filming Locations:

Baghdad, Iraq

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$64,114 (Hong Kong) (15 October 2004)

Gross:

$163,920 (Hong Kong) (29 October 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fellowship Adventure Group, Dog Eat Dog Films, Miramax Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The story read in the classroom on 11 September 2001 was "The Pet Goat" by Siegfried Engelmann in the textbook Reading Mastery 2, Storybook 1.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Was it all just a dream?
Al Gore: God bless you, Florida! Thank you!
Narrator: Did the last four years not really happen? Look, there's Ben Affleck. He's often in my dreams. And the Taxi Driver guy. He was there too. And little Stevie Wonder, he seemed so happy... like, like a miracle had taken place. Was it a dream? Or was it real?

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits, there is a screen text shot that reads, "Do Something: www.michaelmoore.com"

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Connections

Referenced in Gilmore Girls: The Perfect Dress (2006)

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Soundtracks

"We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
(1965)
Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
Produced by Bob Golden

User Reviews

Moore shines a spotlight on Bush administration distortions with humor!

Moore's film strips away the pseudo patriotic facade of the Bush administration with humor and tragedy to create a very compelling but flawed message: Bush used false pretenses to go to war while enriching his friends and letting the common people suffer the fallout. The film moves between powerfully tragic scenes( like the sound of planes flying into the Towers as the screen is blacked out to interviewing a dead soldier's mom) to parody( Bush and Cheney dressed like cowboys in a scene with Bonanza music in the background. Moore raises several provocative questions such as why did Bush sit for seven minutes in an elementary classroom without reacting? Moore suggests answers which imply Bush didn't know what to do. Moore raises questions and suggests answers which right wing critics find abhorrent. His film techniques of showing a triumphant, strutting Bush proclaiming major military operations are over and quickly cutting to a roadside bomb in Iraq exploding, showing Bush as either ignorant, stupid, or mendacious were very powerful. Moore's weakness was in trying to give his audience too many messages in a single film but he comes very close to succeeding. His success was apparent to many right wing radio hosts, who immediately declared him both a liar and antiamerican(or America hating).