The American Ruling Class (2005)

Director:

John Kirby

Writers:

Lewis Lapham (written by)
John Kirby (additional story and dialogue) ...
(more)

Release Date:

1 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Tagline:

America Rules the World! But Who Rules America?

Plot:

In this first of its kind "dramatic-documentary-musical", Lewis Lapham takes two young Ivy-League graduates on a tour of the corridors of power. The novice careerists must decide: should they seek to rule the world, or to save it? |

Plot Keywords:

Elite | Satire | Ruling Class | Politics | Affluence

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Lewis Lapham	...	Himself - Introduced by
Caton Burwell	...	Jack Bellamy
Paul Cantagallo	...	Mike Vanzetti
Jessica Silver-Greenberg	...	Taylor Meade
Hollis Witherspoon	...	Emily Gann
Keith Witty	...	Garden Party Jazz Band
Steve Blum	...	Garden Party Jazz Band
Sam Hoyt	...	Garden Party Jazz Band
Catherine Mathis	...	Herself
Caroline Camougis	...	Herself
Kevin Wilson	...	Chef at the Pierre
Kathleen Landis	...	Diner
Eileen Eichenstein	...	Diner
Susan Tsao	...	Diner
David Robinson	...	Bartender at pier 63
Lucas Johnson-Yahraus	...	Kitchen Worker
Max Wolf	...	Kitchen Worker
Jonas Oppenheim	...	Kitchen Worker
Michael Rainin	...	Harmonica Player
Preston Fulwood	...	Keyboardist
Melody Ruby	...	Gail
Marie Nelson	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Joan C. Sooknaran	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Cherece Dickens	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Gloria Curiel	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Edgar Bonilla	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Dario Mejia	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Hsijae Marsic	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Tereza Guraj	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Yoko Zyan	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Jean Marie Lalama	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Stephanie Shade	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Moe Mustafa	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Colin McKinnon	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Colin Whitfield	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Wilson Burdez	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Luis Romero	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Robert Wakile	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Pat D'Antonio	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Paolo Re	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Billy Kitsados	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Kim Crawley	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Maura Kehoe	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Mary Bauchoux	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
R. Ackerman	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Al Skorupa	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Jeff E. Schwartz	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
John Hansen	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Paulette Benz	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Christina Benz	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
George Ruiz	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Christina Morris	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Eddie Arjento	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
George King	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Bhagmattie Ljobin	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Robert Lintner	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Mercedes Ruiz	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Augie Wilson	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Julie Rose	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Ciscilyn Harriet	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Ruby Kahn	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed
Emma Rose Kirby	...	Worker Being Nickel and Dimed / The Lamb
Enrique Lopez	...	Mike Medavoy's Butler
Geroge Guilia	...	Mike Vanzetti's Limo Driver
The Whiffenpoofs	...	Acappella Group (as The Yale Whiffenpoofs)
Dave Solomont	...	Trolley Driver
Jennifer Ashworth	...	Trolley Passenger
Natasha Ashworth	...	Trolley Passenger
Jacqueline Billings	...	Trolley Passenger
Richard Bond	...	Trolley Passenger
Cecily Christian	...	Trolley Passenger
Linda Cosgrove	...	Trolley Passenger
Thomas B. Cosgrove	...	Trolley Passenger
Christina Crawford	...	Trolley Passenger
Molina Derek	...	Trolley Passenger
Avinash Dubin	...	Trolley Passenger
Michaela Duffy	...	Trolley Passenger
Adelbert Entremont	...	Trolley Passenger
Mercedes Gumuchian	...	Trolley Passenger
Michael Harrington	...	Trolley Passenger
Robert Hines	...	Trolley Passenger
Sarah Lee	...	Trolley Passenger
Kristina Parnell-Keer	...	Trolley Passenger
Imma Messeroux	...	Trolley Passenger
Meaghan Moulton	...	Trolley Passenger
Alex Stroshane	...	Trolley Passenger
Sin Wai Stroshane	...	Trolley Passenger
Sam Trussel	...	Trolley Passenger
Rehana Vaidya	...	Trolley Passenger
Melissa Watson	...	Trolley Passenger
Robert Wilson	...	Trolley Passenger
Shira Wohlberg	...	Trolley Passenger
Chinyan Wong	...	Trolley Passenger
Dorothy Price Hill	...	Pentagon Press Corp
Nancy Pearson	...	Pentagon Press Corp
James Van Raalte	...	Pentagon Press Corp
Thomas Farrell	...	Pentagon Press Corp
Wendye Hearsh	...	Pentagon Press Corp
Jerry Goodwin	...	Pentagon Press Corp
Sheila Steffen	...	Pentagon Press Corp
John Bradly	...	Pentagon Press Corp
John Doswell	...	The Lion
Ryan Rissotto	...	Banker Party
Sam Hall	...	Banker Party
Alex Rosenfeld	...	Banker Party
Bryan McArdle	...	Banker Party
Lindsay Brillson	...	Banker Party
Taylor Smith	...	Banker Party
David Schmierer	...	Banker Party
Stephanie Schlosser	...	Banker Party
Olivia Recanelli	...	Banker Party
Jeralyn Gerisa	...	Banker Party
Basak Yeltekin	...	Banker Party
Hannah Sutton	...	Banker Party
Caroline Burwell	...	HR Assistant
Steve Bussen	...	Goldman Sachs Associate
Qasim Naqvi	...	Goldman Sachs Associate
Lydia Davidson Whitcomb	...	Goldman Sachs Associate
Erich Strum	...	Goldman Sachs Associate
Moar Tejeiro	...	Goldman Sachs Associate
Jae Song	...	Goldman Sachs Associate
Azealia Banks	...	Empire Falls Singer and Dancer
Sydney Fishman	...	Empire Falls Singer and Dancer
Christina Franklin	...	Empire Falls Singer and Dancer
Norman Franklin	...	Empire Falls Singer and Dancer
Aaron Jacobs	...	Empire Falls Singer and Dancer
Nancy Lan	...	Empire Falls Singer and Dancer
Jarena Lee	...	Empire Falls Singer and Dancer
Joe Lerangis	...	Empire Falls Singer and Dancer
Sam Levin	...	Empire Falls Singer and Dancer
Billy Rayner	...	Empire Falls Singer and Dancer
Anthony Sanchez	...	Empire Falls Singer and Dancer
Casey Wenger-Schulman	...	Empire Falls Singer and Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Altman	...	Himself
James Baker III	...	Himself - Frm. Secretary of State
Bill Bradley	...	Himself - Fmr. U.S. Senator
Harold Brown	...	Himself - Fmr. Sec. of Defense
Hodding Carter III	...	Himself - Fmr. State Dept. Spokesman
William T. Coleman	...	Himself - Fmr. Sec. of Commerce
Walter Cronkite	...	Himself - Fmr. CBS News Anchorman
Barbara Ehrenreich	...	Herself - Journalist
Vartan Gregorian	...	Himself - President Carnegie Corporation
Doug Henwood	...	Himself - Economic Essayist
Mike Medavoy	...	Himself
Joseph S. Nye	...	Himself - Fmr. Acting Sec. of Def.
John Perkins	...	Himself - 'The Economic Hitman'
Pete Seeger	...	Himself - Folksinger
Arthur Sulzberger	...	Himself - Chairman, New York Times Company
Lawrence H. Summers	...	Himself
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.	...	Himself - Novelist
Howard Zinn	...	Himself - U.S. Historian

Directed by
John Kirby

Writing credits
Lewis Lapham		(written by)
John Kirby		(additional story and dialogue) and
Libby Handros		(additional story and dialogue)

Produced by
Stanley F. Buchthal	....	executive producer: Cactus Three (as Stanley Buchthal)
Caroline Camougis	....	coordinating producer
Caroline Camougis	....	executive producer: Cactus Three
Nick Fraser	....	executive producer: BBC
Julie Goldman	....	executive producer: Cactus Three
Libby Handros	....	producer
Chris Hilton	....	executive producer: Cactus Three
Krysanne Katsoolis	....	executive producer: Cactus Three
Paula Silver	....	executive producer: Cactus Three
Jaclyn Stemple	....	associate producer
Caroline Stevens	....	executive producer: Cactus Three
Erich Sturm	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Qasim Naqvi		(as Qasim Ali Naqvi)

Cinematography by
Mark Benjamin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John Kirby
Leah O'Donnell

Sound Department
Dominick Barbera	....	sound mixer: Soundtrax Group, NY
Dominick Barbera	....	sound recordist: Soundtrax Group, NY
Alan Barker	....	additional sound
Michael Boyle	....	additional sound
Fred Burnham	....	additional sound
Christof Gebert	....	additional sound
David Hocs	....	sound recordist
Roger Phenix	....	additional sound
Dave Presta	....	sound mixer: Dubway Studios
Dave Presta	....	sound recordist: Dubway Studios
Scott Szabo	....	additional sound
William Tzouris	....	additional sound

Visual Effects by
Josh Glaser	....	visual effects
Jaclyn Stemple	....	visual effects (as Jackie Stemple)

Camera and Electrical Department
James Adolphus	....	additional photography
Michael F. Barrow	....	additional photography (as Michael Barrow)
Wayne Forster	....	additional photography (as Wayne Forester)
Christopher B. Green	....	additional photography (as Chris Green)
Richard Lopez	....	additional photography (as Rick Lopez)
Donald McIntosh	....	additional photography
Jae Song	....	additional photography

Editorial Department
Jaclyn Stemple	....	associate editor
Erich Sturm	....	associate editor

Music Department
Jill Jaffe	....	performer: score (as Jill Jaffee)
Lucas Johnson-Yahraus	....	musical numbers: writer and performer
Justin Kagan	....	performer: score
Kathleen Landis	....	performer: score
Eddie Layton	....	musician: keyboard
Eddie Layton	....	musician: wurlitzer
Nancy McAlhany	....	performer: score
Andy Stein	....	performer: score
Indigo Street	....	singer
The What	....	musical numbers: writer and performer

Other crew
Elizabeth Algieri	....	additional crew (as Elizabeth Agieri)
Mark J. Casey	....	additional crew (as Mark Casey)
René Crout	....	additional crew (as Renee Crout)
Sam Cullman	....	additional crew
Elizabeth Deter	....	additional crew
Eileen Eichenstein	....	production coordinator
Ann Gollin	....	production coordinator
Tony Hardmon	....	additional crew (as Tony Hardman)
Jesse Hubbell	....	additional crew
Charlie Lew	....	additional crew
Eric Rivas Quiroga	....	spiritual advisor
Eric Rivas Quiroga	....	story editor
Dustin Ready	....	additional crew
Philip A. Reilly	....	additional crew (as Philip Reilly)
Ben Rosen	....	additional crew
Kasia Ruszkowska	....	additional crew
Ann G. Somogye	....	additional crew (as Anne Somogye)

Thanks
Kevin Dearinger	....	dedicatee: for
Jerry Goodwin	....	the producers would like to thank
Robert Hackney	....	the producers would like to thank
Alan Levin	....	dedicatee: for
Penelope Reed	....	dedicatee: for
Ned Schnurman	....	dedicatee: for

Distributors

• Bullfrog Films (????) (worldwide) (DVD) (educational)
• Moving Pictures Film and Television (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alive Mind Media (2008) (worldwide) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Ovasen Post Production  post-production services and facilities
• Ovasen  post-production services and facilities
• Tandem Sound  sound post-production

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Quotes:

[first lines]
Man:[singing] Here we are a sailing, adrift without a dream. We live for God and country, and yes our God is green. So put your arms around me, until the break of dawn. 'Cause late at night the great and mighty Wurlitzer plays on.

deadly accurate and tactfully subversive

In this smoothly flowing semi-documentary, John Kirby and Lewis Lapham guide us through a believable but dramatized set of circumstances in the would-be lives of two well educated young men ready to embark on their promising careers in business, politics and whatever else.

Dreamlike, we are driven across landscapes and cityscapes, from the rectangular office spaces of Wall Street to the comfortably luxurious houses of the well-off. During the process, we are haunted, as the life-like main characters are, by the seductive promise of life on the leading edge of American power and money.

The choice of fictionalizing a documentary is, by itself, nothing new, but the WAY this has been done here is quite unique. It seems that all the fictive elements only serve the purpose of truth and accuracy, instead of obfuscating the realities involved. Even the graphical and musical interludes serve as surprisingly sympathetic material for further reflection. Unfortunately this strategy subjects the film to criticism from those who find such content offensive or unnecessary. This film is too "artsy" for some; others may find it "preachy", for much the same reasons. For me, the true achievement of the film is precisely its ability to toe that fine line between realism and idealism without ever falling overboard.

Thanks largely to Lewis Lapham and a wonderful "cast" of what in a lesser documentary would be called talking heads (including such giants as Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Altman, Howard Zinn and Walter Cronkite), the film delivers a cinematic equivalent of a journalistic exposition, both laid back and straight to the point. Indeed, this is Lapham's film as much as Kirby's, and for those who find his presence overbearing, this film might prove to be too much. But its subjectivity is perfectly honest and sincere, and should be applauded as such.

While this is clearly not a "pure" documentary in the traditional sense, I wouldn't call it either fiction or mockumentary - it's really one of a kind. For anybody with an interest in the way academicians, aspiring college graduates, business people and powerful politicians see the world and how they reflect on their own role in the functioning of the system, this film is a must see. Whether or not it is useful to talk of a "Ruling Class", the jarringly disparate perspectives of the very rich and powerful in contrast to the way more modestly earning wage workers see the world raises many questions - and, probably, the hair on your neck! It is not without its problems; the last half could probably have used re-editing. Still, it is a unique look - and certainly just one possible look - at the way power, money and ideology operate in today's society.

It is deadly accurate, mainly because it lets people speak for themselves. For this same reason, and underneath its cool and tact, it is surprisingly subversive and charming. Despite Lapham's grayer-than-gray attire, the film is anything but.