McLibel (2005)

McLibel is the story of two ordinary people who humiliated McDonald's in the biggest corporate PR disaster in history.

Directors:

Franny Armstrong, Ken Loach

Stars:

Helen Steel, Dave Morris, Bruce Alexander

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Helen Steel	...	Herself
Dave Morris	...	Himself
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bruce Alexander	...	Richard Rampton QC
Anita Anand	...	Voiceover (voice)
Peter Armstrong	...	Voiceover (voice)
Chris Brierley	...	Voiceover (voice)
Rhona Cameron	...	Voiceover (voice)
T. Colin Campbell	...	Himself (as Professor Campbell)
Sue Dibb	...	Herself - The Food Commission
Pip Donaghy	...	David Walker
Ian Flintoff	...	David Green
Oliver Ford Davies	...	Dr. Arnott
Dan Gallin	...	Himself - Intl Union of Food Workers
Stephen Gardner	...	Himself - Assistant Attorney General (as Stephen Gardener)
Geoffrey Giuliano	...	Himself (as Geoff Guiliano)

Storyline

McDonald's loved using the UK libel laws to suppress criticism. Major media organisations like the BBC and The Guardian crumbled and apologised. But then they sued gardener Helen Steel and postman Dave Morris. In the longest trial in English legal history, the "McLibel Two" represented themselves against McDonald's £10 million legal team. Every aspect of the corporation's business was cross-examined: from junk food and McJobs, to animal cruelty, environmental damage and advertising to children. Outside the courtroom, Dave brought up his young son alone and Helen supported herself working nights in a bar. McDonald's tried every trick in the book against them. Legal manoeuvres. A visit from Ronald McDonald. Top executives flying to London for secret settlement negotiations. Even spies. Seven years later, in February 2005, the marathon legal battle finally concluded at the European Court of Human Rights. And the result took everyone by surprise - especially the British Government. ...

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Plot Keywords:

mcdonald | corporation | trial | libel

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Taglines:

The postman and the gardener who took on McDonald's

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Spanner Films

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 May 2005 (USA)

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,821 (USA) (10 June 2005)

Gross:

$4,337 (USA) (24 June 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spanner Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally released as a 52 film on TV and video in 1997; this extended 85 version came out in theaters in 2005 after the case had gone to the European Courts.

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Connections

Edited from McLibel: Two Worlds Collide (1998)

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Soundtracks

"The Ancient Mariner"
Written, performed & produced by Johny Brown, Alfie Thomas (as Alf Thomas) and Chris Brierley

User Reviews

but they weren't losers - sore or otherwise

That's the point. They won - despite the odds. And when that is no longer the basis for an interesting film then we might as well all give up. Whether you agree with their politics or not, the stand they took, the obstacles they faced and the dirty tricks pulled by Maccas make this the perfect subject for a documentary. What bugs me most about the people who are on here criticizing this movie is the line that these "do-gooders" are profiting from this movie's release. Unlike people like you, making money is not the only motivation in this world and if you saw this film, you'd realise it is way down the list of priorities for these two people. Sometimes just getting the message out is the most important part. But I guess that wouldn't even occur to some people.