Lake of Fire (2006)

A graphic documentary on both sides of the abortion debate.

Director:

Tony Kaye

Writer:

Tony Kaye (screenplay)

Stars:

Bill Baird, Flip Benham, Dallas Blanchard

4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Bill Baird	...	Himself - Activist
Flip Benham	...	Himself - Director, Operation Rescue National
Dallas Blanchard	...	Himself - Professor of Sociology, University of West Florida
John Britton	...	Himself - Ladies Health Center, Pensacola (as Dr. John Britton)
Pat Buchanan	...	Himself - Republican Presidential Candidate
John Burt	...	Himself - Activist
Andrew Cabot	...	Himself - Activist
Noam Chomsky	...	Himself - Professor of Linguistics, MIT
Frederick Clarkson	...	Himself - Author
Alan M. Dershowitz	...	Himself - Professor of Law, Harvard (as Alan Dershowitz)
Joycelyn Elders	...	Herself - Surgeon General, 1993-1994 (archive footage)
Kevin Fitzpatrick	...	Himself - Department of Sociology, University of Alabama (as Prof. Kevin Fitzpatrick)
Mary Lou Greenberg	...	Herself - Refuse and Resist
Michael F. Griffin	...	Himself - Convicted of Abortion Related Murder
David Gunn Jr.	...	Himself - Son of David Gunn

Storyline

A graphic documentary on both sides of the abortion debate.

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Plot Keywords:

abortion | religion | title from bible | anti abortion | interview | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 October 2007 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$2,559 (USA) (5 October 2007)

Gross:

$23,807 (USA) (2 November 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anonymous Content

Technical Specs

Runtime:

152 min

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Quotes

Noam Chomsky: You are not going to get the answers from holy texts. You are not going to get the answers from biologists. These are matters of human concern that have to be discussed seriously...

User Reviews

This is not easy viewing

Unlike some here, I'd say it's quite obvious which side of the debate Tony Kaye himself lies on; that of pro choice. Although it presents both sides of the argument, the only sane representatives are on the side of choice. Now I don't know enough about the pro-lifers to know if they're all as nutty as the people presented to us in this film. Some aren't quite as crazy, for instance Norma McCorvey, whose reasons for now being pro-life can be understood (she was basically pressured into feelings of guilt for her part in Roe v Wade) if not supported.

What most of this boils down to is religious fanaticism. The vast majority of the pro-lifers use religious 'teachings' as their argument for abolishing abortion rights. I say that it's unwise to base any serious decisions on something as debatable and dubious as anything the bible has to say. After all, the bible at various points would have whole tribes of people wiped from the face of the earth, it would sacrifice daughters to prevent men from making sodomites of themselves, 'god' turns a woman to a pillar of salt for the heinous crime of looking back at her home. Good grief, what a terrible sin! Almost as bad as committing blasphemy for which crime some in this film seemed to think it was acceptable to face the death penalty. We need to be worried about the religious fanatics in this country, not complacent about them. With Bush's encouragement they have grown in strength and the abortion fight is just a part of their whole game.

Tony Kaye did a brilliant job here of showing us all of that. Pro Lifers can't possibly be happy about this film, even though it doesn't candy coat anything - we get to see abortion in all its gory glory. Nevertheless, I feel that if someone is sitting on the fence about the issue and sees this film, they're unlikely to want to associate themselves with the crazies portrayed herein, especially the lunatic priest in Colorado who claims that abortion doctors are Satan worshipers who dangle the expelled fetus by the leg and then barbecue it. Clearly he's one or two marbles short! To summarize, this is an absorbing if somewhat long documentary which presents various arguments for and against abortion and satisfactorily raises most of the issues. Rent the video and devote an evening to watching it but be prepared to run the gamut of your emotions (whichever side of the issue you support), from anger to frustration, fascination to sadness.