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W. (2008/I)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Stanley Weiser (written by)
Release Date:
17 October 2008 (USA)
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Tagline:
Get Ready more
Plot:
Awards:
4 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(50 articles)
Sellers Tops Presidential List
(From WENN. 19 January 2009, 11:09 PM, PST)
Brolin And Wright Escape Bar Brawl Charges
(From WENN. 6 January 2009, 11:00 AM, PST)
(From WENN. 19 January 2009, 11:09 PM, PST)
Brolin And Wright Escape Bar Brawl Charges
(From WENN. 6 January 2009, 11:00 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Uncomfortable
more (261 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Josh Brolin | ... | George W. Bush | |
| Colin Hanks | ... | Speechwriter #1 | |
| Toby Jones | ... | Karl Rove | |
| Dennis Boutsikaris | ... | Paul Wolfowitz | |
| Jeffrey Wright | ... | Colin Powell | |
| Thandie Newton | ... | Condoleezza Rice | |
| Scott Glenn | ... | Donald Rumsfeld | |
| Richard Dreyfuss | ... | Dick Cheney | |
| Bruce McGill | ... | George Tenet | |
| Wes Chatham | ... | Fraternity Enforcer | |
| Jesse Bradford | ... | Fraternity President | |
| Sean Stone | ... | Fraternity Pledge #1 | |
| Ben Mayer | ... | Fraternity Pledge #2 | |
| James Cromwell | ... | George H.W. Bush | |
| Juan Gabriel Pareja | ... | Oil Worker |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Bush (USA) (working title)
Oliver Stone's W. (Germany) (TV title)
W. - Ein missverstandenes Leben (Germany) (DVD title)
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Oliver Stone's W. (Germany) (TV title)
W. - Ein missverstandenes Leben (Germany) (DVD title)
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MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for language including sexual references, some alcohol abuse, smoking and brief disturbing war images.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
129 min
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
USA:PG-13 (certificate #44818) |
UK:15 |
Canada:G (Québec) |
Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) |
Portugal:M/12 |
Ireland:PG |
Finland:K-7 |
Australia:M |
Netherlands:16 |
Norway:15 |
Argentina:13 |
Germany:12 (DVD rating) |
Germany:12 |
Brazil:14 |
Hong Kong:IIA |
Singapore:NC-16 |
Mexico:B
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
This movie was filmed sequentially. Josh Brolin lost a considerable amount of weight to play W. in his youth and had to quickly gain it back to play him middle-aged.
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Goofs:
Factual errors: While W. is watching a sports report in 2004, the anchor gives the score of Ohio State vs. Kansas in the Fiesta Bowl, and states that it was the national championship. The championship game that year was LSU vs. Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. Ohio State played Miami (FL) for the the title the previous year.
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Quotes:
Asian Journalist:
Mr. President, what place do you think you will have in history?
George W. Bush: History? In history we'll all be dead!
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George W. Bush: History? In history we'll all be dead!
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Movie Connections:
Featured in "The Jay Leno Show: (#1.40)" (2009)
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Soundtrack:
With God on Our Side
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FAQ
Who or what is "W"?How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
Is "W." based on a book?
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more (261 total)
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One word sums up how I felt while watching W: uncomfortable.
I went into this film expecting more of an absurdist comedy than a tragedy. The level of realism was far beyond what I expected. For the most part, the cast, makeup, and casting crew did such a good job with the characters that it was very easy to imagine that these were not actors on the screen but the actual people. Josh Brolin's characterization of W was certainly Oscar-worthy.
Even better than Brolin's part was Phedon Papamichael's photographic direction. The job of the Director of Photography is to bring the story to life through the creation of images to draw the attention of the viewer where the Director wants. Few films are as good of an example of this as W. Papamichael used the camera to force moral and emotional perspective in a way that I have rarely seen outside of the films of Stanley Kubrick. I've only seen the film once, viewing it as a complete work. I intend to watch it again to study the photography.
Overall, I thought the film was fair in its treatment of the actual people involved. The most ardent Bush supporters will not like it, but to still be that supportive of him in the final months of his second term, you either have to not be paying attention or be uncritical in all of your thought. While artistic license was taken throughout the film, the portrayal of all events and people, with the possible exception of Dick Cheney, were far more grounded in reality and recorded history than I expected.
The film made me uncomfortable on multiple levels, which is why it succeeds and deserves such a high rating. The portrayal of Bush's relationship with his parents, especially his father, forces the viewer to feel sorry for him. The overt religiosity that pervades the public service portion of his life must anger anyone who believes strongly in the separation of church and state. There are many moments when, with any other characters, the film should have generated much laughter. Only one moment in the film actually caused more than one person in the theater to laugh. I guess 4000+ dead soldiers drains the humor out of even the most hilarious gaffes.
I would recommend this film to anyone who wants to see a realistic portrayal of historical events. I wish Stone had waited until Bush was out of office to make it, though. While it captures the major events that were involved in building the Bush legacy, it ends far too early.