By the People: The Election of Barack Obama (2009)

Directors:

Amy Rice
Alicia Sams

Release Date:

7 August 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot Keywords:

Primary Election | Election | Presidential Election | Caucuses | President

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Barack Obama	...	Himself
Ronnie Cho	...	Himself - Organizer
Tommy Vietor	...	Himself - Iowa Press Secretary
Robert Gibbs	...	Himself
Dick Armey	...	Himself (archive footage)
John Edwards	...	Himself
Bill Richardson	...	Himself
Joe Biden	...	Himself
Hillary Rodham Clinton	...	Herself
David Axelrod	...	Himself
Bob Menendez	...	Himself (as Sen. Menendez)
Melissa Bean	...	Herself (archive footage)
Tammy Duckworth	...	Herself (archive footage)
Michelle Obama	...	Herself
David Plouffe	...	Himself
James Clyburn	...	Himself
Ryan Lizza	...	Himself - New Yorker
Lynn Sweet	...	Herself
Jon Favreau	...	Himself
Candy Crowley	...	Herself
Richard Wolfe	...	Himself - MSNBC
Paul Tewes	...	Himself - Iowa State Director
Mike Blake	...	Himself - Iowa Political Director
Suhaila Soetoro-Ng	...	Herself
Maya Soetoro-Ng	...	Herself
Konrad Ng	...	Himself
Neil Abercrombie	...	Himself
Bobby Titcomb	...	Himself - High School Friend
Chuck Todd	...	Himself
Jennifer Donahue	...	Herself
Melisanne Russo	...	Herself - Reporter (as Melissa Russo)
Jeff Zeleny	...	Himself - New York Times
Jim Margolis	...	Himself - Media Consultant
Jeremiah Wright	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jane Hall	...	Herself - Fox News
Joe Klein	...	Himself
John McCain	...	Himself
Sarah Palin	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wolf Blitzer	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tucker Carlson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chris Matthews	...	Himself (archive footage)
Condoleezza Rice	...	Herself (archive footage)
Tim Russert	...	Himself (archive footage)
Brian Williams	...	Himself (archive footage)

Directed by
Amy Rice
Alicia Sams

Produced by
Bristol Baughan	....	executive producer
Stuart Blumberg	....	producer
Elissa Brown	....	associate producer
Benjamin Goldhirsh	....	producer
Matt Huffman	....	field producer
Meggan Lennon	....	field producer
Deric Margolis	....	executive producer
D.J. Martin	....	executive producer
Bill Migliore	....	producer
Tim Nackashi	....	field producer
Edward Norton	....	producer
Dan O'Meara	....	producer
Chris Romano	....	producer
Audrey Rosenberg	....	executive producer
Alicia Sams	....	producer

Original Music by
Craig Wedren

Film Editing by
Arielle Amsalem
Geeta Gandbhir
Samuel D. Pollard

Sound Department
Ron Bochar	....	sound editor
Ron Bochar	....	sound re-recording mixer
Zuzana Bochar	....	sound apprentice
Justin Hennard	....	sound mixer
Allan Zaleski	....	sound editor
Alexa Zimmerman	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Bristol Baughan	....	additional camera
Isaac Brown	....	additional camera
Andreas Burgess	....	additional camera
Eric Flagg	....	additional camera
Hope Hall	....	additional camera operator
Chris W. Johnson	....	additional cinematographer
Gil Kruger	....	additional camera operator
Meggan Lennon	....	additional camera
Lee Nelson II	....	additional camera operator
Matt Porwoll	....	additional camera operator
Ryan Richmond	....	additional camera

Editorial Department
Macy Jones	....	assistant editor
Jonathan Liebert	....	digital cinema mastering
Scot Olive	....	colorist
Samuel D. Pollard	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Michael Panes	....	musician: violin

Other crew
Jennifer Zolten Freed	....	post-production accountant
Jonathan Gray	....	production counsel
Liz Modena	....	production accountant

Thanks
Meggan Lennon	....	special thanks
Matt Porwoll	....	thanks
Chad Troutwine	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Citi Productions
• Class 5 Films
• Green Film Company
• Reason Pictures

Distributors

• HBO Documentary Films (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2010) (UK) (TV) (BBC2)
• Home Box Office (HBO) (2009) (USA) (TV)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2010) (Argentina) (all media)
• Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) (2009) (non-USA) (all media) (excluding UK TV)
• Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep (VPRO) (2010) (Netherlands) (TV)
• WoWow (2009) (Japan) (TV)

Other Companies

• C5  post-production sound services
• Gray Krauss Des Rochers  legal services
• Trevanna Post  post-production accounting

Also Known As:

Runtime:

Argentina:116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Netherlands:AL | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Germany:o.Al.

Company:

Citi Productions

A Waste of Hollywood Talent

By the People: the Election of Barack Obama, released in 2009 shortly before the presidential election, falls somewhere in between political propaganda and an amateur film diary. Directed by Amy Rice and Alicia Sams, produced by actor Edward Norton, this HBO documentary presents a one-dimensional view of the 2008 presidential election between Barack Obama and John McCain.

Given that 98% of Hollywood is liberal, it was inevitable that a movie about Barack Obama would be made…but couldn't By the People at least be entertaining or enlightening? Apparently, Rice, Sams, and Norton, et al, didn't think so. With unlimited funds and talent at their disposal, People boils down to a tunnel view of the campaign, and its supporting cast of star-struck campaign workers, mainstream media, and huge crowds of enthusiasts.

At the forefront is Obama, who appears to play to the camera like a star-struck kid, enjoying every moment of the branding that is Mr. O. The "behind-the-scenes" glimpses are just as carefully staged as Candidate Obama's many appearances, staff conferences, and his off-hand comments such as, "I love elections, they're so much fun!". No – really! The film lacks any narrative style – and any narration, for that matter - and the audience is left to plow through almost two hours of wall-to-wall film footage of this sticky-sweet homage to the perfect Liberal candidate. Without showing the reality that goes into every political campaign or exploring Obama's crafted image, By the People comes off as a back-handed tribute to Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will's cinematic design.

A year later and OHLand can't help but wonder if Rice, Sams, and Norton, now well-tempered by time and stark reality, would package their product a bit differently.

Ah, being liberals, probably not.