The War Room (1993)

A documentary of the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign and the organization who ran it.

Directors:

Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker

Stars:

James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, Heather Beckel

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Carville	...	Self
George Stephanopoulos	...	Self
Heather Beckel	...	Self
Paul Begala	...	Self
Bob Boorstin	...	Self
Mike Donilon	...	Self (as Michael Donnilon)
Jeff Eller	...	Self
Stanley Greenberg	...	Self (as Stan Greenberg)
Mandy Grunwald	...	Self
Harold Ickes	...	Self
Mickey Kantor	...	Self
Mary Matalin	...	Self
Mitchell Schwartz	...	Self
Dave Anderson	...	Self
Collier Andress	...	Self

Storyline

A behind-the-scenes documentary about the Clinton for President campaign, focusing on the adventures of spin doctors James Carville and George Stephanopoulos. Bill Clinton himself is almost never seen.

---

Plot Keywords:

primary election | on the road | campaign | presidential campaign | president | 

---

Taglines:

They Changed The Way Campaigns Are Won.

---

Genres:

Documentary | History

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

From 1:08:19 to 1:08:29, you can see a man in a gray suit pickpocket a camera operator on the right side of the screen.

---

Quotes

George Stephanopoulos: [in a phone conversation with the director of the Illinois Perot Office] Read it to me. Well what is names and addresses? I could send you a fax of names, addresses, and phone numbers of who you had an affair with, it wouldn't make it true. Yeah, I just... believe me. Believe me that it's been looked at by every major national news organization. Everything. And it is completely bullshit. If you went on the radio and said that Bill Clinton is the father of an illegitimate black child, you would ...

---

Connections

References Saturday Night Live (1975)

---

Soundtracks

I Swung the Election
Written by Glen Miller
Performed by Jack Teagarden
Published by EMI Reisp Catalog Inc.

User Reviews

Impressive

I have to admit, I came into watching this film with somewhat low expectations, as the last political documentary I watched was "The Hunting of the President" which I found to be ultimately a weak film, with little to no focus on politics whatsoever. As somewhat of a political junkie, I was impressed by this film's portrayal of what seems to be a rather honest look into the workings of a presidential campaign. However, I think the film misses a few point where it could focus on the actual strategies being made, but it chooses more to focus on the people making the strategies. It gives an interesting look into the "reality" of the campaign, but leaves the overall strategies left mostly unexplained. Still a good film though, enjoyed it a lot. Oh, and by the way, the previous reviewed was right on the mark saying that if you liked this you should read "The Agenda" by Bob Woodward. Same sort of style.

Details

Official Sites:

The Criterion Collection

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Kommandozentrale

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,264, 7 November 1993

Gross USA:

$901,668

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$901,668

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cyclone Films, McEttinger Films, Pennebaker Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1