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	...	Himself
George Stephanopoulos	...	Himself
Heather Beckel	...	Herself
Paul Begala	...	Himself
Bob Boorstin	...	Himself
Mike Donilon	...	Himself (as Michael Donnilon)
Jeff Eller	...	Himself
Stanley Greenberg	...	Himself (as Stan Greenberg)
Mandy Grunwald	...	Herself
Harold Ickes	...	Himself
Mickey Kantor	...	Himself
Mary Matalin	...	Herself
Mitchell Schwartz	...	Himself
Dave Anderson	...	Himself
Collier Andress	...	Himself

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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

They Changed The Way Campaigns Are Won.

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language

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

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.

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Quotes

James Carville: There's a simple doctrine: outside of a person's love, the most sacred thing that they can give is their labor. And somehow or another along the way, we tend to forget that. Labor is a very precious thing that you have. Anytime that you can combine labor with love, you've made a good merger. I think that we're gonna win tomorrow, and I think the governor's going to fulfill his promise and change America. And I think many of you are going to go on and help him. I'm a political professional, ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in From Washington to Hollywood ...And Back (1998)

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Soundtracks

Vote for the Rythm
Written by Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger, Al Siegel
Performed by Ella Fitzgerald/Chick Webb Band
Published by Famous Music Corp.

User Reviews

Fascinating and hilarious

I first saw this at Doc Films at the University of Chicago. I was expecting it to be interesting, but dry. Wow, was I wrong. The entire audience was enthralled and frequently laughing their heads off. You couldn't make up comedic characters like these if you tried. James and George are just amazing. (Of course, there would be times where HALF the audience was laughing, split along party lines. :-) )

The filmmakers also liven up the proceedings with good choices of music and little bits of Americana tossed in here and there. Invite over all your political junkie friends, get a few beers, rent this movie, and enjoy.