The Hunting of the President (2004)

Previously unreleased material outlines the campaign against Bill Clinton's presidency, from his days in Arkansas up to his impeachment trial.

Directors:

Nickolas Perry, Harry Thomason

Writers:

Joe Conason (book), Gene Lyons (book)

Stars:

Morgan Freeman, Jonathan Alter, Steve Barnes

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Morgan Freeman	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jonathan Alter	...	Himself - Investigative Reporter, Newsweek
Steve Barnes	...	Himself - Political Reporter
Paul Begala	...	Himself - Democratic Political Strategist
Richard Ben-Veniste	...	Himself - Former U.S. Attorney
Robert S. Bennett	...	Himself - President Clinton's Attorney
Carl Bernstein	...	Himself (archive footage)
Sidney Blumenthal	...	Himself - Author, The Clinton Wars
Max Brantley	...	Himself - Editor-in-Chief, Arkansas Times
David Brock	...	Himself - Former Investigative Reporter, The American Spectator
Dale Bumpers	...	Himself - Senator, Arkansas (archive footage)
Joe Cammerata	...	Himself - Paula Jones Attorney
John Camp	...	Himself - Investigative Reporter, CNN
Susan Carpenter-McMillan	...	Herself - Paula Jones' Advisor (archive footage)
James Carville	...	Himself - Democratic Political Strategist

Storyline

Harry Thomason and Nickolas Perry's incendiary documentary, based on the best-selling book by Gene Lyons and Joe Conason, offers a glimpse at the genesis of these partisan vendettas and explores the myths and truths behind the nearly ten year campaign to systematically destroy the political legacy of the Clintons.

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Plot Keywords:

impeachment | american president | president | u.s. president | scandal | 

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Taglines:

The ten-year campaign to destroy Bill Clinton.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 January 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jagten på præsidenten

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,298, 20 June 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$376,552, 31 October 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

Diceburg LLC,Regent Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min (Redux)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Co-director Harry Thomason previously directed Hillary 2000 (NY Primary) (2000) and Legacy (Bill Clinton Retrospective - 2000 DNC) (2000) which were both released in the year 2000, the same year that this documentary's source book "The Hunting of the President: The Ten Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton" by Joe Conason and Gene Lyons had been first published [See: Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton].

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Quotes

Betsy Wright: I never understood how some of these Arkansas based people who were being relied on and listened to and wined and dined and flown around by the LA Times and others, how they got the credibility that they got to be listened to, because there wasn't one of them that was um a semi normal person."

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Connections

Referenced in The Hunting of the President: Bill Clinton's Premiere Speech at the Skirball Center (2004)

User Reviews

Well documented arguments

I rate this documentary as a "9" on a scale where "Bowling for Columbine" is a "10" and "Fahrenheit 9/11" is an "8."

The film makers show in detail how a group of right-wingers manipulated the system in order to bring-down an American President. It further shows the abuse of power by a Republican Congress and a vicious "independent" counsel.

It further shows an American newsmedia obliging in its coverage.

The true heroine of the story was Susan McDougal who went to prison rather than commit perjury.

Lest we forget that Ken Starr released the video of Clinton's deposition on the same day the President addressed the UN on terrorism. How much more could we have done about terrorism if the President was not distracted by the baseless attacks?