RBG (2018)

The exceptional life and career of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon.

Directors:

Julie Cohen, Betsy West

Stars:

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ann Kittner, Harryette Helsel

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 44 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg	...	Herself
Ann Kittner	...	Herself - Childhood Friend
Harryette Helsel	...	Herself - Childhood Friend
Nina Totenberg	...	Herself - NPR Correspondent
Martin D. Ginsburg	...	Himself (archive footage)
Arthur R. Miller	...	Himself - Longtime Friend (as Professor Arthur Miller)
John Howard Lawson	...	Himself - Screenwriter (archive footage)
Clara Spera	...	Herself - Granddaughter
Brenda Feigen	...	Herself - Harvard Law School Graduate
James Steven Ginsburg	...	Himself - Son (as James Ginsburg)
Jane C. Ginsburg	...	Herself - Daughter (as Jane Ginsburg)
Lisa Beattie Frelinghuysen	...	Herself - Former Clerk
Mary Hartnett	...	Herself - Biographer
Wendy Williams	...	Herself - Biographer
Gloria Steinem	...	Herself - Writer / Activist

Storyline

At the age of 84, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. But without a definitive Ginsburg biography, the unique personal journey of this diminutive, quiet warrior's rise to the nation's highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her biggest fans - until now. RBG is a revelatory documentary exploring Ginsburg's exceptional life and career from Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and co-produced by Storyville Films and CNN Films.

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Plot Keywords:

opera lover | judge | u.s. supreme court | litigation | gender equality | 

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Taglines:

Hero. Icon. Dissenter.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian German French

Release Date:

14 September 2018 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

RBG

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$578,470, 6 May 2018, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$14,017,361, 11 October 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

CNN Films, Storyville Films, Better Than Fiction Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It had its premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

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Quotes

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: I was terribly, terribly nervous. But then, I looked up at the Justices, and I thought, 'I have a captive audience.' I knew that I was speaking to men who didn't think there was any such thing as gender-based discrimination, and my job was to tell them: it really exists.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits include: "Martin Ginsburg Award for Supportive Husbanding Paul Barrett Oren Jacoby Jorge Aguirre"

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Connections

References Wonder Woman (2017)

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Soundtracks

Die Zauberflote: Der Holle Rache
Performed by Alain Marion & Angele Dubeau
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Courtesy of Analekta

User Reviews

fascinating and fun

"RBG" (PG, 1:38) is a documentary about the life of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is directed by documentary film producers Julie Cohen ("American Veteran") and Betsy West ("The Lavender Scare"). The film was released in U.S. theaters on May 4, 2018, after making the festival circuit in the first few months of the year during which it won a couple Best Documentary prizes.

The film traces Ginsburg's life from her childhood in Brooklyn, New York through her years struggling to be taken seriously as a young female law student and practicing attorney (but racking up impressive accomplishments nonetheless) and through her tenure on the highest court in the land and improbable emergence as a pop culture icon. The storyline is basically linear, but includes frequent jumps backward, forward and even sideways as it examines different aspects of her life, personality and public image.

Along the way, there's a good mix of historical photos, videos, audio clips and graphics, but the main driving force is the well-edited interviews. We hear from Ginsburg's children, her childhood friends, colleagues, admirers and even a few detractors, as well as fellow feminist hero Gloria Steinem, former President Bill Clinton and, of course, Ginsburg herself - at various public appearances, with her personal trainer and sitting down to discuss her life, even reacting to Kate McKinnon's portrayals of her on SNL.

"RBG" is a fascinating and fun documentary. It's unclear how much credit goes to the compelling subject matter vs. the skill of her documentarians, but Cohen and West do keep things moving and paint a well-balanced picture while keeping the audience's interest. Some will find it as difficult to separate their feelings about Ginsburg as a jurist from how they feel about her politics as the filmmakers probably had making their film relatively apolitical, but they did it. They manage to tell Ginsburg's story - and make clear what she believes in (even including a little bit of controversy) - while keeping the focus mainly on Ginsburg as a person and on this strong film as an interesting and entertaining historical document. "A-"