 |
The Film
The Trials of Henry Kissinger (USA 2002)
Written by Alex Gibney, this fascinating documentary digs deeply and uncomfortably into the life and diplomatic career of Henry Kissinger. To his fans, Kissinger is one of the true heavyweights of American foreign policy and a deep intellectual. To his detractors, notably Christopher Hitchens who penned the book “The Trial of Henry Kissinger “, Kissinger is a war criminal. This film confronts and investigates the charges that Kissinger undermined LBJ’s Vietnam peace talks (in order that Nixon be elected), engineered the secret bombing of Cambodia, orchestrated the coup that toppled Chilean President Allende, and approved Indonesia’s use of U.S. arms to massacre 100,000 East Timorese, The Trials of Henry Kissinger explores how a young boy who fled Nazi Germany grew up to become one of the most powerful men in U.S. history.
Jarecki interviews a cast of characters amongst them Alexander Haig, Brent Scowcroft, Seymour Hersh and Amy Goodman who speak on both sides of the debate. Perhaps most compelling was the testimony of Rene Schneider Jr. His father was the Chilean general who stood in the way of General Pinochet’s coup to overthrow Salvatore Allende.
The interviews are absorbing and the archive footage chilling as Kissinger’s role in controlling two decades of US foreign policy is debated heatedly by friend and foe, each as passionate and defensive of their case. Inspiring, it seems, loyalty and contempt in equal measure, Kissinger is the most controversial US political figure of the 20th Century except perhaps Nixon himself. |
The Critics“Fascinating!” –Roger Ebert “Savagely funny!” – Los Angeles Times “Required viewing for every American, especially now… Exhilarating, Revelatory!” –Newsday “Devastating, Unwavering, Eloquent & Engrossing!” –The New York Times “A stunning and overwhelmingly cogent case for Kissinger as a calculating war criminal.” –Boston Globe “An exposé of the corrosiveness of power…skillful and detailed.” –The New Yorker “Mass murderer or pragmatist: You make the call.” – Film Comment “Explosive! A juicy and blistering muckraking documentary… that should jolt the consciences of all who see it.” –Boston Phoenix |
Prost Amerika Film Newsletter and InfoProst Amerika is the authorized cinematic distributor for "The Trials of Henry Kissinger". We are delighted to bring this exceptional work to Seattle's screens. You can also sign up for our film newsletter, for news and information about all of Prost Amerika's film-related activities. You'll receive news of when our films are due to be screened and special offers of free tickets to exclusive showings such as the free premier of Son of Rambow recently. If you would like to help us get the word out about "The Trials of Henry Kissinger" or have any suggestions for venues or guest speakers, click here. As always we will never pass on your email to any third parties. |
|
The Filmmaker Alex Gibney In 2004, Gibney produced the classic concert film “Lightning in a Bottle,” starring Buddy Guy, Macy Gray, Bonnie Raitt, Chuck D, Mos Def, Dr. John, Angelique Kidjo, Solomon Burke and many others, which premiered in 2004 at the Berlin Film Festival and which was released theatrically by Sony Classics. In 2003, Gibney served as the Series Producer for “The Blues,” an Emmy-nominated series of seven films in association with executive producer Martin Scorsese. The directors for “The Blues” were: Charles Burnett, Clint Eastwood, Mike Figgis, Marc Levin, Richard Pearce, Martin Scorsese and Wim Wenders. Gibney also produced “The Soul of a Man,” the film by Wim Wenders for that series (also an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival), and was awarded a Grammy for producing the 5-CD box set based on the series. His recent credits include the theatrical documentary for the BBC and First Run Features “The Trials of Henry Kissinger” (Writer/Producer); “Jimi Hendrix and the Blues” (Director/Producer); the HBO documentary, “Soldiers in the Army of God,” (Senior Producer), about the radical fringe of the anti-abortion movement; “Speak Truth to Power”(Producer), a PBS special about human rights defenders starring Alec Baldwin, Sigourney Weaver, John Malkovich and Kevin Kline; “Brooklyn Babylon,”(Executive Producer) a feature film directed by Marc Levin and featuring the Grammy Award-winning, hip-hop group ‘The Roots’; “The Huntress” (Executive Producer) a TV movie written by Bruno Heller (HBO’s “Rome”) and, subsequently, a TV series for the USA Network; “Sexual Century,” (writer, director, series producer), a six-part documentary series for ITV and the CBC; “The Fifties” (writer/director/producer), an 8-hour documentary mini-series based on the best-selling book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Halberstam; and “The Pacific Century” (writer/director/producer), a 10-hour documentary series that was honored with an Emmy, two Emmy nominations and the prestigious du Pont-Columbia Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism. His work has also appeared on the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series, “ESPN’s Sports Century,” and the Emmy Award-winning series FRONTLINE, for PBS. | |