Medium Cool (1969)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Good concept, poorly executed.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Simply Put...The Title is a Reference to Marshall Mcluhan's Philosophical, Ground Breaking Book and Theory…"Understanding Media" (1964), and a Companion Piece "The Medium is the Message". Television, for Example is a "Cool" Medium and The Printed Word "Hot". Based on the Amount of "Thinking" or "Work" one has to put into the "Message" being Communicated, not to mention the Texture or Form used to Present it.This much Talked About, but Previously Rarely Seen (it is out now on Blu-ray from Criterion) Film was and is a Significant Piece of Art that Bridges the World of the Real and a Surreal World and Creates a Masterpiece of "Cinema-Verite" "Documenting" a Time and Place of such Cultural, Political, and National Zeitgeist that it is Really "Miraculous" that Cinematographer, and First Time Director, Haxell Wexler seems to have been "Blessed" for being in the Right Place at the Right Time.Choosing to Mix "Real Documentary Footage" and Dramatic Recreations of Real Events and Adding a Love Story about a TV Cameraman that is so Immersed in a Chaotic Collision of Gigantic Proportion, that He can not help but be Transformed, and Enlightened to just how much "The Whole World is Watching" what is taking place on the Streets and on TV Screens Everywhere.Robert Forster and Verna Bloom are Memorable and the Film Itself can not be Forgotten both Literally and Figuratively. It really is Art that is Important.Wexler also does not have the "Luxury" of Hindsight, Reflection, or History when He put together this Powerful Film as it was Released barely a Year after the Climactic Events of the Movie took Place.A Must See for Cultural and all Historians.

One of the craziest and most tension-filled time in America was during the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968. After all, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy had just been killed, racial tensions were at an all-time high, folks were angry about Vietnam and people were simply scared. So, it's surprising that so few films actually deal with this in any way...and this is why I wanted to see "Medium Cool". Too bad the film was ponderous when is clearly should have been exciting.The story is an odd one. In some ways, it looks like a documentary film where a film crew follows a reporter (Robert Forrester) during the course of him doing his job. And, as the film unfurls, you see the crazy events of the day as they take place. This documentary approach is heightened by most of the folks in the picture, as they are non-actors. But other moments seem more staged (such as the fun sex scene that originally earned the film an X rating) and often they are a bit dull. Overall, the picture desperately looks like it was done by a first-time filmmaker--complete with sub-par camera work, poor pacing and a semi-professional look to it. For the life of me, I cannot see why this film has been so well received.

9/11/2011 is probably the wrong time to be writing a review of this ground breaking film, but it was an almost perfect time to re-watch this evocation of some of the painful events of our college years.The "cinema verité" look of this film has taken on a somewhat dated feel with the years, and Robert Forster's intense stares have not gained in stature as examples of great acting - but both still accomplish what they did originally, wrapping us up in the emotions of a world gone slightly mad, being pulled apart by generations unable to agree on how best to defend freedoms both believed they believed in.The riots - youth and police - that marked the 1968 Chicago convention (following the other party's now generally forgotten charade in Miami) were the beginning of something we are only now beginning to recover from in this country. Then as now, a foreign civil war which part of the country felt it was in our interest to meddle in was tearing the country apart. (Meddling which proved mistaken in that case - misunderstanding how nationalism trumped a foolish "Domino Theory" and not helped by the failure of the media to adequately REPORT the ramifications and LEADERS of the independence movement which had transformed the former "French" Indochina into Vietnam in the 1950's, making the ultimate victors in the civil war all but inevitable). MEDIUM COOL was a somewhat disjointed but stirring attempt to come to grips with and hold a mirror up to a nation uncomfortable with seeing itself - let alone establishing a dialog across generational lines or dealing with the issues dividing it.Perhaps edgy popular entertainment was a hopeless tool to try to bridge that cap, especially without addressing the external causes driving the rift, but it was a start - and the artifact remains today a powerful glimpse back at what seemed like a world of irreconcilable political differences that may help us put some of today's stresses in perspective.One can only wish that rather than preserving two holes in the ground (no matter how "prettied up" by trees and benches) someone would genuinely memorialize the tragic events Americans have come to know as "9/11" by making a MEDIUM COOL-type film looking at the well meaning terrorists on both sides in the ten years since the Towers fell. That might be the best memorial - one people could actually learn from - to the thousands of people killed that day and in the wars and political upheaval which followed.

This experimental late 60's effort is a great time-capsule movie. It captures feelings of unease and paranoia that are synonymous with the time. This was at a time where events such as Altamont and the Manson murders helped kill the hippy dream. Medium Cool depicts a cynicism that is very much in line with times.Set in Chicago during the '68 Democrat National Convention, the film follows a dispassionate news cameraman and his relationship with a country woman and her son. The story is slight. And the message is not entirely clear. But, apart from the time-capsule factor, what makes this movie worthwhile is the way in which it has been captured on film. The cinematography excellent in places. The opening credit sequence where the camera follows a dispatch bike rider through the streets of Chicago to the psychedelic main theme tune by Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention is particularly well done. Similarly, the later shots of Verna Bloom walking through the anti-Vietnam riots clad in a little yellow summer dress is incredibly striking. Director Haskell Wexler was primarily a cinematographer so it is unsurprising that the look of the film is so important. On top of this, the idea of filming the actors in the settings of actual events, such as the riots and the Convention, gives the film a timeless quality and uniqueness that serves it well.On the negative side, some scenes do go on too long and 'the message' aspect can get slightly tiresome at times. The acting is good but characters are maybe a little too detached at times, making it hard for us to care too much for them. That said, however, the ending still packs an emotional punch.Other things to check out: An extended nude scene that must've been pretty shocking at the time. The psychedelic soundtrack is no too bad either – including a groovy rock concert scene. Lastly, a black radical who talks in fluent jive – 'you cat', 'you dig', etc – very funny.If you're looking for a film with a great narrative then give Medium Cool a miss. If you would like to see a late 60's psychedelic/political mood piece with some great visuals and music, then give it a go.