Good Night, and Good Luck
Good Night, and Good Luck ★★★½ 2005 (PG)
Nearly flawless portrayals and script combine with smoky black and white shooting to transport you back to the McCarthy era, where television newsman Edward R. Murrow (Strathairn) faces off with Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. Murrow is pressured to back down, but he and CBS staff are intent on exposing McCarthy's fearbased witchhunt for communist activity. McCarthy plays his own role by way of archival footage; performances by Jeff Daniels and Robert Downey Jr. don't disappoint. A labor of love for George Clooney, he cowrote and directed, and plays Fred Friendly, Murrow's producer at CBS. Though spare, the dialogue and acting create a scene and mood that, whether you remember the era or not, makes it completely real and utterly believable. 93m/B DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD, HD DVD . US GB FR JP David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson, George Clooney, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., Frank Langella, Ray Wise, Robert John Burke, Reed Edward Diamond, Tate Donovan, Grant Heslov, Thomas (Tom) McCarthy, Matt Ross, Alex Borstein, Peter Jacobson, Robert Knepper, Dianne Reeves, Rose Abdoo, John David (J.D.) Cullum, Glenn Morshower; D: George Clooney; W: George Clooney, Grant Heslov; C: Robert Elswit. Ind. Spirit ‘06: Cinematog.; L.A. Film Critics ‘05: Cinematog.; Natl. Bd. of Review ‘05: Film.