Medium Cool (1969)

Director:

Haskell Wexler

Writer:

Haskell Wexler (writer)

Release Date:

1970 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Beyond the age of innocence... into the age of awareness

Plot:

TV news camera find himself becoming personally involved in the Violence which erupts around the 1968 Democratic Convention.

Plot Keywords:

Political Activism | Magnifying Glass | Female Nudity | Flashback | Washington Monument

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Robert Forster	...	John Cassellis
Verna Bloom	...	Eileen
Peter Bonerz	...	Gus
Marianna Hill	...	Ruth
Harold Blankenship	...	Harold
Charles Geary	...	Buddy
Sid McCoy	...	Frank Baker
Christine Bergstrom	...	Dede
William Sickinger	...	News Director Karlin
Robert McAndrew	...	Pennybaker
Marrian Walters	...	Social worker
Beverly Younger	...	Rich Lady
Edward Croke	...	Plain-clothesman
Doug Kimball	...	Newscaster
Peter Boyle	...	Gun Clinic Manager

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R (re-rating) (1970) | USA:X (1969) | UK:X

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

H & J

Trivia:

Some of the background intercom chatter playing during the first scenes shown of the television station that John Cassellis works at is the same intercom chatter used in George Lucas' student film Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967). Paul Golding, who served as an editorial consultant for this film, had also been a collaborator on some of Lucas' other student films.

Movie Connections:

References "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962)

Soundtrack:

Oh No

An incredible film. You appreciate it more with multiple viewings.

Famed cinematographer Haskell Wexlers landmark 1969 film Medium Cool is quite remarkable. Filmed around the time of the Democratic Convention in Chicago circa 1968 the film is mainly from the perspective of a tv camera man ( played by Robert Forster) covering the event, but trying to distance himself from everything around him. Verna Bloom plays a widowed mother who has moved recently to Chicago from West Virginia with her young son. Forster's character becomes romantically involved with Bloom which drives the initial plot. Although this is superflous compared to Wexlers technical genius. Aesthetically the movie is stunning with many incredible shots and camera angles. The scenes of real protesters rioting gives a sense of heightened tension and realism not seen in other films. Overall Wexler perfectly captures a moment in time, a criticism on the social and political welfare of the United States as well as an examination of the medias sensationalism of violence and our fascination with it. Notice the chilling opening sequence and compare it to the cruel irony at the unexpected climax.

The score by Mike Bloomfield is terrific also