lukeshulver This movie is beautifully shot with a superb cast and script - opening with a rather frank and accurate prediction as to what journalism, and news as entertainment has become. Where balanced arguments were set to one side to push political agendas and the fear journalists faced in losing not just their careers, but their lives if they voiced a dissenting or balanced argument. The McCarthy era, fear of being labelled a liberal, a lefty, was synonymous with communism where the slightest suggestion caused fear of reprisals and silenced the majority. This movie could be seen as a precursor or warning of the eventuality of Fox and Newscorps powers of persuasion and influence. and the Orwellian dystopian future that has already arrived. Kudos to journalistic integrity and the platforms that support them. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

SnoopyStyle It's 1953. CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) leads an on-air fight against Senator Joseph McCarthy and his crusade to uncover communists and other unamerican activities. The film follows the CBS news team which includes producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney), reporter Joseph Wershba (Robert Downey Jr.), wife fellow reporter Shirley Wershba (Patricia Clarkson), and others.George Clooney is also the writer and director. He decided to strip this of its Hollywood flash by making it black and white, and keeping the sound design to a minimum. It's a smoke-filled representation of the behind the scenes work in the newsroom. It doesn't have the tension for me. It's inside-baseball for the journalist crowd. Clooney can't escape being Clooney and it's hard to see these characters as flesh and blood. The story could have better tension if McCarthy has an actor playing the group's foil. The news footage serves an useful historical reference but it needs a big performance to deliver the intense drama.

billcr12 George Clooney directed and also stars as Fred Friendly, who was Edward R Murrow's boss during the red scare days in the 1950's. This is well known material well told by Clooney and featuring David Strathairn as the chain smoking news man. The entire film is in black and white, giving it the look of a documentary of the time period. Real footage of Senator McCarthy is used with the intended chilling effect. Murrow is shown sitting at a manual typewriter actually composing his own material for the CBS broadcast. The past equivalent of Fox News; at that time in the print newspaper media, presented a vicious attack on Murrow and anyone attacking Senator McCarthy. History, of course, has proved Murrow courageous and correct for his fight against McCarthy. The movie is only 94 minutes and is a bit fast paced and frenetic, but it is well worth watching.

rogerdarlington This wordy and worthy film is a homage to veteran CBS newscaster Edward R. Murrow who dared to challenge the hysterical campaign of Senator Joseph McCarthy to find Communist sympathisers in every corner of the post-war American establishment. David Strathairn is wonderful as the fearlessly independent TV presenter who would sign off his pieces with the phrase "Good Night, And Good Luck".The black and white treatment and the close-up camera-work make this look like a documentary and indeed a good deal of film footage from the time is used which adds to the effect. Such an uncommercial movie could not have been made without George Clooney who directed, co-wrote and stars as Murrow's producer Fred W Friendly. The whole thing was made for a mere $7M.Other well-known actors contributed to this political statement that television has to be about more than entertainment and advertisers: Robert Downey Jr, Frank Langella, and Jeff Daniels (who some years later headed the cast of "The Newsroom", a TV series inspired by the spirit of Murrow).