Battle in Seattle [Theatrical Release] |  | Manufacturer: Redwood Palms
Category: Theatrical Release
This item is no longer available
Rating:  12 reviews
Language: English (Unknown)
Region: 1
Number Of Discs: 1
ASIN: B001FB55S0
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For five days in 1999, all eyes were on Seattle. Irish actor Stuart Townsend makes his directorial debut with a multi-character recreation of the World Trade Organization's ill-fated U.S. conference. If the structure recalls Crash and Babel, Townsend intensifies the you-are-there quality through well-integrated archival footage. The docudrama opens with the arrival of a group of anti-globalization activists, led by Jay (The Ring's Martin Henderson), whose compatriots include Lou (Lost's Michelle Rodriguez) and Django (Outkast's Andre "3000" Benjamin, who provides a welcome dose of humor). As fictional Mayor Jim Tobin (Ray Liotta, wearing a touch too much eyeliner) tries to maintain order, TV reporter Jean (Connie Nielsen) strives for objectivity, police officer Woody Harrelson attempts to carry out the mayor's orders, and Dale's pregnant wife, Ella (Charlize Theron, Townsend's real-life girlfriend), just hopes to make it home in one piece (she gets stuck downtown at the height of the skirmish). Townsend admits he was inspired by Medium Cool, which filmmaker Haskell Wexler shot during 1968's Democratic National Convention. Paul Greengrass's Bloody Sunday also seems like a possible influence, and Greengrass regular Barry Ackroyd serves as cinematographer. If the characters rarely come alive the way they should, the action sequences easily convince, which is particularly impressive considering the bulk of filming took place in nearby Vancouver, B.C. A true labor of love, Battle in Seattle presents a more balanced view than most accounts to date--even if Townsend ultimately (and understandably) sides with the peaceful protesters and passionate Third World representatives. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
Excellent and Caring Real-Life Storytelling May 17, 2009
O. Marie (Seattle)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Coming from Seattle, having lived through the WTO protests, I am proud S. Townsend took this topic to task. Townsend is a sweetheart and brave soul to care about the impact this event had on our city, and the world at large. Thank you for coming here and creating this film! It is well done, and I'm gratified by much of the original network news footage as well as the storyline.
This film will speak to young Americans just coming to understand how our economics impact the planet. Some characters may seem cheesy, but I found them to be authentic, easy to identify with for the most part. Yes, many people were tear-gassed and beaten in the streets for peaceful protesting. Yes, this went for 3 solid days, here in the heart of Seattle. Yes, I had a friend sleeping on my couch for a few nights, since he couldn't SEE after being tear-gassed. Yes, some children were tear-gassed, walking as pedestrians with their parents down the street. Yes, the city was under curfew and citizens were told to stay in their homes. And yes, the streets of our city were completely ripped-up. All the shop windows were kicked in and... Well, it all had an interesting way of addressing our materialism! Just in time for the Christmas shopping season. YAY!
(Seattle has not been the same since.)
What makes this film important is, it does give some human documentation to the FIRST international protest which was ever organized on the internet.
Into the third day of protests, media attempted to keep national news reports on the down-low; we had to tune-in to PBS in order to find out what was happening. For many, it represents the beginning of the needed CHANGE we were to strive for - - coming into nine long years later! After the events of 9/11, the war in Iraq, and with the election of Barack Obama. The true-life story behind this film shows us how hard-earned change can be; that it does not happen overnight. It happens in small revolutions of people, coming together with united intention.
As America falls into a recession which affects all nations, globally, and as we continue to work at pulling ourselves out of the wars in the Middle East, this film is an important, informative way to educate yourself on our global economic issues and the needs for change. If you're without a job right now, see if you can rent this film and think about the possibility of going to work for PEACE. If you need a little inspiration about root networks? And why it is that going green can help us in the future? This film and the true-life stories behind it will show you the way.
 Neglected film about an important event in American history May 7, 2009
Julius (Los Angeles, CA United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was one of the best films I saw in 2008 (yes, I was lucky to be at one of 2 screenings in Los Angeles). Frankly, it was better than any of the Oscar nominated Best Films. It's well-shot, well-acted, well-researched (as I understand it, the factual basis is completely accurate) and well-written. What's amazing is that though the writer-director is a well-established Irish actor, this is the first film he has made. The film is very much an ensemble work, weaving a tapestry of all the players in the Seattle riots (politicians, cops, activists, by-standers). What I particularly liked about this film was just how fair it was to everybody. Nobody is a villain even when they do very bad things (the cops, the mayor). There are very real motivations... people had the best of intentions. It's a complex portrait - nothing like the media coverage given to us. It's a completely entertaining movie, but it's an important film as well. I think this is a movie every patriotic American should see, and by patriotic, I mean those who believe in the U.S. Constitution. But it was financed by a Canadian and had no major studio distribution so thus, nobody knew about it.
 Amateurish April 13, 2009
Steve Frazier (Seattle)
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
I wanted to see this movie because I was living and working in downtown Seattle at the time of these events. I was able to watch a lot of the protests unfold from my office window, and walked through the protests on my way to and from work. I won't quibble with some of the historical inaccuracies - hey, that's movie-making.
But I did want to point out that this is like some bad war movie from the 40's or 50's -- just a bunch of pot cliches and paper-thin characters strung together to try to make a movie out of a very interesting historical event: Angry cop. Pregnant wife. Overwhelmed mayor. Heroic young protesters, debating over who is more courageous and idealistic.
I did enjoy the way they edited in some actual historic footage. Otherwise, this was more like watching someone's film-school mid-term project than an actual commercial movie release. It would have been better if they would have twisted the facts more, and had some UFO's blast downtown Seattle with laser beams or something.
A fine dramatization of actual events April 10, 2009
G. Helkenn (Fairbanks, Alaska)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having been in the street at a number of such protests and having had many close friends who were there that day in Seattle, I have to say that as a hollywood dramatization, this is a fine example of historical movie-making. No historical dramatization is accurate in every detail, since some details have to be sacrificed to streamline artistic expression, yet this movie is certainly accurate in spirit, and touches well on a number of realities of those days. It also does a good job of capturing the spirit of that protest without demonizing the opposition. It is sure to inspire questioning, dialogue and (hopefully) heroism in those who watch it. Also a timely release, given our current world economic situation. A gift to the coming generation, for sure...I hope it's watched in every High school social science classroom in America.
Interesting and accurate April 10, 2009
S. Block (Ft. Lauderdale, FL USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Years ago, TIME magazine had a cover article on the "Battle in Seattle." In the article, TIME had a map of downtown Seattle that marked certain high rise buildings. The building in which I worked every day was starred as "Ground Zero" for the Battle. When I watched the movie, it brought back my hassles of getting to and from work over the four demonstration days. Although I was in the midst of all the action, I didn't really understand the Battle in Seattle until I watched this movie. If you buy the DVD, as I did, be sure to watch the bonus features. One of the bonus features explains why the subject matter was chosen, how it was perceived by the writer and director, and most importantly, it explains very well the WHY of the Battle. I highly recommend the movie. I took one star off of my review because one of the characters was a shallow one played by an actress that didn't do a convincing job with the material she was given.
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