Recount
starring: Kevin Spacey
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Product Description:
Studio: Hbo Home VideoRelease Date: 08/19/2008Run time: 116 minutes
Amazon.com:
At the height of the 2000 election season, CBS anchor Dan Rather quipped, "The presidential race is crackling like a hickory fire." Director Jay Roach (Austin Powers) recaptures that blaze in his smart HBO docudrama about the thriller in Palm Beach County. Written by actor Danny Strong, Recount bounces between the Sunshine State, Gore's Tennessee headquarters, and Bush's Texas stomping grounds. Gore adviser Ron Klain (an excellent Kevin Spacey) provides a privileged window into those weeks when the American public first became familiar with obscure terms like "hanging chad." (Since Klain has an ax to grind with the vice president, neither he nor Gore appear completely heroic.) First, the Democratic candidate pulls ahead; then he falls behind. Just as he prepares to concede, Klain's colleague, Michael Whouley (Denis Leary), spots an anomaly in the vote count, and the race continues. Enter eccentric Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris (Laura Dern, a certain Emmy nominee), who orders a recount, and former Secretaries of State Warren Christopher (John Hurt) and James Baker III (Tom Wilkinson), who oversee a process that ends up in the Supreme Court (where Ed Begley Jr.'s David Boies represents Gore). Produced by the late Sydney Pollack, who originally intended to direct, Recount skillfully integrates news footage with dark comedy, most provided by the foul-mouthed Whouley and Bush adviser Ben Ginsberg (Bob Balaban), who's still livid about JFK's victory over Nixon. If the Democrats come across as more sympathetic, the Republicans come across as more colorful--and strategically effective. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Studio: Hbo Home VideoRelease Date: 08/19/2008Run time: 116 minutes
Amazon.com:
At the height of the 2000 election season, CBS anchor Dan Rather quipped, "The presidential race is crackling like a hickory fire." Director Jay Roach (Austin Powers) recaptures that blaze in his smart HBO docudrama about the thriller in Palm Beach County. Written by actor Danny Strong, Recount bounces between the Sunshine State, Gore's Tennessee headquarters, and Bush's Texas stomping grounds. Gore adviser Ron Klain (an excellent Kevin Spacey) provides a privileged window into those weeks when the American public first became familiar with obscure terms like "hanging chad." (Since Klain has an ax to grind with the vice president, neither he nor Gore appear completely heroic.) First, the Democratic candidate pulls ahead; then he falls behind. Just as he prepares to concede, Klain's colleague, Michael Whouley (Denis Leary), spots an anomaly in the vote count, and the race continues. Enter eccentric Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris (Laura Dern, a certain Emmy nominee), who orders a recount, and former Secretaries of State Warren Christopher (John Hurt) and James Baker III (Tom Wilkinson), who oversee a process that ends up in the Supreme Court (where Ed Begley Jr.'s David Boies represents Gore). Produced by the late Sydney Pollack, who originally intended to direct, Recount skillfully integrates news footage with dark comedy, most provided by the foul-mouthed Whouley and Bush adviser Ben Ginsberg (Bob Balaban), who's still livid about JFK's victory over Nixon. If the Democrats come across as more sympathetic, the Republicans come across as more colorful--and strategically effective. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Watch it just for Laura Dern alone!
HBO movie about the Florida voting recount in the 2000 presidential election. Especially hard to watch if you're a Democrat, it stirs up frustrations that you thought you had long buried and forgotten. Given the apparent dryness of the material, it's surprising how well this zips along, and with a good balance of comedy and drama. Special marks to Laura Dern for her incredible portrayal of Katherine Harris!
Rating: 
- Fabulous!
This is a great movie. Just think what the world would have been like if Gore had assumed his rightfully elected office of the President. The whole world would have avoided the eight dark years of the illegal Bush administration. But the silver lining in all of this was that Bush's massive cockup made it posible for Barock Obama to win the Presidency.
Rating: - Surprised by the balance of the movie
I was looking for three things that would tell me that this movie was not just a liberal hit piece on Republicans:
1. That the networks called FL for Gore before the polls in FL were closed.
2. That the FL Supreme Court gave the Gore team favorable rulings and declarations that the Gore legal team never argued for or requested.
3. That the US Supreme Court was 7-2 on the ruling of Bush v. Gore and 5-4 on the remedy.
This movie stated all of these facts.I've ... Read More
Rating: - Brings It ALL Back
Ah, yes.November, 2000.Florida.Palm Beach County.Hanging chads.Jim Baker.Katherine Harris.Lawsuits. Noisy demonstrations. The Florida Supremes.The U.S. Supremes.More lawyers than ants at a picnic.A nation in suspended animation.
As Dickens would say, it was the best of times. . .it was the worst of times, and the HBO film RECOUNT brings it all back--from the tension and drama to actual CNN, FOX, and network news clips.The story is told mostly from the Democratic ... Read More
Rating: - The Truth about American Democracy
Recount is a sad but truthful reminder that the freedom to vote in America is part illusion. It is also a strong statement that the U.S. Supreme Court can be manipulated to "spin" decisions based on the representative power that is in the current majority. As of 2009, five of the nine justices are Roman Catholics, their decisions being influenced deeply by the Pope. That said, Recount offers a factual analysis -- told in drama form -- of the 2000 Presidential election that went to the loser, courtesy ... Read More
- Watch it just for Laura Dern alone!HBO movie about the Florida voting recount in the 2000 presidential election. Especially hard to watch if you're a Democrat, it stirs up frustrations that you thought you had long buried and forgotten. Given the apparent dryness of the material, it's surprising how well this zips along, and with a good balance of comedy and drama. Special marks to Laura Dern for her incredible portrayal of Katherine Harris!
- Fabulous!This is a great movie. Just think what the world would have been like if Gore had assumed his rightfully elected office of the President. The whole world would have avoided the eight dark years of the illegal Bush administration. But the silver lining in all of this was that Bush's massive cockup made it posible for Barock Obama to win the Presidency.
- Surprised by the balance of the movieI was looking for three things that would tell me that this movie was not just a liberal hit piece on Republicans:
1. That the networks called FL for Gore before the polls in FL were closed.
2. That the FL Supreme Court gave the Gore team favorable rulings and declarations that the Gore legal team never argued for or requested.
3. That the US Supreme Court was 7-2 on the ruling of Bush v. Gore and 5-4 on the remedy.
This movie stated all of these facts.I've ... Read More
- Brings It ALL BackAh, yes.November, 2000.Florida.Palm Beach County.Hanging chads.Jim Baker.Katherine Harris.Lawsuits. Noisy demonstrations. The Florida Supremes.The U.S. Supremes.More lawyers than ants at a picnic.A nation in suspended animation.
As Dickens would say, it was the best of times. . .it was the worst of times, and the HBO film RECOUNT brings it all back--from the tension and drama to actual CNN, FOX, and network news clips.The story is told mostly from the Democratic ... Read More
- The Truth about American DemocracyRecount is a sad but truthful reminder that the freedom to vote in America is part illusion. It is also a strong statement that the U.S. Supreme Court can be manipulated to "spin" decisions based on the representative power that is in the current majority. As of 2009, five of the nine justices are Roman Catholics, their decisions being influenced deeply by the Pope. That said, Recount offers a factual analysis -- told in drama form -- of the 2000 Presidential election that went to the loser, courtesy ... Read More
