The War Room (1993)

"The War Room" is a fantastic documentary that shows the behind the scenes and takes an inside look at a presidential campaign for president. This film follows then Arkansas governor Bill Clinton's track from the snowy cold first Primary in New Hampshire in January of 1992 to the final victory party on election night in November of 1992. The best scenes are shown in the campaign room when you hear the plans and game plans of the two most important Clinton insiders that being James Carville and George Stephanopoulos. Carville the outspoken and fiery southern who ran the campaign with charm and hard working passion. Really an emotional moment is when James gives his speech at the end by breaking down and crying really a touching moment for the viewer. While Stephanopoulos the brilliant and young bright mind who was an ex Rhodes Scholar does a fine job as the communications director helping Bill dodge and maneuver around such scandals as Gennifer Flowers and the draft dodge. The film also has plenty of highlights from the debates, speeches, campaign tours, and highlights of final election results too. Really a fine documentary of how a political campaign should be done, which most will find both educational and informative.

I was taking a course in American Government at Rutgers when I saw this film. I fell in love with George Stephanopoulos right away. James Carville is always a delight to watch with his Cajun tongue and enthusiasm. This film documentary chronicles the Clinton election in 1992. I can't believe I miss that period now. Of course, the War Room is not for those who don't care anything about politics. The boy from Hope gave us hope and a promise that was fulfilled. Sure there was the sex scandals, at least they were interesting, the economy was headed in the right direction and we had surplus budget. Now, we're in two wars with no end in sight. Still, the War Room reminds us of the promises and the hope around election day.

This would be an excellent film to show high school poly sci students. It shows the combination of art and craft that goes into a campaign; it promises to entice students into politics without pretending that there isn't some finagling and footwork involved.Weak points: The sequence involving the Bush Brazilian print job goes on way too long and then doesn't resolve. Also, I (for one) was looking forward to seeing that timeless moment during the East Lansing debate when Clinton stepped away from the podium to address the draft issue, head on. That was a make-or-break moment that reminded us just how far a little candor can go when conventional political wisdom has us by the lapels, screaming in our faces. It's too bad the directors/editors didn't see fit to give us that critical moment, which I consider quite historical, not to mention on-topic.All told, worth seeing. Interesting to watch something like this and remember that the pendulum sometimes swings...that way.

This is the perfect movie to watch pre-elections -- it reminds those of us who voted for Clinton in 1992 why he seemed to be the answer to our prayers, and introduces us to the men who made us believe that. It's not really about Clinton -- the heroes are James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, who work in the "war room" in Little Rock, Ark., and coordinate the campaign. Even the most cynical anti-Clintonite will admit that Carville and Stephanopoulos are sincere in their belief in Clinton's policies and in the man himself. The best scene comes towards the end on Election Day, when Carville begins talking to himself, composing a concession speech for Clinton.The film is so focused on the Clinton campaign that if you don't know ahead of time that Carville and Mary Matalin, who appears as the Bush campaign spokeswoman, got married after the campaign, her scenes might seem a little out of place ... at least until the sight of him whisking her away on a romantic weekend trip during the course of the campaign jogs your memory.