Review: I will admit that before this film, I wasn't such a huge believer in Global Warming theories. I think, like most people, I believed there was a problem but it wasn’t that big of an issue. With that said, I can honestly say this documentary helped convince me of the dangers. What director Davis Guggenheim does well is let Al Gore speak. All narration is done by the former vice-president and this creates a nice flow for audiences. By following Gore's outline, the film manages to maintain a nice arc that keeps viewers interested. In doing so, the hard hitting evidence is not thrown at you in the beginning, but a gradual edging in on the facts helps ease people in. By doing so, people like me (who weren't sold on the idea of Global Warming as a major concern) can be more easily convinced of the argument. Of course, all the facts in the world won't help an argument if it's boring and Guggenheim manages to make a lecture seem like a feature length film. That is no easy task, even with Gore's fancy Apple presentation. Bookending points with reflections on Al Gore's life helped cycle audiences through and even provide some breathing room for viewers to pause before being hit with more Global Warming facts. The sleek editing and sharp picture quality also make this one of the nicest looking documentaries I've ever seen. But the Oscar winning documentary does have its faults. The main problem I have with this film is the random breaks focusing on Al Gore's life. As mentioned earlier, I do think the reflections on his life help create breathing room, but they also seem to stand as reminders of the how much the director is in love with Gore and Apple computers (footage of the former vice-president “working” on his laptop power point presentation are rampant). There were at least five points where I almost laughed out-loud because these moments seemingly have little to do with, well, anything. To be honest, the breaks aren't really needed as the lecture itself provides them. I'd also venture to say that these forays into Mr. Gore's life actually impede the argument and cause the film to have a duality it doesn't need. If I wanted to know his biography, I would pay to see a documentary on it, I don't expect to find it combined with his arguments on Global Warming. With that said though, this is a really convincing documentary that has me at least considering the environment both in my daily and electoral decisions. Review by Matthew Abshire Extra Sources for further research: 1) http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/ - Partly a marketing tool for the DVD, the site does have some great information and jumping off points if you care to learn how to change your habits or make a difference in global warming. 2) http://www.fdrs.org/arguments_against_global_warming.html - Probably not the best argument against Global warming but it was the best I could find, and can at least start you off if you care to know the counter arguments. Informative: 4- Very telling facts and able to refute most of my counterarguments, but I could care less about Al Gore's life Entertainment: 4- Whoever thought a powerpoint presentation with Al Gore would be this engaging? Technical: 5- seamless and slick, Gore never looked so cool. Overall: 4- only hiccup were the moments focusing on Al Gore's life, which disrupted flow at timeshttp://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/http://www.fdrs.org/arguments_against_global_warming.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1
An Inconvenient Truth
Format: DVD Year: 2006 Running Time: 100 Min Distributor: Paramount Producer: Lawrence Bender and Scott Burns Director: Davis Guggenheim Date Reviewed: 3-26-2007 Story: A documentary on former Vice-President Al Gore's presentations about Global Warming. Weaving the presentation between lecture, environmental footage and Gore's past life, director Davis Guggenheim aims to clearly present the all the facts and claims made by Gore.