Askin's dramatic camera angles are somewhat awkward, but the superb performances and the words eventually win out.
Comment
08/14/08
Trumbo (2008)
80
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Reviews Counted:51
Fresh:41
Rotten:10
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: Trumbo celebrates the life and work of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo with measures of humor and sadness.
Theatrical Release:Jun 27, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $28,125
Synopsis: This documentary focuses on the Oscar-winning mind behind ROMAN HOLIDAY and THE BRAVE ONE. TRUMBO centers on Dalton Trumbo, a screenwriter and member of the Hollywood 10 who vaulted from the A-list... [More]
Starring: Joan Allen, Brian Dennehy, Michael Douglas, Paul Giamatti
Director: Peter Askin
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Reviews for Trumbo
Step back to the good old days when anybody could be brought before Congress and interrogated about their beliefs, and meet one of the most famous of those who refused to answer.
07/27/08
By itself, the golden age of Trumbo's career would make for an inspired documentary. But, alas, history situates him in another story, a tragedy that nearly consumed him and many other members of Hollywood.
07/24/08
It is oddly pleasant to know that such a man once existed.
07/21/08
Top CriticTrumbo is well worth seeing for what it tells us about the age in which this irrepressible individualist lived, loved, suffered and finally triumphed.
07/09/08
Top CriticThe substance of those letters, along with documentary footage and a touching appearance by Kirk Douglas, throws a baleful light on a bleak chapter of American history.
07/01/08
Top CriticTrumbo's vivid archival footage and interviews share less-than-equal time, though, with an all-star cast ... taking turns reading from the writer's letters and speeches.
06/27/08
This hard-nosed look at the grim realities of the blacklist is as timely as ever.
06/27/08
What kind of international revolutionary whines about his family being made unwelcome among the tykes of the bourgeoisie?
06/27/08
Top CriticUsing Trumbo's letters, statements, speeches and scripts, director Peter Askin creates a rich portrait of a cantankerous, principled man of words.
06/27/08
Trumbo is an unconventional film about an unconventional man.
06/27/08
Top CriticIt's Trumbo's words -- unfiltered and often unhinged -- that make this doc worth seeing.
06/27/08
Family home movies and photos and archival clips round out the film, which holds its hero-worshiping to fairly tolerable levels.
06/27/08
The best way to learn about Trumbo is through his writing, which is spirited, dry, and utterly convinced of its truth
06/27/08
The film only comes alive with archival footage of the HUAC hearings and interviews with Trumbo himself. When the letter-readers come on, it slows to a snails-pace.
06/27/08
More successful at evoking sympathy for Dalton Trumbo than offering a detailed study of the Red Scare vis-à-vis the screenwriters known as the “Hollywood Ten,” it nevertheless provides a fascinating introduction to the always-relevant topic.
06/27/08
Peter Askin’s stirring documentary Trumbo gives you reasons to cheer but also to weep.
06/27/08
Top CriticTrumbo emerges as a son's bittersweet valentine to his old man, and a tribute to the senior Trumbo's resilience, wit, and outrage in the face of a national disgrace.
06/26/08
unimaginative ... rendering a film that should have been impassioned and full of life and humor into something static and dull.
06/26/08
Reflects the fun of crafting zesty prose and the pain of not being able to attach your real name to it.
06/26/08
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