Control Room (2003)
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 109
Fresh: 105 | Rotten: 4
A fascinating, enlightening behind-the-scenes look at the Al Jazeera network.
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 30 | Rotten: 1
A fascinating, enlightening behind-the-scenes look at the Al Jazeera network.
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Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 6,236
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Movie Info
Egyptian-American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim (Startup.com) directs Control Room, a documentary investigating the ethics of media-managed wars. This film particularly focuses on the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Noujaim and her film crew travel to the headquarters of Al-Jazeera, the media leader in the Arab world, to find out what the news looks like in Iraq. She interviews several journalists and producers involved in war reporting for Al-Jazeera, including senior producer Sameer Khader, journalist Hassan
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All Critics (117) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (107) | Rotten (4) | DVD (11)
The optimistic viewer will see in all this blunt and messy contrariness the emergence of the first free press in the Arab world.
Top CriticGiven that most Americans know the network only by reputation, or via Donald Rumsfeld's public denunciations of it, a little more objective information would not have gone amiss.
Noujaim's documentary is clearly sympathetic to the journalists of Al-Jazeera, who all seem to be professional, intelligent and reasonable, but it is not blindly biased.
Modest in scope and not as well structured as it could have been, Control Room may not seem all that compelling 10 years down the road. But right now, at this very moment, it is essential, imperative viewing.
More illuminating than not, and shines its brightest light on a truth that war and warmongers so ferociously ignore: Look hard into the other's camp and what you'll likely see is yourself.
Noujaim's eye-opening documentary consistently asks the tough questions, while giving its subjects (and, implicitly, the audience) a remarkable forum for discussion.
Fascinating documentary for mature older teens+.
"Control Room" acknowledges wartime journalism sits between objectivity and propaganda, indifference and passion. Neutrality doesn't exist; to avoid gore is a stance. In a way, it's TV's true reality - the impossibility of objective footage of horror.
Is simply up to what all journalists should be about in the face of a corporatized, monolithic media - ruffling feathers. This advisory couldn't have come sooner.
Is simply up to what all journalists should be about in the face of a corporatized, monolithic media - ruffling feathers. This advisory couldn't have come sooner.
Explores the difficulties that journalists face in a war situation better than most films do.
Em um ano que gerou ótimos filmes como F9/11, Bush's Brain, The Hunting of the President e Outfoxed, este ainda se destaca como o mais eloqüente.
[E]xplodes the myth of objectivity... [but] leaves you with the very hopeful feeling that there's a wide middle ground that has room for all perspectives.
Movies don't reveal the truth, but good ones like this can provide an intimate and nuanced glimpse at some alternative reality.
Yes, the filmmakers ultimately lean left, but it's the U.S. military's PR guy, Josh Rushing, who stands out as the strongest and most likable personality.
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Foreign Titles
- Storyville - Control Room (UK)
