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Movies / On DVD / Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

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Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008)

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Reviews Counted:16

Fresh:0

Rotten:16

Average Rating:2.5/10

Consensus: Full of patronizing, poorly structured arguments, Expelled is a cynical political stunt in the guise of a documentary.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for thematic material, some disturbing images and brief smoking.

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:2008-04

Box Office: $7,499,617

Synopsis: Though Ben Stein is perhaps most famous for his sleep-inducing drone in FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF or for his eponymous game show, he is also a highly regarded New York Times columnist and was a... Though Ben Stein is perhaps most famous for his sleep-inducing drone in FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF or for his eponymous game show, he is also a highly regarded New York Times columnist and was a speechwriter for both Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford during their presidencies. For EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED, he needs all his powers of persuasion as he calls attention to the plight of exiled scientists and professors. In this documentary, Stein travels the world and speaks to men and women who have lost their jobs and their standings in the scientific world because of their association with intelligent design. EXPELLED uses the Berlin Wall as a metaphor and asserts that these people have been unjustly ousted, merely for speaking their minds. It carefully explains the differences between creationism and intelligent design and demonstrates that the latter is a belief held by people of all deity-based faiths, not just Christianity. It also devotes time to the connections between Darwinism and Hitler's regime. The film's climax features Stein going head-to-head with Richard Dawkins, a renowned atheist and author of the bestseller THE GOD DELUSION. Obviously, neither man budges in his firmly held beliefs, but it's fascinating to watch a debate between two undeniably intelligent men, regardless of whose side you're on. EXPELLED doesn't spend most of its time debating intelligent design and evolution. Instead it focuses largely on how the debate itself and its proponents have been ignored or pushed out of classrooms and academia. Filmmaker Nathan Frankowski inserts both original animations and clips of famous films (including PLANET OF THE APES and THE WIZARD OF OZ) to further illustrate his point. Though critics may find fault with EXPELLED for its one-sidedness, it's no more biased than any of Michael Moore's critically lauded documentaries. [More]

Starring: Richard Dawkins

Starring: Richard Dawkins

Director: Nathan Frankowski

Director: Nathan Frankowski
Screenwriter: Kevin Miller, Walt Ruloff, Ben Stein
Producer: Logan Craft, Walt Ruloff, John Sullivan
Composer: Andy Hunter, Robbie Bronnimann
Studio: Rocky Mountain Pictures

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Release:

Oct 21, 2008

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Reviews for Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

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This film is cheerfully ignorant, manipulative, slanted, cherry-picks quotations, draws unwarranted conclusions, makes outrageous juxtapositions, segues between quotes that are not about the same thing, tells bald-faced lies, etc.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 10 Comments
12/04/08
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Don't expect any serious debate here about God and evolution. This documentary is like watching a paranoiac making fun of a hysteric.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment 2 Comments
06/27/08
Philip Marchand
Philip Marchand
Toronto Star
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This film is an appallingly unscrupulous example of hack propaganda and it sucketh mightily. What's more, I didn't laugh once.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment 1 Comment
06/27/08
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
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Embracing evolutionary theory will turn you into a close-minded, God-denying Nazi -- that's the upshot of this ludicrous propaganda piece.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 5 Comments
04/25/08
Reece Pendleton
Reece Pendleton
Chicago Reader
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Regardless of your personal views, Expelled's heavy-handed bias (a visit to Darwin's home gets the same eerie music as a tour of Dachau) is exasperating.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
04/24/08
Adam Markovitz
Adam Markovitz
Entertainment Weekly
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This documentary purporting to examine the issue of freedom of expression in the debate between the competing arguments of 'intelligent design' and Darwinism squanders the potential fascination of its topic with its simplistic, heavy-handed approach.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
04/21/08
Frank Scheck
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
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This is propaganda, a political rant disguised as a serious commentary on stifled freedom of inquiry.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment 8 Comments
04/18/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
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It shows us bogus security files, as if some cabal is spying on everyone. It shirks the facts. And it madly edits images to equate Darwin with Hitler, and Ben Stein with -- yes -- Ronald Reagan. Typical of all propaganda, it also distorts language.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment 9 Comments
04/18/08
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
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Stein's schlumpy presence is disarming, though his know-it-all nature is at odds with his free-speech posing.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment 3 Comments
04/18/08
Joe Neumaier
Joe Neumaier
New York Daily News
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The movie itself is an example of design by faith and emotion rather than intelligence, defined as rationality grounded in proof.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 18 Comments
04/18/08
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Chicago Sun-Times
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One of the sleaziest documentaries to arrive in a very long time, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is a conspiracy-theory rant masquerading as investigative inquiry.

comment 9 Comments
04/18/08
Jeannette Catsoulis
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
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Stein claims to denounce the tyranny of dogma, then browbeats us with his own.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment 2 Comments
04/17/08
Rafer Guzman
Rafer Guzman
Newsday
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Stein spends the first half of the movie setting himself a trap, and the second half squirming in it.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment 2 Comments
04/17/08
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post
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Bizarre and hysterical.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
04/16/08
Vadim Rizov
Vadim Rizov
Village Voice
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The man made famous by Ferris Bueller, however, quickly wades into waters far too deep for him.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment 9 Comments
04/15/08
Jeffrey Kluger
Jeffrey Kluger
TIME Magazine
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The film's flippant approach undermines the seriousness of its discourse, trading less in facts than in emotional appeals.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 3 Comments
04/14/08
Justin Chang
Justin Chang
Variety
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