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Arguing The World

1998, Movie, NR, 107 mins

Arguing The World: Review

ARGUING THE WORLD
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The celluloid gabfest reaches an apotheosis in this fascinating documentary, which chronicles the intellectual careers of four of this century's most influential thinkers: Nathan Glazer, Irving Howe, Daniel Bell and Irving Kristol. Filmmaker Joseph Dorman's remarkable achievement lies in turning the lives of four polemically minded eggheads into a gripping, intellectual adventure that entertains while it flexes the old noodle. The four brains first met in the politically charged atmosphere of City College of New York in the 1930s, then a hotbed of American radicalism. From the start, contention was the name of the game: Fervent Trotskyites, they argued against Stalinism and pitted their Marxist ideals against the realities of the Socialist state. And while the rise of Fascism in Europe and the outbreak of World War II lead to an increase in support for capitalist America, a remarkable outpouring of political, social and literary criticism in the '50s turned Glazer, Howe, Bell and Kristol into cultural luminaries. Theirs was considered the eloquent voice of the American Left, but an ever-increasing skepticism and a deep distrust of the American Communist Party would lead some to an uneasy and deeply problematic alliance with McCarthyism. Dorman follows the four through the tempestuous '60s, and charts their fascinating deradicalization (from which Howe was notably exempt, remaining steadfast until his death in 1993) that eventually lead to Kristol's enthusiastic Reagan-era embrace of neo-conservatism. Dorman has done a beautiful job of integrating 20th-century history and concise explanations of frequently muddy currents of thought, and his film is brimming with priceless images from America's past. Best of all, he allows plenty of room for his four heroes -- or villains, depending on which side of the fence you're on -- to do the thing they do so brilliantly: talk. leave a comment --Ken Fox
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