In the Face of Evil: Reagan's War in Word and Deed
October. 01,2004Ronald Reagan was the President of the Screen Actor's Guild during the incredibly violent Hollywood trade union strike in the 1940's. Reagan saw first-hand the brutality, destruction and oppression that defined the communist party as it attempted to overtake the unions to convert them into propaganda mills for the Soviet Union. The strike incited in him a call to action and an unshakeable belief that communism was a "form of insanity" which must be wiped from the earth. From SAG President, to GE Spokesman, Governor of California and finally, to President of the United States, this film chronicles the rise of Ronald Reagan, his unwavering conviction that America was the world's last best hope of man, and shows why he is hero to over a billion people who he helped free from the bonds of Soviet domination.
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The reviews from a liberal community should usher in a "ah-huh" on this masterpiece covering what not only Ronald Reagan held dear but what our current society is trending towards.Soft Communism and Marxism is rabid in American society today. The things Reagan fought hard to defeat once again has raised its ugly head. This covers the basics of these two subjects in a light format. The premise is to show how things slowly grew over years culminating to a near climax. A one-world communist nation is still on the agenda list. Today the word communism is softer, gentler term (defined by those that want this madness).You have to understand and learn from the past or be destined to repeat it in either the same manner or a different but similar fashion.The composition of the film has truth wrapped all around it.
This kind of religious rhapsodizing should be reserved for celebrating phenomena of a truly spiritual nature and not political propaganda. "Song of Bernadette" works for the spiritual life of a Spanish peasant--not for the governor of California. It's telling that the production company, Leo McWatkins, is headed by Tim Watkins, former CFO of Viguerie Companies (see his bio at the McWatkins web site). Viguerie accepted responsibility and paid penalties for election-law violations and mail fraud for bilking senior citizens of "campaign contributions" on religious pretexts--contributions which it then turned around and used to campaign against the very Social Security system that supported the senior-citizen contributors. (US v American TARGET, 4th Circuit, MISC-99-56-MC) (see also, "Please Mr. Postman", National Review, 6/20/86, David Brooks) "In the Face of Evil" is another example of the same old shell game: exploiting religion and spirituality to serve the political agenda of the "new right". And, no, Michael Moore's guerrilla-documentary style is no justification for this kind of corporate collusion among investment-broker/film-directors and mass-marketer/producers to spin politics in religious terms.
This is an extremely well-made movie that shows the truth about both Ronald Reagan and Communism. I grew up in a liberal area, and practically the only thing that I heard about Reagan was that he was the reason why AIDS spread. I also grew up learning in public school that the entire fight against Communism was based on American paranoia. This movie shows the evils and horrors that Communism has wrought against this world. It also shows how many people have demonized people throughout history who have tried to stop "the beast." Other than the great message this movie exudes, it is extremely well-edited and visually spectacular. Cuts of Reagan in black and white film traverse seamlessly with color shots of him in the press. This documentary doesn't just parlay information. It also tells a full and comprehensive story about an escalated conflict that put society on the brink of nuclear war. This movie shows the courage of a man who didn't listen to his critics on the left or the right and just stuck with his principles to do what he believed. A person of any political persuasion will find something they like in this movie. All in all - a great history lesson, a great portrait, and a great film.
Whatever your personal thoughts are about the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan was a key participant in the dramatic shift of the geopolitic at the end of the 20th Century. This film is a mess, self-serving to the Religious Right who feel Reagan could do no wrong and should receive sainthood. As a Lincoln Republican and son of a Goldwater Democrat I was expecting a warts and all serious, balanced documentary about Reagan's rise from affable Hollywood "B" actor to concerned citizen to "Leader of the Free World". The filmmakers intentionally leave out any critical analysis of Reagan, starting from his alleged ties to organized crime in Hollywood, selling out of his members during his presidency of the Screen Actor's Guild (and violation of SAG regulations, but then we can blame that all on the counsel of MCA honcho Lew Wasserman) through his kowtowing to the Religious Right wing of the Republican Party (Senator Rick Santorum gets a special thanks in the film among others) and the financial shenanigans of his campaign financiers and key staffers. Hopefully a much better film that has non-biased research is made in the future.