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Dateline: Saigon

The Civil War


            A favorite with viewers, news anchor Will McAvoy has found a safe niche with
bankable ratings on his 8:00 p.m. flagship cable show, News Night. Numbed by
success, McAvoy has become stoic, complacent, cynical content not to rock the boat as
he delivers the nightly news straight down the middle of the road dialing it in as he
avoids ruffling feathers with anything resembling politics. What fire he still has, he
reserves for the cutting sarcasm and general unpleasantness that earn him no fans with
his news team.In a literal blink of an eye or perhaps an optical illusion McAvoy is catapulted
from apathy to engagement when a spontaneous outburst leads him to tackle the
principles of American patriotism in a public forum. Surviving the professional fallout from
his unexpected tirade following an enforced vacation, McAvoy returns to work to discover
that most of his staff has jumped ship for another show and is forced to work with several
new team members brought on board during his absence.McAvoys boss, Charlie Skinner, the unapologetically old-school president of
ACNs news division, laments the changing face of the news. Setting the stage for Wills
return to the standard set by news legends such as Edward R. Murrow and Walter
Cronkite, Charlie covertly orchestrates the hiring of Wills new executive producer, the one
person who can restore Will's passion and bring the best out of him whether Will wants
it or not.Wills new executive producer is MacKenzie McHale, back from 26 months
embedded in Iraq and Afghanistan. MacKenzie was once romantically involved with Will
and knows the idealism he has buried beneath a veneer of apathy and cynicism. With
their shared past, she knows exactly how good he can be. Even more unsettling for him,
she challenges Will to abandon the successful, middle-of-the-road approach that has
made him so popular with both sides of the aisle, and realize his full potential by
delivering the news with integrity.Also imposed upon Will are Jim Harper, Margaret Jordan, Don Keefer, Neal
Sampat and Sloan Sabbith, the newsroom staff. Although this group finds itself off to a
tumultuous start when breaking news comes over the wire, they immediately come
together for one elusive goal: to do TV news well. Jim Harper is MacKenzies loyal senior
show producer. Though only 27 years old, Jim is more like the old-school reporter Charlie
than he is like his contemporaries. He finds himself instantly smitten with Margaret
Jordan, a young intern-turned-associated producer, who is already in a relationship with
Don Keefer, Wills former executive producer. Neal Sampat, a young, resourceful selfmade
newsman writes Wills blog and scours the Internet for stories, often finding leads
his colleagues have missed. Sloan Sabbith is ACNs financial news analyst.
    

The Newsroom

Grace and Frankie

The Mayo Clinic, Faith, Hope and Science

Dean Smith


            Law & Order episodes are typically segmented into two parts, roughly at the halfway point; the first part follows police and detective work, and the second follows the legal and courtroom proceedings of the case. The show dwells little on the characters' back-stories or social lives, focusing mainly on their lives at work.For most of Law & Order's run, the cold open or lead-in of the show began with the discovery of a crime, usually a murder. The scene typically began with a slice of everyday life in New York City. Some civilians would then discover the crime victim, or sometimes the crime would occur in a public place and they would be witnesses or a victim of a crime. The only exception to this is in the early seasons, mostly Seasons 1 & 2, the crime would usually be discovered by a pair of uniformed officers on patrol or in later seasons when the cold open was replaced with rapid cuts of the victim's final moments, similar to Law & Order: Criminal Intent.The police are represented in the show by the New York City Police Department 27th Precinct homicide department. In the show, it is common that the detectives also investigate other cases other than homicide or attempted homicides like kidnappings and rape, the latter especially in the first nine seasons of the show before Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered. However, in the real world, these cases are handled by other units and divisions.The viewers are introduced to two homicide detectives, a senior detective (usually a veteran cop) and a junior detective (usually a young but capable detective), who report directly to their boss at their precinct (either a Lieutenant or a Captain). When they first arrive at the crime scene they are met by the first responding officer or a Crime Scene Unit (CSU) forensic technician, who will inform the two lead detectives on everything known at that point. It's during they're preliminary crime scene examination, that the featured detectives will make their first observations and will come up with some theories followed by a witticism or two before the title sequence begins.The detectives often have few or no good clues-they might not even know the victim's identity-and must usually chase several dead ends before finding a likely suspect(s). They start their investigations at the crime scene by talking to any witnesses at the scene while the CSU technicians assist them in the processing of the crime scene as well as determining the proper routing of evidence between the Medical Examiner's office, the Crime Lab and the NYPD Property Clerks office. The CSU has many tools at there disposal to process a crime scene including the materials needed to develop fingerprints, cast footwear and tire impressions, follow the trajectory of bullets fired through windows and the chemicals necessary to observe blood under special lighting conditions that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. The unit is also trained to process a crime scene in a hazardous environment, for example following a nuclear, biological or chemical attack.The medical examiner (M.E.)'s office will also be shown to collect the body from the crime scene. As well as appear to do an on-site investigation into manner and cause of death; or identification of remains. Later the medical examiner will perform an autopsy on the victim(s), offering more clues to the victim's cause and time of death (sometimes obtaining the victim's identity from dental records or fingerprints and other forensic evidence collected for DNA extraction and typing;) which the detectives will read about in the M.E.'s autopsy report and by talking to the M.E. who performed it.When the detectives know the victim's identity they will inform their relatives or loved ones of their death and attempt to get more information on the victim's life and possible suspects. The detectives continue their investigation by interviewing witnesses and possible suspects, all the while tracing the victim's last known movements and victim's state of mind (by talking to the victim's family, friends and co-workers). Sometimes they will have someone they suspect of the crime and in checking their alibi they will trace the last known movements and the state of mind of the current suspect by talking to the people in the person(s) life until they are either ruled out or dead certain of the guilt of the person they suspect. In later seasons CCTV, GPS and Cell phone tracking might be used to track suspect(s) and victim(s) movements. They may even ask victims and witnesses to look through photographs in mug books or to view police lineups where they will try and identify the suspect(s). If gang or drug connections are suspected the police might talk to other Police units/squad specializing in those types of crimes. They may even approach Criminal Informants to see if they have heard anything on the street about the crime itself.They also visit the crime laboratory to submit and view evidence (e.g. fingerprints, DNA and ballistics, etc.), they may also look into any background information such as financial details and criminal history on both the victim and lead suspect. In some instances, psychologists and/or psychiatrists are called in for insight into the criminal's behavior or modus operandi. All the while, the detectives report to their commanding officer, keeping them informed and being advised on how best to proceed next.When the detectives are certain they have the right suspect(s), the police will take the case to their boss, who decides if there is enough for a search and/or arrest warrant (though sometimes the commanding officer will consult with the New York City District Attorney's office to see if the case is strong enough) and whether or not any backup (such as uniformed officers or an armed tactical team) is needed. The detectives will then arrest the suspects(s), with the police sometimes having to chase the accused through the streets of New York.The scene might shift to the interrogation room where the detectives interrogate the suspect(s) until they either confess, ask for a lawyer, their defense attorney shows up and asks the suspect not to talk anymore, or the Assistant District Attorney from the D.A.'s office decides they have enough to press charges.Towards the middle of a show, the police will begin to work with the prosecutors to make the arrest, though sometimes the Assistant District Attorney will appear earlier to arrange a plea-for-information deal or to decide if the detectives have enough evidence for search or arrest warrants before arresting the suspects. An arraignment court scene will follow, in which the defendants plead (usually not guilty) and bail conditions are set.The matter is then taken over by a pair of representatives from the New York County District Attorney's Office, an Executive Assistant District Attorney and an Assistant District Attorney. They discuss deals, prepare the witnesses and evidence, and conduct the People's case in the trial. The District Attorneys work together and with the Medical Examiner's office, the crime laboratory (including fingerprint analysts, DNA profilers and ballistics analysts), and psychologists or psychiatrists (if the defendant uses an insanity plea), all of whom may be needed to testify in court for the prosecution. The police may also reappear to testify in court or to arrest another suspect, but most of the investigating in the second segment is done by the D.A.'s office, (even though in real life this would be done by the District Attorney Investigation Unit). They will also consult with the District Attorney for advice on the case, as the D.A., being an elected official, sometimes brings political considerations to bear concerning decisions to prosecute the various alleged offenders. If the case is very weak then the police would re-investigate.Unlike many other legal dramas (e.g., The Defenders, Matlock, Perry Mason and L.A. Law), the court proceedings are shown from the prosecution's point of view, with the regular characters trying to prove the defendant's guilt, not innocence. After the arraignment of defendants, the D.A.s proceed to trial preparation, including legal research and plea negotiations. Some episodes include legal proceedings beyond the testimony of witnesses, including motion hearings, (often concerning admissibility of evidence); jury selection; and allocations, usually as a result of plea bargains. Many episodes employ motions to suppress evidence as a plot device, and most of these end with evidence or statements being suppressed, often on a technicality. This usually begins with the service of the motion to the D.A. team, follows with argument and case citations of precedent before a judge in court, and concludes with a visual reaction of the winning or losing attorney.During the trial, both the Prosecutor and lead defense attorney take turns arguing their cases in front of the jury. They both directly examine and cross-examine the witnesses asking them questions that support their arguments in their cases. Objecting when each other goes beyond the scope of what the law will allow eg. "leading/badgering the witness" or "Assuming facts, not in evidence" etc. to which the judge will either sustain or overrule. Many episodes use outlandish defense scenarios such as diminished responsibility (e.g. "Genetics"/"Television"/"God"/"the devil made me do it" and "intoxication defense") and temporary insanity (e.g. "Black Rage"/"White Rage"/"Sports Rage"). Some episodes revolve around moral and ethical debates including "the right to die" (euthanasia), "the right to life" (abortion), and "the right to bear arms" (gun control).After the trial, the jury will deliberate their verdict and once agreed upon the jury foreperson will read it out to the court. Either verdict will show the reaction of both parties with the guilty verdict showing the defendant being handcuffed by the bailiff and led away to go to prison or if found insane to a secure psychiatric facility. Whilst if found not guilty the defendant will be released and will thank their attorney before joining their family. We will also see the prosecutors look at the family of the victim to see their reaction to the verdict. The scene may then shifts to the District Attorney's office, where the team is leaving the office to go home while contemplating either the true guilt of the accused, the defense scenarios that were used, or the moral or ethical issue that was central to the episode.
    

Law & Order


            The film opens in May 1973 in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. The Cambodian national army is fighting a civil war with the communist Khmer Rouge, a result of the Vietnam War over-spilling that country's borders. Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor), a Cambodian journalist and interpreter for New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterson), awaits the arrival of Schanberg at the Phnom Penh airport when he leaves suddenly. Schanberg arrives after his flight is delayed for three hours in Bangkok, Thailand, and, irritated that Pran is not at the airport, takes a taxi to his hotel. There he meets Al Rockoff (John Malkovich), his photographer. Rockoff doesn't know where to find Pran and suggests they go to a nearby cafe to eat. While they sit and talk, an explosion happens nearby. Al thinks a passing scooter's passenger threw a grenade, though the target isn't actually revealed. Pran suddenly arrives and tells Schanberg that an incident has occurred in a remote town, Neak Leung. Allegedly, an American B-52 has bombed the town by mistake.After talking to the United States Consul at the American embassy and finding out that the reports about Neak Leung are true, Schanberg and Pran try to find transport to the site. Pran is able to sneak himself and Sydney onto a police boat that takes them to Neak Leung. When they arrive, they find that the town has indeed been bombed and hundreds of local civilians have been killed, with many more wounded, including women and children. Schanberg and Pran are arrested when they try to photograph the execution of two Khmer Rouge operatives by Cambodian army officers. They are eventually released and Schanberg is furious when the international press corps arrives with the U.S. Army to report a sanitized version of the story.The story moves ahead two years, to April 1975. The international embassies are being evacuated in anticipation of an invasion of the capital by the Khmer Rouge. Schanberg manages to secure evacuation papers for Pran, his wife and their four children. However, Pran insists that he stay with Schanberg and help him continue his war coverage. Pran's family is evacuated with the other international diplomats.On April 17, the Khmer Rouge move into the capital, seemingly under a banner of peace. During a parade through the city, Schanberg, suspicious of the positive way the Khmer Rouge are being welcomed, meets Rockoff, who tells him that he'd just come from an area where heavy fighting was taking place. At a makeshift hospital they see the result of the fighting; many children and other citizens are injured by shrapnel and gunfire. As they leave the hospital they are met by a small unit of Khmer Rouge troops, who arrest them immediately. Pran is at first not allowed into the armored personnel carrier with Schanberg, Rockoff, Swain and their driver, but he is able to bribe the Khmer Rouge officer with his wristwatch. The group is taken through the city to a hidden courtyard where prisoners are being held and executed. Pran, unharmed because he is a Cambodian civilian, negotiates with the Khmer Rouge officer in command for several hours to spare the lives of his friends. They are set free, joining the thousands of refugees fleeing the capital. Schanberg, Rockoff, Swain and Pran do not leave Phnom Penh, but they all instead retreat to the French embassy and stay there for several days, awaiting their chance to evacuate.During this time they are informed that the Khmer Rouge have demanded that all Cambodian citizens in the embassy be turned over. Fearing the embassy will be overrun, the embassy occupants comply. Knowing that Pran will be imprisoned or killed, Rockoff and fellow photographer Swain vainly try to forge a passport identifying Pran as a German citizen. Without a current picture of Pran, they use supplies they find in the embassy buildings; however, the picture fades because of the poor quality and age of the paper and chemicals they use. With no other options available, Pran is turned over to the Khmer Rouge and is forced to live under their totalitarian regime. All of the foreigners whom include the French, American, and most others are then expelled from Cambodia.Several months later, Schanberg returns to New York City where he is in the midst of a personal campaign to locate Pran. He has appealed to many humanitarian organizations and has kept in close contact with Pran's family in San Francisco.In Cambodia, Pran has become a forced laborer under the Khmer Rouge's "Year Zero" policy, a return to the agrarian ways of the past. Pran labors in rice fields under the watchful eyes of armed young Khmer Rouge children of both sexes, whom the Khmer Rouge hold in high regard as the future leaders of their regime. Pran is also forced to attend propagandist classes where everyone undergoes re-education. As intellectuals are singled out and murdered or made to disappear, Pran feigns simple-mindedness. Eventually, he tries to escape from his work camp, but is recaptured. Before he is found by members of the Khmer Rouge, he stumbles upon the infamous "killing fields" of the Pol Pot regime; endless acres of bones and blue plastic bags (used for suffocation executions) where millions of Cambodian citizens were murdered by the new order.Flashing forward four years later to January 1979, Sydney Schanberg receives a journalism award for his coverage of the Cambodian conflict. At the acceptance dinner he tells the audience that half the recognition for the award belongs to Pran. In the men's room, he is confronted by Rockoff who harshly accuses him of not doing enough to locate Pran and for using his friend to win the award. Schanberg defends his efforts, saying that he has contacted every humanitarian relief agency possible in the four years since Pran's disappearance. Rockoff suggests that Schanberg subtly pressured Pran to remain in Cambodia because Pran was so vital to Sydney's work. This accusation hits close to home, and Schanberg begins to wonder whether he put his own self-interest ahead of Pran's safety. He finally admits that Pran "stayed because I wanted him to stay."Back in Cambodia, Pran is assigned to be the assistant to the Khmer Rouge leader of a different prison compound, a man named Phat, and charged mostly with tending to his little boy. Pran continues his self-imposed discipline of behaving as an uneducated peasant, despite several of Phat's attempts to trick him into revealing his knowledge of both French and English. Phat gradually begins to trust Pran and asks him to take ward of his son in the event that he is killed.By this time, the Khmer Rouge are now engaged in a war with Vietnam. The conflict reaches Pran's region and a battle ensues between the Khmer Rouge of the compound and the invading Vietnamese troops which are supported when two Vietnamese fighter jets are sent in to destroy the camp. After the skirmish has ended, Pran discovers that Phat's son has American money and a map leading to safety. When Phat tries to stop the younger Khmer Rouge officers from killing several of his comrades, he is ignominiously shot.In the confusion, Pran escapes with four other prisoners and they begin a long trek through the jungle with Phat's young son. The group later splits and three of them head in a different direction. Pran continues following the map with one of them. However, Pran's companion steps on a hidden land mine while holding the child. Though Pran pleads with the man to give him the child, the mine goes off, killing them both. Pran mourns for a time and continues on, alone.One day, Pran crests the escarpment of the Dângrêk Mountains and sees a Red Cross camp near the border of Thailand. The scene shifts to Schanberg calling Pran's family with the news that Pran is alive and safe. Soon after, Schanberg travels to the Red Cross camp in Thailand and is reunited with Pran. Asking Pran to forgive him, Pran answers, with a smile, "Nothing to forgive, Sydney", as the two embrace.John Lennon's popular song, "Imagine" plays over the scene and during the end credits, which show actual photos of the real Pran and Schanberg.
    

The Killing Fields

Thomas Jefferson

Mindwalk

Swimming to Cambodia

Gatsby in Connecticut: The Untold Story

Cooper and Hemingway: The True Gen


            Few memories are more fond than those of our youth and the first times that our heart strings were pulled on by young love; but how many of us remember?There is little more endearing and tender to each of us than the way we were in our youth.Those first pangs of love. That first kiss. Those first disappointments. Those are the highlights of this film which pull out feelings, long dormant, that each of has experienced before in our youth.
    

The Man in the Moon

The Glass Menagerie


            In the year 1956, Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones) is one of six women in her class at Harvard Law School. Her husband Martin (Armie Hammer) helps her get ready for a dinner at the Dean's house welcoming the women to the class. When she arrives, Dean Griswold (Sam Waterston) callously makes each of the women stand up and explain why they're in law school. Ruth remains unfazed - she continues excelling in classes, and when men like Professor Brown (Stephen Root) won't call on her, she still manages to make her points.While playing charades at a social gathering with friends, Martin doubles over in pain. At the hospital, the doctor explains that he has testicular cancer and that the chances of survival are at six percent. Ruth assures Martin that he's going to live. She begins attending Martin's law school classes in addition to her own, typing both of their essays, and taking care of sick Martin and their young daughter Jane.Martin recovers fully from the cancer. He gets a job in New York, and Ruth meets with Dean Griswold to see if she can continue to earn her Harvard degree long-distance. Though he has made exceptions for men in the past, he coolly refuses, saying she has no special circumstance, and Ruth transfers to Columbia. Despite having graduated at the top of her class and being editor of the law review, no New York firms will hire her because she's a woman. She is frustrated and unable to use her law degree she worked so hard for. She is offered a Professorship, to teach law. Martin insists she decline, saying she will get a job and she shouldn't settle - she wanted to practice law. But Ruth decides for her family she will take the job.In 1970, Ruth is now a respected and successful professor. A lot of her students are young women who are involved in women's lib movement. She teaches her students about a case Dorothy Kenyon argued, where a jury of all men convicted a woman. Kenyon argued it was unconstitutional, that the woman should have a jury of peers - meaning women as well - and that it was gender discrimination. The court didn't believe gender discrimination was a real thing, and she lost. When she gets home, her now teenage daughter Jane (Cailee Spaeny) tells her mom she got an A on her 'To Kill a Mockingbird' essay, but Ruth admonishes her that Atticus Finch is not a good lawyer, since he helped cover up a murder at the end of the story. Frustrated at her mother being a stickler, Jane lashes out and runs to her room. Martin comforts Jane, explaining that Ruth is the way she is because her mother died when she was young and pushed Ruth to always be her best.Martin, a tax attorney, finds a tax case and brings it to Ruth. She says she's not interested, but he urges her to take a closer look: Charles Moritz filed for a caregiver tax deduction because he was caring for his ailing mother, but he was denied and prosecuted over it because that deduction is only available to women. Ruth realizes this is a case of gender discrimination where the victim is a man. She knows it could be massively important to helping repeal gender discrimination everywhere. She goes to meet old friend Mel Wulf (Justin Theroux), now the legal director of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and urges him to help her take on the Moritz case. He sympathizes but thinks it's unwinnable and is busy with many racial discrimination cases. Ruth is resolved to take it, however, and despite the fact that she's never practiced law, as a law professor she can legally take the case. Martin gets permission from his job to take a side project, and Ruth flies to Denver to meet with Moritz (Chris Mulkey). He is just trying to take care of his mother and doesn't think it's fair that the government is calling him a crook. Ruth agrees and promises to do everything she can.After another fight with Jane, who is into the women's lib movement and doesn't think her mother is doing enough, Ruth takes Jane to meet the famous Dorothy Kenyon (Kathy Bates). Ruth tells Dorothy about the case, and while Dorothy is interested and wishes Ruth well, she doesn't think the law will change until the culture changes. Despite that, Dorothy goes to Mel and argues him to take on Ruth's case.Mel tells Ruth the ACLU is going to back her case. He arranges a mock trial run in Ruth's apartment. During the questioning from the mock judges, Ruth, who has never been a practicing lawyer, struggles with the aggressive questioning - she's not a flashy speaker, she's quiet and measured. Mel tells Ruth that Martin is going to argue the case with her - he'll argue the tax law, and she'll argue the gender discrimination. Martin is reticent to take any of the cases from Ruth, but Mel says it is not a choice, the decision has been made.Meanwhile, Griswold has moved up at is now working at the state along with Brown. They will be opposing Ruth in the Moritz case. Griswold urges them that this case has the fate of the American nuclear family in its hands, and losing it would be a slippery slope to letting the traditional family fall apart.Before the Moritz case goes to trial, Wulf tells Ruth that the ACLU has taken another gender discrimination - Sally Reed, a woman who attempted to be the administrator of her dead son's estate but wasn't allowed because the law stated: "males were preferred." Wulf thinks they have a good shot at winning and wants Ruth to settle the Moritz case because if they lose it, it will set a precedent that will stop them from winning any cases. Ruth is angry, wanting to fight for what's right, but Wulf tells her the settlement arranges haven't been made. She tells Moritz, but he is disheartened when it's clear the state isn't going to clear his name and say he didn't do anything wrong. Ruth meets with Griswold and Brown, and turns down their one dollar settlement offer. She insists on a larger sum and that the state admit it was gender discrimination. They balk completely, and so the case heads to trial.At court, Ruth and Martin make their arguments, and the judges are pretty tough on them, barely believing that gender discrimination even exists. When opposing counsel gets up for their arguments, they go after Ruth and Martin personally, accusing them of trying to incite "radical social change." Ruth decides to handle the rebuttal - she tells the court that radical social change is already happening. She's seen how her daughter is living a different life than she could, and that the world is continually changing, and the law should allow for that. She asks them to right the wrong that is in the law.The Ginsbergs leave the trial, happy but awaiting the results. The final on-screen text tells us that Ruth won the Moritz and Reed cases, and started the women's branch of the ACLU. Martin continued to be a renowned tax attorney, and Ruth was eventually appointed to the supreme court by a vote of 97-3. In the movie's final shot, Felicity Jones as Ruth walks up the steps up the supreme court building, and it cuts to newsreel footage of the real-life Ruth Bader Ginsberg walking up the very same steps.
    

On the Basis of Sex


            CIA agent Miles Kendig (Walter Matthau) has seen it all in his service with the agency. His many years as an agent has provided him with all the dirt there is, and now Kendig wants out. But it's not that easy and his incompetent chief (Ned Beatty) wants to ensure that all of those secrets never get out.Kendig (Matthau) decides that the only way he can every leave the agency is to write a book revealing all of the dirty little secrets that Meyerson (Beatty) is hiding. What ensues is a comedic game of hopscotch as Kendig tries to stay one step ahead of Meyerson's agents. To make matters worse, Meyerson sends Kendig's protege', Joe Cutter (Sam Waterson) after him. All along the way, Kendig churns out one chapter after another with Meyerson, Cutter and an agency of incompetents hot on his trail. Kendig enlists the help of his love interest Isobel (Glenda Jackson) in staying ahead of the game.With the help of Isobel, Kendig finally gets his novel completed, and arranges a twist to ensure that Meyerson, Cutter and the agency won't ever bother him again.
    

Hopscotch

Lincoln

Serial Mom

Capricorn One


            In 1870 young men of privilege, James Averill (Kris Kristofferson) and Billy Irvine (John Hurt) graduate from Harvard College. There are marching bands, pompous speeches, graduates dancing on the green with their girlfriends, competing with underclassmen to get a bouquet from a tree, and singing to their girls up in the windows by candlelight. Billy who is constantly drunk laments, "It's over!" The graduates are encouraged by the Reverend Doctor to go forth and educate the nation.The story jumps ahead 20 years where Jim is the marshal of Johnson County, Wyoming where there are many Eastern European immigrants who are starting new lives as farmers. Jim is returning by train from St. Louis bringing with him a beautiful new horse and carriage for his girlfriend. The train chugs through the magnificent wilderness, it has deer antlers on the engine.In Johnson County, local gunslinger, Nate Champion (Christopher Walken) who works for the Stockgrowers Association (the local organization of rich cattle ranchers), and dresses in fancy Eastern clothes, just like Jim, shoots an immigrant farmer named Michael Kovac in the chest because Kovac had killed a steer to feed his starving family. Kovac's wife and child howl and slip in the bloody mud. Nate rides by a huge group of immigrants forging their way into the wilderness and shouts at them to go back where they belong.Jim's train arrives at the end of the line in Casper, Wyoming, where he and many immigrants disembark. Jim has a conversation with Cully the Irish station master (Richard Masur) who tells Jim how a citizen can't get an even break. In the crowded town there are many immigrants getting ready to continue their journey north to Johnson County and many evil-looking gunslingers threatening them. At the local emporium, the gunslingers are being armed and outfitted at the cost of the Stockgrowers Association. Jim breaks up an altercation between some gunmen and a small family of homesteaders -- the gunmen are beating the father and trying to rob him openly of their possessions. Jim beats the men, driving them away.Jim goes to the Association headquarters which is essentially a fancy gentleman's club. The head of the association, the villainous Frank Canton (Sam Waterston) is telling the wealthy members that he has hired a small army of gunslingers to murder virtually all of the immigrants in Johnson County because some of them are rustling their cattle to feed their starving families. Canton has created a death list of 125 names, deeming them "bandits and anarchists" and will pay the gunmen $5 a day and $50 a head for every immigrant shot or hung. Billy Irvine, Jim's friend from Harvard, is the only member of the association who has moral qualms about the murders, but he is always so drunk no one pays him any attention. Canton assures the members of the Association that the murders have been approved by the governor, Congress and "President of these United States." Billy goes upstairs to the pool room and finds Jim there. The reminisce about the "good gone days." Billy tells Jim about the death list. Jim says "Even they can't get away with a thing like that." Billy says that "in principle everything can be done." Jim, who was previously blackballed by the Association, confronts Canton and warns him to stay out of Johnson County. Canton slaps him in the face for being a traitor to his class by siding with the poor but Jim hits him even harder and leaves.Jim heads off to Johnson County driving the horse and carriage. He sees the same poor immigrant woman who's husband was beaten in Casper and her young children pulling a cart to which is tied her husband's body. Jim offers to help her get the money back she paid for land. She says "we farm our land." That night, Canton hires even more gunfighters and mercenaries with the promise of $5 a day and $50 for each murder.In Johnson County, Nate has qualms about killing a young married man who he prevents from killing a steer. Instead of killing him, he beats the man and lets him off with a stiff warning.Jim arrives in Sweetwater, the main town in Johnson County. The town is still primarily under construction. Jim goes to the hotel in which he lives. The hotel is run by John Bridges (Jeff Bridges). It is Sunday and the immigrants are in town. During a cock fight in the bar, Jim tells JB about the death list. Bridges is incredulous. Jim repeats Billy's phrase, "in principle everything can be done." Jim intervenes in a dispute between a big immigrant with a bandage on his head and a dapper little immigrant in a white suit with a boater hat. The little guy says that the big guy trespassed on his land so "I take him by foot and my wife hit him on head with rock." Everyone, including Jim, laughs at the argument. Jim breaks up the brewing fight.Jim goes to his girlfriend's place. She is the pretty young French brothel owner named Ella Watson (Isabel Huppert). The two go into Ella's room for passionate sex. Jim shows Ella the horse and carriage he has gotten her for her birthday. Ella and Jim go on a wild ride around town, disrupting a photographer who is taking a picture of the townspeople. All the men cheer whilst all the women are shocked that the Averill is with Ella. Later, Ella bathes nude in a mountain lake. Jim, who is clearly troubled, tries to convince her to leave because of the potential violence that will occur when the Association invades. She says she will go if he goes with her. This isn't part of his plan.Ella and Jim go to the Heaven's Gate roller rink (the name of the rink is the only mention of the title in the film). A roller skating fiddle player, John (the movie's composer, David Mansfield), skates around the rink. The immigrant families including Ella and her girls skate around the rink, people fall down, everyone laughs, JB stumbles outside and vomits and is put into a wagon by Jim. Once everyone is gone, Jim and Ella share a romantic dance to a waltz played by the band. Later Jim is passed out drunk upstairs at the whorehouse. Nate, who is also in love with Ella, is upset that she charges him for her services but not Jim. "I thought you was getting to like me" says Nate "but I like money too." Ella has Nate take the passed out Jim back to the hotel. Nate sees Jim's room. There is a picture of Jim and a young woman, possibly the girl he danced with at the graduation celebration 20 years before. Nate tries on Jim's hat. "You got style Jim" he remarks.The next morning a hungover Jim has a tense conversation with Nate in the hotel bar room. He says he wants Ella to leave because it is getting dangerous for her. Later on, Jim and the head of the chamber of commerce, Mr. Eggleston (Brad Dourif) go to the army fort to ask for help in opposing the Association and its gunslingers. The cavalry men are playing baseball and the captain hurts his leg. As he sits the game out, he tells Averill that his orders are not to interfere in the activities of the Association. The captain gives Jim a copy of the death list -- Jim notices that Ella's name is on it.Jim returns to the brothel and tells Ella that her name is on the death list. He fights with Nate, who claims to know nothing about the list and points out that he has asked Ella to be his wife. Nate says: "Jim ain't your friend Ella. He ain't nobody's friend."Nate takes Ella to his cabin. He shares the cabin with Nick Ray (Mickey Rourke) a young protégé of Nate's. Nick has invited Fred (Geoffrey Lewis) a dirty trapper to spend the night at the cabin. Nate shows Ella his big surprise: "Wallpaper." He has papered the interior of his log cabin with what looks like pages from the Police Gazette to impress Ella. Ella says that the wallpaper is beautiful as Nate quickly tries to tidy the place up for his future bride.Back in Casper, Cully sees the train carrying the cattlemen and gunslingers heading off towards Johnson County without making the regular stop in Casper. He tries to telegraph Jim but the wires have been cut. Cully rides off on horseback to try to warn Jim about the danger.Frank Canton stops the train outside Sweetwater and the forces unload, meeting up with other members of the Association. Billy is drunk as usual but seems concerned that death warrants be issued. Canton assures him that the President himself has approved the murders. The cattlemen and gunslingers ride off into a cloud of dust. Billy utters the last lines of the first half of the film: "What are we?"INTERMISSIONCully is found sleeping in the open country by the gunslingers. One of them questions what he's doing so far away from the train station when he should be there working. Cully tries to escape, but is shot down in a hail of bullets before he can warn anyone of Canton's thugs.At the cabin, the Trapper Fred shows Nate, Ella and Nick how you can keep a wolf from biting you by grabbing its tongue. Ella leaves in her carriage and returns to town, where the immigrants are having a meeting at the Heaven's Gate roller rink. Jim reads the death list to the immigrants and they realize that the whole community are included in Canton's plan. There is a hail of shouting and arguments and calls to raise a militia and fight the Association members.When Ella returns to the whorehouse, she finds the Association's men are inside. She sends John to get Jim then enters the whorehouse and tries to conduct regular business with the men. They viciously rape Ella. Jim arrives and sneaks on to the roof, seeing all the other prostitutes lying horrifically beaten upstairs. He slits the throat of their lookout before bursting into the house and shooting all but one of the gunslingers who attacked Ella. The gunslinger gets away by crashing through a nearby window. Nate arrives shortly after and realizes the type of people he has been working for.Nate goes to the Association encampment and shoots the remaining rapist who got away right in front of Canton and Billy. He threatens Canton and demands that the proper warrants are issued before any action regarding the death list is carried out. Canton says he has the full authority of the government of the United States in his actions, dropping the titles of people he knows high up. When Nick challenges Canton about his ability to kill a man, Canton shows his own resolve by shooting a young immigrant prisoner through the head.Jim once again tries to convince Ella to leave, but she still won't. Jim says goodbye to Ella. He is having a last drink with JB when the mayor and his people arrive and say they want Jim to turn the immigrants on the death list over to the Association. Jim quits his job.Trapper Fred leaves Nate's cabin to have his yearly bath when he meets the gunslingers, hiding at the riverbank. Canton says he has one minute to gather their things and get out before they attack Nate. Fred comes out with his stuff and is immediately shot down. Ella comes to the rescue on her cart and shoots one of the gunslingers, but is forced to flee on horseback when her carriage is wrecked. The gunslingers continue to attack the cabin, shooting hundreds of rounds, killing Nick. Nate shoots back, but the cabin is set on fire. Nate pens a last note to Ella. He comes out shooting in a daring last stand but is quickly killed.Back at the roller rink the immigrants decide whether to fight. They learn that Averill has quit, but Mr. Eggleston gives a speech about the rights of poor people and this inspires the townsfolk to take up arms. Ella runs in and says "they're here!", then goes to see Jim who appears indifferent to the news that Nate has died. He knew this day would come and, from his window, Averill watches on as Ella joins the immigrants who leave on their carriages to attack the Association head-on.An immigrant carriage plunges off of a bridge and an entire family is drowned while the husband howls. The immigrants, led by Ella and JB, ride around the encampment, forming a circle. The gunslingers return fire and a chaotic battle ensues. Through clouds of dust and gun smoke, the Association kill off many of the immigrants. As bullets fly, a drunken Billy sees defeat and begins to reminisce about his time in Paris. He is shot dead by Ella. Canton escapes to get help, leaving the gunslingers under the command of former Civil War major Wolcott (Ronnie Walker). After many losses, both sides withdraw from the battle.Averill, who has now changed his mind, goes to join the surviving immigrants. He finds that Ella has returned to Nate's cabin and has found Nate's note: "Goodbye Ella and Jim, if I never see you again. Nathan D. Champion" Jim tells Ella to go back to her place and wait for him. He then goes to the immigrant encampment and devises a plan of attack, which he had learned from the Romans. That night, the immigrants use the remnants of their horse-drawn carts and logs from the surrounding forest to build mobile barricades whilst the Association men only hear their singing.In the morning, Jim rides around the field of battle and issues commands to the immigrants, who push their wheeled barricades towards the Association encampment. The bullets from the Association shooters are mostly unable to penetrate the logs. Recognizing Jim's plan of attack, Major Wolcott says "Goddamn Romans!" Pushing closer and surrounding the encampment, the immigrants use sticks of dynamite to penetrate the Association's defense. Some immigrants are caught by gunfire and one man's legs are crushed by the wheels of the barricade. He is shot by his wife who later shoots herself. Canton escapes to gather more forces. It looks like the immigrants are about to win. Wolcott and Billy are both killed. Suddenly, Canton arrives with the cavalry and the American flag bravely flying (and clearly focused on) to arrest the remaining Association members. But as Averill remarks, they are being rescued instead of arrested. With Johnson County having fallen into anarchy, the order is given to pull out of the battle. The battlefield looks like Brady photographs of Civil War battlefields with hundreds of dead bodies and dead horses littering the scene.Back at JB's cabin, Jim and Ella are dressed in their Sunday best and prepare to leave Johnson County. They say goodbye to JB who is wounded from the battle. Just as they are about to get into a carriage, Association men begin shooting at them from nearby bushes and kill Ella and JB in a hail of bullets. Jim shoots and kills Canton but it is too late to save Ella and he can only weep over her body.1903, Newport, Rhode Island.Jim, now an aging man dressed in an elegant sailing outfit, watches a sunset from the deck of a steam yacht. Down below we see a pampered-looking woman sleeping on the sofa. She is the girl Jim danced with at the Harvard graduation, the same girl who appears in the photograph seen previously. She wakes only to say "I'd like a cigarette" and idly lays there as a wordless Jim lights one. There are no more words spoken as Jim dwells on his lost love and the genocide of his townspeople. Averill returns to the deck and stares out at the water as the story closes.
    

Heaven's Gate


            The journey that August King takes is one of faith. He is conflicted with what the world tells him in the here and now and resists any idea that he is connected to the plight of this young woman. His journey is a metamorphosis. During this journey he changes and grows in his faith without ever realizing it -- at each turn he is making the critical decision to not only help someone, but to take a leap of faith -- a faith that his wife tried to persuade him exists but one in which he does not immediately believe. He is called upon by a higher power and sees this only at the moment he loses everything. The beauty of it is that he gains everything in the interim. This film is full of symbolism and Biblical references that integral to the plot and affords the viewer an opportunity to experience what it means to chose between right and wrong, good and evil in an almost alcoholic way -- day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second. We cannot know in advance, what our mission is in life we can only make critical decision one at a time until the entire mission is revealed. Jason Patric's performance is excellent as well as a performance by Thandie Newton -- before she becomes well known through other films yet to come. As a person involved in the slavery film 12 Years a Slave, I must say that this film in many ways is just as riveting and important in the telling of American History and the nation in which we live past and present. There are some strong images but this film is well worth watching. Renee Moore, themoor78@yahoo.com
    

The Journey of August King

Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami

The Boy Who Loved Trolls

David's Mother


            In rural Montana, friends Jack McKee (Jeff Bridges) and Cecil Colson (Sam Waterston) illegally shoot a steer on the large "B Bar Lazy T" ranch, cut the animal into pieces with a chainsaw, and give the meat to their landlady to cover that month's rent. Ranch hands Curt and Burt (Harry Dean Stanton and Richard Bright) find the remains of the steer and report the crime to their boss, ranch owner John Brown (Clifton James), who becomes enraged. He was once a successful hairdressing manufacturer in Schenectady, New York, but moved to Montana to purchase several ranches and consolidate them into the B Bar Lazy T. Now he roams his property in a private helicopter.Meanwhile, Jack introduces Cecil to Mary Fargo (Maggie Wellman), the sister of Jack's girl friend, Betty Fargo (Patti D'Arbanville), and they ride into the hills to round up horses belonging to the girls' father, Wilbur Fargo (Bert Conway). Pairing off, Jack and Betty have sex, while Cecil and Mary smoke marijuana.At the B Bar Lazy T, Brown's wife, Cora (Elizabeth Ashley), calls Burt and Curt to the ranch house to ask why they have not found the rustlers, then makes sexual innuendos and complains about their unresponsiveness. Later, Cora convinces her husband to "declare war" in the local newspaper because the rustlers have continued to pilfer their steers. The recent shootings make the front page.When Jack and Cecil attend a "Cattle Expo," Jack approaches Brown, who is exhibiting a $50,000 white bull, and asks a few innocent-sounding questions. Later, Jack and Cecil steal the bull, deliver a $50,000 ransom note to Brown, and hide in an abandoned barn while the money is delivered from the helicopter. After escaping with the $50,000, they give instructions for Brown to find his bull in the room of a local motel. Flush with cash, Jack and Cecil take separate vacations to their home towns.Cecil, a Native American half-breed, visits his father, Mr. Colson (Joe Spinell), on the reservation where he grew up. They fish in a local lake and reminisce, until the elder Colson wonders how Cecil, despite his chronic unemployment, is able to afford a boat and a pickup truck.Jack flies home to visit his wealthy family, but over dinner with his parents (Richard McMurray and Danna Hansen) and his former wife, Anna (Doria Cooke), unresolved disappointments arise. His parents leave the room in anger, Anna tries to rekindle their relationship, and Jack smashes the furniture, claiming she drives him crazy.Back in Montana, Jack and Cecil run into Burt and Curt at a bar and try to extract information about the ranch. Curt tells them Brown has called in a "stock detective" to track down the rustlers, then adds that he knows the guilty parties: "It's you," he says. Realizing they must recruit the ranch hands as partners, Jack and Cecil take them to a local bordello and pay for Burt and Curt to have sex with all the women there, at a cost of $350. The next morning, the four men discuss the ranch and agree to a four-way split of all proceeds.Meanwhile, Henry Beige (Slim Pickens), an aging, partly disabled detective, and his "niece," Laura Beige (Charlene Dallas), arrive at the ranch and move into private bedrooms. Beige confesses to Brown that he is good at his job because he was once a cattle rustler himself. Burt and Curt are both drawn to Laura, a young, sexy woman who feigns innocence but drinks whiskey from the bottle when nobody is looking.Later, as Cecil shoots a bull from Jack's pickup truck with his old Indian rifle, Brown's helicopter suddenly appears and gives chase. When the aircraft traps them, Burt and Curt reveal themselves as the pursuers, and tell Jack and Cecil they wanted them to see how poorly they planned their crime. Also, Curt says they have a better deal in the works. Later, Brown and Beige arrive to examine the bull's carcass. When Beige extracts the bullet, he recognizes it as a fifty-caliber round from an old buffalo rifle.Meanwhile, Jack and Cecil invite Betty and Mary to their house, where they have a catered dinner complete with a bluegrass band. The couples dance, become inebriated, and wake up in the morning, nude in bed. The girls' father, Wilbur Fargo, storms into the house, bringing his entire family to shame them. Jack fires his gun at Wilbur and demands he kneel down and beg for his daughters' forgiveness.Later, Cecil steals Wilbur's Lincoln Continental automobile, drives it onto Brown's ranch, and uses it for target practice with his buffalo rifle. When Brown finds the car and has it towed to the ranch house, he tells Beige the bullet holes in the metal must have been made by the same fifty-caliber bullets that killed his bulls. He berates Beige for not doing his job. Meanwhile, Curt courts Laura and praises her for being an old-fashioned, innocent woman. When he says he loves her and gently kisses her, Laura becomes sexually aggressive. Afterward, Curt tells Burt he plans to marry her.Meanwhile, after learning from a policeman that the Lincoln Continental belongs to Wilbur Fargo, Brown goes to Wilbur's house and guesses from the man's demeanor that he knows who stole the car. However, Wilbur refuses to say anything. At the dinner table, Brown announces that he will solve the crime and no longer needs Beige. The next day, Brown returns to Wilbur's house with policemen and has him arrested for rustling.Elsewhere, Jack and Cecil rent a tractor-and-trailer, drive onto the ranch, and round up more than a dozen head of cattle. As they drive away, however, they are blocked by Henry Beige, who is hosting a pie contest with half a dozen policemen and more than a dozen local women. The policemen arrest Jack and Cecil. Meanwhile, other police take Curt and Burt into custody.Back at the ranch house, Beige explains that cattle rustling is usually an "inside job," and all he had to do was wait for either Curt and Burt to make a mistake. Brown pays Beige for his services, and Laura says she is anxious to get her "cut" for learning the details of the theft from Curt.In the final scene, Jack and Cecil ride horses at a ranch. They pass a sign that says they are on the Rancho Deluxe prison ranch.
    

Sam Waterston

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