Audience Member
A great look into Goldwater and the inception of the modern-day conservativism. It doesn't matter what aisle you belong to in the political arena this will really open your eyes to not only the man but all the misconceptions about him.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This movie is delightful to watch. I expected the topic to be more concerned with his conservative philosophy. The movie is, however, about the man. In this richly detailed biography we see a man who lives his philosophy. He was an outdoorsman, a photographer, a pilot, a ham radio enthusiast. He spoke his mind. We also gain historical insight into his relationship with J.F.K., Nixon, Sandra Day O'Connor, and yes... even Hilary Clinton. He voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 not because he was a bigot (he was half Jewish) but because it violated the constitutional protection of people to freely associate. He believed that such a clear violation of the constitution would contribute immeasurably to the explosion of federal power. He was right.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
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Audience Member
As far a documentaries go, this one is decent. But I think it is the case that the subject matter outshines the actual film, if that makes sense. I doubt most younger people know Barry Goldwater. However, he is a very important political figure. He was a through and through conservative - NOT the kind of conservative Reagan was or 95% of today's Republicans are. This film does a good job of showing how sometimes conservatism will lead you to seemingly crazy stances, while other times it is incredibly desirable. I hope more people will look into Goldwater, his beliefs, and how he conducted himself as a politician.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/24/23
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Audience Member
It was a feel good, family-made documentary geared to make you like the man behind the crazy. And even though you know that's the goal, you still walk away from this film liking the man behind the crazy - if only for the set of BBQ sauces he sent former Goldwater-girl-turned-dirty-pinko-hippie HRC when she moved into the White House.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
If you consider yourself "a conservative" then you should really confirm it with this movie.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
You know a documentary hasn't wasted your time when it has completely overturned your view of its subject. In the present case, my false perception of Barry Goldwater was due to two main factors: first, ignorance, as I had no idea where he actually stood on the issues dearest to my heart; and second, unexamined atavisms from my Randian period, which had left me with a very favorable opinion of the man.
Now given what I believed to be Goldwater's strong conservative stance (that's what it says in the title!), I was surprised that HBO should produce such a documentary on him, with John Barry / Ennio Morricone sounding music, nostalgic home movies, a smiling Hilary Clinton ("I was a Goldwater girl!"), tear-filled eyes and not a single testimony by anyone who actually disliked the man: everybody loved him! This is such a far-cry from the character assassination coupled with ominous music that conservatives usually get in documentaries. They're treating as if he was some sacred liberal cow like Hugh Heffner!
But there is a reason for this: "Mr Conservative" was not a Conservative but a libertarian, which means that to the modern leftist media, he was half right, because on ethical issues, which are the divisive ones today, he was a liberal. In fact, apart from his support of economic freedom and his opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (on constitutional grounds, and out of respect for property rights and freedom of speech and assembly), he was the perfect liberal, and his belated rehabilitation is not at all an accident: he was in favour of gays in the military (he had a homosexual grandson, who says "being in the military is not about sex"); he was a staunch supporter of legalised abortion (his own daughter even got an abortion, which he never condemned and she never regretted); he was a great friend and ardent supporter of pro-abortion Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor; he talked the talk about Jefferson "separating Church and State"; the religious right "scared the hell" out of him (though he described himself as a "very religious" person, he didn't go to Church every Sunday); he had Jewish origins (and the documentary is produced by one Tany Cohen); and he was "multicultural" in that he spent a lot of time with the Hopi and Navajo Indians of his home state, Arizona (which somehow makes up for his opposition to government-enforced desegregation.)
The time is therefore now ripe for a recuperation of the Senator by the U.S. left. Well, as far as I am concerned, they can have him, he's one of them.
The documentary is quite pleasant to watch, with its mixture of warm-hearted personal recollections and archive footage, and C.C. Goldwater, the Senator's granddaughter who did the voiceover and interviews, is really cute, which almost compensates for the inclusion of the unsufferable James Carville.
I was a bit disappointed, however, that some facts were left out of the picture. For one thing, "The Conscience of a Conservative", which was published under Goldwater's name and sold 3.5 million copies, was not written by him, but by L. Brent Bozell Jr, a Catholic convert whose name is never mentioned in the documentary, and who will never get a sympathetic treatment by the likes of HBO. And second, the issue of Goldwater's connections with the maffia is never mentioned, nor is his belief that there was a government cover up about UFOs.
The only point of the documentary seems to be to provide inspiration for today's leftists and maybe to insinuate that modern conservatives have hijacked the Republican party, which should return to its true liberal origins.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
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