The Nightmare Years

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Audience Member A rather rubbishy film based on the excellent memoir of William Shirer. It gets basically everything wrong. Shirer is presented in the only way Hollywood seems to know how to present reporters in corrupt regimes: as stupid and impulsive do-gooders. The real Shirer was a good man, but his goal was never to take on the Nazi state and win. It's absurd to think anyone could. He was there to report what he could from the biggest news story of his time, and, if possible, to warn America and the world about the danger the Nazis posed. And that meant a lot of subtlety, deception, and caution with what he said. This guy's a dolt. And worse, he's outraged that the Nazis won't honor freedom of the press and even lectures Göbbels on the subject. What could be more absurd? His vision of the press's goal as revealing the whole truth about those in power with no compromises makes him feel much more like a transplanted relic of the post-Watergate era than a man who'd reported from dictatorships and kingdoms for most of his career. And even in the US it wasn't like that. Did you know the press was well aware of FDR's wheelchair and JFK's philandering but said nothing? The whole thing rings false. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Nightmare Years

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