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Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Time

Play trailer Poster for Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Time 2002 1h 11m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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72% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Filmmaker John Junkerman focuses his lens on Noam Chomsky, the American linguist, thinker, activist and outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy. Culled together from a series of lectures on a wide range of topics and interviews given when Chomsky was 73, the documentary explores the scholar's often controversial opinions concerning the United States' use -- and, according to his informed opinion, abuse -- of power across the globe and as a response to the 9/11 attacks.
Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Time

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Critics Consensus

Chomsky is a compelling, thoughtful speaker.

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Critics Reviews

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Michael O'Sullivan Washington Post 08/08/2003
Junkerman's dull film, and its important if inflammatory message, will bore all but Chomsky's fellow travelers to death. Go to Full Review
Jane Sumner Dallas Morning News 04/10/2003
C+
If the documentary is a jumbled mess, the man ... is mesmerizing, lucid, thought-provoking and brave. Go to Full Review
Erik Lundegaard Seattle Times 03/21/2003
2.5/4
Visually, it's about as exciting as C-Span. Doesn't matter. Chomsky, at 74, is as radical as ever. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 09/26/2005
4/5
Brian Gibson Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta) 12/01/2003
This sometimes fawning documentary is selling a simple image of Chomsky to his faithful, not expanding on or further discussing the man's ideas. Go to Full Review
Kurt Dahlke Apollo Guide 10/29/2003
70/100
There are better and more entertaining ways to grapple with Noam Chomsky's theories. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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10/26/2021 Noam Chomsky: the most overrated, over quoted quasi-philosophers of our time. He literally has created nothing but vacuous either by talking as a critic. Thomas Sowell same age has dozens of books on economics, hundreds of published peer review articles, came from absolutely nothing to reach the highest levels of academic success both personally and professionally and you will never hear a peep about him because his secret of success was self made and ambition driven, unlike Chomsky and his colleagues who are jealous of other peoples success and are big whiners. See more 09/14/2013 This doc is so poorly done! I like Chomsky...but wow this was hard to watch. The message he has is worth listening too. Good one to put on while doing something else and just listen to it instead of actually watching this messy doc. See more 04/28/2010 I like how simplified he tends to make things. I also admire the fact that he knows a LOT of information and has his facts lined up before he tends to formulate a response. Very much worth seeing. See more 11/27/2009 I'm lucky to watch this movie.It's worth to watch it. See more 09/30/2009 i found this pretty boring. See more 03/24/2008 Follows Chomsky on a lecture tour following 9/11 as he addresses what is meant by "terror" and how governments use it for their aims, but only official enemies' terror is condemned. Most importantly, he counters the "doom and gloom" that his highlighting of unreported events can evoke by pointing out how western society has become much more freer in the decades since Chomsky first became politically involved, injecting much needed optimism into his analysis of government power. See more Read all reviews
Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Time

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Movie Info

Synopsis Filmmaker John Junkerman focuses his lens on Noam Chomsky, the American linguist, thinker, activist and outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy. Culled together from a series of lectures on a wide range of topics and interviews given when Chomsky was 73, the documentary explores the scholar's often controversial opinions concerning the United States' use -- and, according to his informed opinion, abuse -- of power across the globe and as a response to the 9/11 attacks.
Director
John Junkerman
Producer
Tetsujiro Yamagami
Distributor
First Run
Production Co
Siglo
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 22, 2002, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 3, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$288.4K
Runtime
1h 11m