Product Details

• Actors: Greg Bryan, Christa Cottemond-Windley, Michael Schiller, Ronald Shore, Abby Stern
• Directors: Jeremy Kagan
• Writers: Anneke Campbell
• Producers: Jeremy Kagan, David Latham, Devin Smith, Malissa Strong, Mike Stanley
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Spanish, Arabic
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Disinformation
• DVD Release Date: July 25, 2006
• Run Time: 29 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000FSLMJA
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #87,583 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"LISTEN UP! THESE SHOWS ARE IMPORTANT!" - LEWIS BLACK, Comedy Central's The Daily Show

The American Civil Liberties Union and Robert Greenwald present The ACLU Freedom Files, a revolutionary, 10-part series of documentaries that tells the stories of real people in America whose civil liberties were threatened and shows how they fought back. This dynamic new series, produced and directed by Emmy Award winner Jeremy Kagan, combines interviews, documentary footage, comedy, drama, music and animation to engage viewers and alert them to critical civil rights issues ranging from free speech to religious freedom.

From Robert Greenwald, who brought you Unconstitutional, Outfoxed, and Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. Features the following episodes:

o RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
o VOTING RIGHTS
o GAY & LESBIAN RIGHTS
o WOMEN'S RIGHTS
o YOUTH SPEAK
o DRUG WARS
o BEYOND THE PATRIOT ACT
o THE SUPREME COURT
o DISSENT
o RACIAL PROFILING

Extras include:
- Additional material from comedians Lewis Black, Margaret Cho, Judy Gold and Warren Hutcherson
- Interview with ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero
- Interview with Executive Producer Robert Greenwald
- Director Jeremy Kagan discussing each episode
- Interview with series writer Anneke Campbell

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love the ACLU, September 12, 2007

By	Anyechka (Rensselaer, NY United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This two-disc series does a great job at bringing to life some of the most important issues the ACLU (of which I've been a very proud member since November 1997) deals with, and has been dealing with in recent years. It goes beyond the hateful propagandistic clichés and outright lies that uninformed ignorant uneducated ACLU-bashers like to bandy about, like "The ACLU hates religion/Christians" or "The ACLU hates America." We're a group that fights for the rights of many diverse groups of people; we're not a group with one set political orientation, nor is our work to uphold the Establishment Clause the only or most important thing we do, contrary to the people who have this obsessive focus on that aspect of the ACLU, as though we don't do anything but keep religion from being illegally inserted into the public sphere. These stories are the stories of real everyday people, people such as Lindsay, the highschool student who was forced to take a drug test; Jessica, the woman whose controlling ex-husband Simon violated his restraining order and did something incredibly horrible to their children without any intervention by the police to stop it from happening; Alondra, the highschool student who had to go to school in a place where there were no textbooks for students and where rats were rampant; Abbey, the graduating senior who wanted to have her yearbook quote be a Biblical passage reflecting her faith; and Willow, the woman who was shot by a wooden bullet during an entirely peaceful demonstration. These stories go beyond simplistic soundbytes and skewed propaganda to tell the real story of the ACLU, hopefully making the average viewer aware of just how close to home these issues are, maybe even changing some minds about what we really stand for.

Disc one contains the episodes "Religious Freedom," "Voting Rights," "Gay and Lesbian Rights," "Women's Rights," "Youth Speak," and "Drug Wars." In these episodes, we learn about how hard we've had to fight to get the basic rights and protections we have today, how many rights we still have yet to gain, and how a lot of these protections and rights, such as restraining orders, voting rights for minorities, and rights for those under 18, just might as well not exist because they're either ignored or outright violated. Disc two contains the episodes "Beyond the Patriot Act," "The Supreme Court," "Dissent," and "Racial Profiling," plus about an hour and a half of bonus features (segments with four of the comedians featured on the various episodes, a series discussion with producer/director Jeremy Kagan, interviews with Anthony Romero, the ACLU's current executive director, and writer Anneke Campbell, and an introduction to the series by executive producer Robert Greenwald). These last four episodes show us again just how far we have yet to go before we have complete freedom and justice for all in America, how racism is still very much alive and well, how peaceful dissenters are treated like dangerous criminals just because they have legit issues with the government, and the frightening crime against the Constitution that is the Patriot Act, which seems more like the Big Brother Act. Each episode is only about a half-hour in length, but there's always a lot squeezed into each episode, showing us the many diverse people and issues involved in areas such as women's rights, the so-called "war on drugs," youth rights, and religious liberties.

Overall, this is the type of thing that needs to be seen by those who think the ACLU is the bogeyman and this terrible horrible group that's composed of a bunch of religion-hating radical leftists. The truth is a lot more complex than those propagandistic soundbytes always being bandied about by those who evidently don't know a thing about the ACLU and what we all stand for. And since it never preaches to the viewer or has some narrative voice telling us what to think, we're able to have our own reactions to these stories. This series can only be for the good and serve to enlighten those who seek to demonise the wonderful work done by the ACLU since its inception in 1920.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great teaching tool, December 28, 2007

By	S. Laidlaw (SLC UT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased this video to show to my Family Law class at the college where I teach. Excellent examples of women's rights and lack of rights in real situations. It generated some really good discussion.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IMPORTANT MESSAGES, July 26, 2006

By	MOVIE GOER - See all my reviews

THIS COLLECTIONS IS AN IMPORTANT BODY OF WORK WHICH IS ENTERTAINING AND EDUCATIONAL. THE ENERGY OF EACH WORK IS TERRIFIC AND HOLDS YOUR ATTENTION.