Product Details

• Actors: Molly Ivins, Karl Rove
• Directors: Paul Stekler
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: New Video Group
• DVD Release Date: January 25, 2005
• Run Time: 56 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0006210YW
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #76,073 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #34 in

  Movies & TV > Documentary > Series & Studios > Docurama > Politics

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From Sundance Jury Prize winner and three-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Paul Stekler (George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire), P.O.V. presents the SXSW audience favorite LAST MAN STANDING, a humorously enlighening nail-biter that Variety calls "an intriguing ground-level look at Texas politics as a full-contact sport...a provacative pic!" If the down-home cowboy politics of George W. Bush seem to be a blueprint for success in Washington these days, what are they like back in the Lone Star state? LAST MAN STANDING takes a camera to Texas to find out in this lively, behind-the-scenes portrait of two unpredictable, post-millennial elections. The first--a battle for state representative between self-proclaimed "right-wing nut" incumbent Rick Green (R) and 24-year-old political newbie Patrick Rose (D)--proves to be a twisting horse race built on bitter personal attacks and door-to-door campaigning. The other--a polarizing race for governor--pits Bush’s ascendant state Republican Party against a historic, multi-cultural Democratic ticket. So how did Texas, once a solidy Democratic "Johnson Country" only a generation ago, become known for its dominating brand of Republicanism? Featuring interviews with some of Texas’ leading political lights, including former governor Ann Richards, writer Molly Ivins, and "Dubya" strategist Karl Rove, LAST MAN STANDING helps decode the state’s electoral dynamics, illuminating national politics in the process. DVD Features: Filmmaker Interview; Resources; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars documentary on politics, July 27, 2005

By	Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Fans of politics will be interested in this question: How far down does the popularity of a president flow? Here, it's regional and Republican, i.e., can W's presence in office will seats for other Texas Republicans? However, the same question was relevant for Democrats when Bill Clinton was in office.

This documentary considers itself to focus on a statewide race and a local one, however, the local race takes precedence and the statewide election was just parsley. This documentary asks, "How did the home state of LBJ turn to Republicanism?" Unfortunately, it never really answers that question.

The purpose for choosing this particular race is because the district was in the center of the state and considered swing. One gets a taste of local flavor because both candidates wear jeans when candidates from any other region would have constantly worn suits. This race was between an incredibly young Democrat and an incumbent Republican who had a slew of ethics violations on his belt. This documentary shows cordialness to be fake: the Republican candidate idly chatted with his opponent and then talked mess behind his back.

One thing shook me to the core and I think apolitical watchers will see this and be disturbed by it as well. The evangelic official talked all this church, church, church but then was as corrupt as he could be. He could quote scripture frequently, but you could tell that he would throw away those same ideas if it were to his advantage. This coverage shows that church folk can be just as sleazy as self-identified sinners. All the resentment toward the Jim Bakers and Jim Joneses will pop into your head as you watch this work. This was an interesting look into human behavior and hypocrisy.

Because there is a gender gap in voters' choices, it was surprising and difficult to see so many women proudly voting Republican. Perhaps the idea of a gender gap is region-specific. The admirable former governor Ann Richards is interviewed here, but I guess her service has not swayed other female residents in her home state.

To be honest, I do think this documentary is intended for progressives, as most POV documentaries are. Still, I think Republicans may enjoy it because it is still brought up that W and most of his allies won their seats.

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun For What It Was, April 14, 2006

By	Steve (Houston) - See all my reviews

I guess I would say this DVD is what it is? As a previous reviewer here on Amazon mentioned, this DVD claims to dig deep as to how the state went from LBJ's home to George W's home, and they never did that.

The one message I really took away was the old hag former Governor of Texas, Ann "Another Drink Please" Richards. She was talking about Tony Sanchez and how he was going to spend his millions on the race for Governor. Yet he did worse than Ma Richards did when she was defeated by George W. Bush. Her point was totally shattered and she and the democrat party do not understand that it isn't money that wins these campaigns, it's the ideas. Someone in the video even said that those who want more social programs and more welfare money lost in 2002 when the GOP won. They were right. Those ideas of "take from those with something and give to those who don't want to do anything", don't fly in Texas.

The video was obviously partisan, against the GOP. I found it interesting as a political junkie for the documentary aspect behind the scenes of the campaigns. I thought the access that the film maker got to the two state rep campaigns was pretty cool. Buy it used like I did and then get rid of it like I did, if you're a political junkie, you'll like the 1-hour or so of footage this DVD provides.