Product Details

• Actors: Dave Barber; Peter Bart
• Directors: Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine
• Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Liberation Entertainment/Starz Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: November 6, 2007
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000UYX4N6
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #44,089 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Manufacturing Dissent" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The first fair and balanced criticism of Michael Moore, Directed by liberal Fueled by neither political agenda nor axes to grind, they present the fairest overview of Moore s methodology and filmmaking practices to date. ---The Austin Chronicle

Product Description

Uncovering Michael Moore
In the realm of documentary filmmaking there is no greater icon than Michael Moore, but are his films really the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth
At what point does the manipulation of fact become a work of fiction?
See for yourself when the lens is turned on the most controversial director of our time. Discover the film that Michael Moore doesn t want you to see

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Legitimate Criticism, October 6, 2007

By	Argus Human Rights "sagacityfilms" (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Manufacturing Dissent (DVD)

I agree with most of Michael Moore's politics and appreciate that he has helped bring many vital issues into the mainstream. He's done a ton to raise awareness. That said I also think the film "Manufacturing Dissent" is fair and has very legitimate criticisms of Moore's tactics. I would hope that Michael Moore would welcome the criticism. Many people will undoubtedly have a strong opinion about this film without watching it just as most conservatives have very strong opinions about Moore without ever having watched his films (Like the previous reviewer "Bob K" who thinks this is actually a Michael Moore film). I say it is wiser to keep silent until you can speak intelligently on a subject.

The one thing the film is lacking is context. Moore is popular because the mainstream media feeds off highly polarized simplistic politics. So to talk about Michael Moore with out talking about the mainstream media and its manufactured culture is like making a film about a football player without mentioning the football game.

Watch this film but also watch Michael Moore's films. For all the criticisms, Moore's films are worth watching but with the understanding he sometimes plays tricks to make his point. Even knowing about his tricks I still believe that most his points are valid.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fair Critique of Moore, November 27, 2007

By	A. Madison (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Manufacturing Dissent (DVD)

First off, I am very sympathetic to Michael Moore's ideas. I would love to see more gun control in the US, the Iraq war come to an end, and health care for everyone. I enjoy his movies for their entertainment value and because they champion causes I believe in. His methods, however, are disturbing. How can you trust anything the guy says knowing the following: The premise of "Roger & Me" was Moore's quest and ultimate failure to get an interview with Roger Smith. Turns out he did interview Roger Smith but decided to cover it up since it didn't make for a compelling movie.

Manufacturing Dissent is a fair documentary. The interviews are with people from both sides. Some love Michael Moore, some hate him. But the important thing is that a lot of the people interviewed worked with Michael Moore. The movie reveals that Moore is not necessarily in search of the truth, just in search of a way to validate things he already believes to be true. This movie is great for anyone who values intellectual honesty.

See Manufacturing Dissent for its content, because its production quality will not impress.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Turnabout is more than fair play in this documentary, July 10, 2008

By	David C. Read (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Manufacturing Dissent (DVD)

What is interesting about this documentary is that it is made not by conservatives, but by Canadian liberals who largely share Moore's left-wing perspective. They start out sympathetic to Moore, but, by the end, are finally forced to admit that Moore is a self-aggrandizing liar whose films, while entertaining and well made, are certainly not "documentaries."

The filmmakers are clearly not hostile to Moore or his politics. For example, they point out that Moore was absurdly and unfairly prevented from being admitted to his high school's "hall of fame." And one of their critiques of "Bowling for Columbine" was that Moore, instead of calling for a ban on the handguns which are involved in most gun crimes, launched into a convoluted critique of American culture. Most of the interviewees were left-wing activists who totally share Moore's politics, and worked with him at places like "Mother Jones."

So it is all the more damning when they expose Moore's shoddy propaganda. The film most comprehensively dismantled is the one that made Moore's reputation--1989's "Roger and Me." The whole conceit of the film is that Moore chases GM CEO Roger Smith around with a camera and microphone, but never gets an interview. In reality, Moore got a 10 minute interview with Smith, the transcript of which still exists, although Moore tried to get his left-wing colleague to deny its existence. Moore crafted the movie to make it appear that he was alone in his quest to call GM to account, when in reality, there was a huge union and activist movement calling for the same things Moore was calling or. Moreover, Moore changed around chronology and invented out of whole cloth a story about a stolen news van (and shot a fake local new segment reporting the "story"). He also created a scene to make it appear that he had been cut off from speaking at GM shareholder's meeting when, in fact, that never happened.

Then there is "Bowling for Columbine," in which Moore staged a scene in which he receives a gun in return for opening a bank account, making it appear that you could get the gun right there in the bank, when he knew very well that that was not how it worked. And his ambush of Charlton Heston, who was already suffering from Alzheimers, is aptly decribed by another left-wing activist as "mean," which it certainly was.

Moore is a good and entertaining propagandist, but he is no journalist and he has never made documentary in his life.