The Hunting of the President (2004)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Directors:

Nickolas Perry
Harry Thomason

Writers:

Joe Conason (book)
Gene Lyons (book)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

The ten-year campaign to destroy Bill Clinton.

Plot:

Previously unreleased material outlines the campaign against Bill Clinton's presidency, from his days in Arkansas up to his impeachment trial. |

Plot Keywords:

Impeachment | Interview | Scandal | Archive Footage | Media

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Morgan Freeman	...	Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Begala	...	Himself
Sidney Blumenthal	...	Himself
David Brock	...	Himself
John Camp	...	Himself
James Carville	...	Himself
Larry Case	...	Himself
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Hillary Rodham Clinton	...	Herself (archive footage)
Joe Conason	...	Himself
Andrew Cooper	...	Himself
Jerry Falwell	...	Himself
Paula Jones	...	Herself (archive footage)
Howard Kurtz	...	Himself
Gene Lyons	...	Himself
Jim McDougal	...	Himself (archive footage)
Susan McDougal	...	Herself
Dan Moldea	...	Himself
Larry Nichols	...	Himself (archive footage)
Claudia Riley	...	Herself
Ken Starr	...	Himself (archive footage)
Betsy Wright	...	Herself

Runtime:

USA:90 min | Australia:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15

Company:

Diceburg LLC

Quotes:

David Brock: Clinton's lawyers made the argument to the US Supreme Court that it is simply incompatible with being president to be an active defendant in an active lawsuit. And the Supreme Court 9 to nothing brushed that argument aside and said ya know it won't atke up too much time its no big deal just do your depositions and get on with it...

The Vasty Deep

Less a vindication of Clinton than an indictment of the press, this film provides a timely commentary on the excesses of journalistic zeal that almost brought down a presidency. I was especially moved by the women players, including Susan McDougal, aka Joan of the Ozarks, who was treated like a serial killer during her two years in prison, after she ran afoul of nasty-minded Ken Starr and his minions. I also like the brave and witty portrait of ex-Arkansas Governor Riley's wife Claudia. The facts presented here may seem all too familiar by now, but we can thank authors Joe Conason and Gene Lyons for unearthing a good number of them. Students of history will long debate the merits of the Clinton presidency, but the incompetence of the press is now an established fact.