Documentary 'Taxi To The Dark Side' (Wins Best Documentary Feature Oscar)

[Hissyspit]

Source: Kansas City Star

Contemporary events dominated the documentary feature category, with “No End in Sight,” “Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” and “Taxi to the Dark Side” examining the war on terror.

“War Dance” followed children orphaned by genocide in Uganda as they participate in their country’s national music festival. And Michael Moore’s “Sicko” demanded radical change in the American health-care system.

- snip -

Instead it went to Alex Gibney’s “Taxi to the Dark Side,” a lacerating indictment of the Bush administration, saying torture has been quietly incorporated into American foreign policy. The film is scheduled to open in Kansas City on March 14 and will be shown next weekend at the True/False Documentary Film Festival in Columbia, Mo.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/238/story/504072.html

[orleans]

1. i liked what gibney had to say on stage

"Taxi to the Dark Side" provides the night's most overtly political commentary.
By Mark Olsen
February 25, 2008

Winner for outstanding documentary feature, "Taxi to the Dark Side," a painfully clear-eyed look at the United States policy on torture in Afghanistan and Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, provided the night's most overtly political commentary -- Jon Stewart's monologue notwithstanding.

Directed by Alex Gibney and produced by Gibney and Eva Orner, the film features photographs and video footage from Abu Ghraib prison, as well as interviews with military personnel.

In accepting the award, Gibney said, "Here's to all doc filmmakers," and then went on to dedicate the award to Dilawar, the Afghan cab driver whose death provides the film with its throughline and title, and to his own late father, a former Navy interrogator, noting "his fury about what was being done to the rule of law."

snip

Gibney concluded his acceptance speech by saying, "Let's hope we can turn this country around, move away from the dark side and back to the light."

http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/oscars/env-docs25...

[Hissyspit]

2. Thanks. I heard and saw that, but could not find it reported anywhere.

[bdamomma]

8. Yes, I heard that too, thank goodness someone has the balls

to say something, just imagine if Michael Moore got an award for Sicko, he would of said a mouthful.

[damntexdem]

15. It was a real high point in the Oscars broadcast.

[BrklynLiberal]

18. His was the best acceptance speech given.

[annabanana]

3. Well, well, well. I would never have known this if I hadn't just logged on.

The morning shows are all over the Awards, the clothes, the jewels, the parties... but not a peep about this (yes, major) Award.

(...let's just ignore it, maybe it'll go away....)

[BeliQueen]

12. They never really give much coverage to this award...

unless it has a high-profile winner like Michael Moore or Vice-President Al Gore.

People are more concerned about what was worn on the red carpet than what torture is being done in their name.

Ours is a society at the height of decadence.

[SpiralHawk]

4. k and r

Every American citizens needs to see this and understand what Bush & the republicon homelanders are doing in our name...

[DemReadingDU]

5. Bill Moyers - Taxi to the Dark Side

2/8/08 Moyers on TAXI TO THE DARKSIDE


TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, the new film from Alex Gibney (ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM), steps right into the middle of this debate. The film explores the death of an innocent taxi driver while in American custody at Bagram Airforce Base in Afghanistan, and, through interviews with interrogators, investigative reporters, and administration officials, a larger story of American detention and interrogation policies in the fight against terrorism. The film graphically portrays the realities on the ground and should complicate legal and moral responses at home and in the legislature.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02082008/profile4.htm...

video
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02082008/watch.html

[samplegirl]

7. I missed this on Moyers

Thanks for posting the link.

[bdamomma]

9. thanks for the moyers video.

sorry to say, but we are no better than the germans, we have death camps and torture people, there is so much blood on our hands.

[samplegirl]

6. I was really hoping for Michael Moore

to get oscar for Sicko. He had some tuff competion which all
applied to this stinken rotten no good for nothing war.

I do want to see Taxi to the Dark Side.

[ReformedChris]

10. SiCKO was tremendous, but this is a story that seems worthy to win to spread the word..

I will have to check into any screenings they might have for this in Central Florida. I love Doc films (Ive seen Roger and Me Dozens of Times)and I'm glad the Academy recognized the effort of this film.

[BeliQueen]

11. "Taxi to the Darkside" was my Oscar pick.

And I was fortunate enough to see three out of the five nominated.

If you have Netflix and a compatible computer, you can watch "No End in Sight" online.

"Operation Homecoming..." was a fantastic documentary with great insight to what our soldiers are enduring in Iraq. Sometimes funny and mostly heartbreaking, it's a must-see for anyone who wants to understand the impact of the war on those fighting.

The most compelling quote from "Operation Homecoming..." was from the author Tim O'Brien who said, "A society at the height of decadence is one that can't even be bothered with the particulars of war." That's a paraphrase.

Also, if you get the chance, see "In the Valley of Elah." Just wonderful.

Peace.

[sce56]

13. This is a movie you might never see!

http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2008/2/25/taxi_to_the_...


AMY GOODMAN: Excerpts of Taxi to the Dark Side. The Discovery Channel has bought the rights to the Oscar-nominated film and had planned on airing it, but this week filmmaker Alex Gibney learned Discovery has dropped plans to air the film because it’s, quote, “controversial.” Alex Gibney is the award-winning director, writer and producer of Taxi to the Dark Side. He joined us about a week ago to talk about the Oscar-nominated film, but today he’s back to respond to Discovery.


What happened, Alex?


ALEX GIBNEY: Well, it turns out that the Discovery Channel isn’t so interested in discovery. I mean, I heard that—I was told a little bit before my Academy Award nomination that they had no intention of airing the film, that new management had come in and they were about to go through a public offering, so it was probably too controversial for that. They didn’t want to cause any waves. It turns out, Discovery turns out to be the see-no-evil/hear-no-evil channel.


AMY GOODMAN: They bought the rights, though.


ALEX GIBNEY: They did.


AMY GOODMAN: So they own it.


ALEX GIBNEY: They own the rights for the next three years. They own the broadcast rights. It’s currently playing in theaters, where people can see it, but we had hoped that it would have a broad airing on television. And indeed, you know, one of the reasons I went with Discovery was because they had told me, “Look, we love this film. We’re going to give it a broad and very prominent airing.”


AMY GOODMAN: But if they still own the rights, can they just not air it for three years and keep you from airing it anywhere else?


ALEX GIBNEY: Yes, they can. That’s their right, because they paid for it. Now, we’re hoping that they’ll agree to sell it to somebody else, you know, maybe for a profit, if they need to do that. But I’m hoping at the very least that they’ll allow somebody else to take it on so it can be shown to the American people.

[Kajsa]

14. HBO will air it in September, prior to the elections!

Yes!!

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/22/hbo-discovery-taxi /

" A hundred more years" in Iraq?
With this going on behind the scenes?

I don't think so!----

Thanks, HBO for once again having the cajones to air " controversial" films.

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. How does that affect DVD availability?

Did he retain DVD sales rights, for after the theatrical run is completed? Was it only the broadcast rights he sold?

[BrklynLiberal]

17. When a radio reporter was asked if there had been any political statements during the awards, he

said there had been none as far as he was concerned. I guess he was sleeping thru the acceptance speech when this award was given.

[AnnieBW]

19. I was pulling for WarDance

Because the filmmakers are DC-area residents. But it's all good.