The Troubles We've Seen Part 2 (Marcel Ophuls)
Signs & Signifiers: Archives, Culture, Lies & Television
•
2h 21m
Directed by Marcel Ophüls • Documentary • With Christiane Amanpour, Walter Cronkite, John Burns, Martha Gellhorn, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Slobodan Miloševic • 1994 • 230 minutes
One of the most important films of director Marcel Ophüls' career is also his least seen, facing backlash time and time again for its questions about the role of media during crises. Shot primarily in Sarajevo during the 1993 siege, this 230-minute documentary interlaces frontline footage with caustic references to Hollywood depictions of war, alongside interviews with some of the world’s leading journalists, newscasters and historians. Ophüls uses this format to explore the ethical challenges of war commentary, and with conflicts such as those in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and more appearing on the nightly news, this film remains as timely and provocative as it was nearly thirty years ago. THE TROUBLES WE'VE SEEN features appearances from Christiane Amanpour, Walter Cronkite, John Burns, Martha Gellhorn, Bernard-Henri Lévy, and former President of Serbia and accused war criminal Slobodan Miloševic.
Up Next in Signs & Signifiers: Archives, Culture, Lies & Television
-
The Universal Clock (w/ Peter Watkins)
Directed by Geoff Bowie • Documentary • 2001 • 52 minutes
With the current proliferation of TV channels, documentaries are enjoying an unprecedented boom fuelled by audiences seeking alternative programming. But now documentary filmmaking, too, finds itself constrained by the imperatives of tele...
-
To Tell the Truth: The Strategy of Truth
Directed by David Van Taylor • Documentary • 2012 • 56 minutes
THE STRATEGY OF TRUTH: DOCUMENTARY GOES TO WAR (1933-1945)
The Strategy of Truth explores the role of film as propaganda during World War II, and the different forms it took in the US, the UK, and Germany. It also raises the central...
-
To Tell the Truth: Working for Change
Directed by Cal Skaggs • Documentary • 2012 • 56 minutes
Working for Change explores the birth of the social documentary, featuring interviews with several of the people who helped define and shape the form.
While newsreels carried novelty and feel-good stories, left-leaning filmmakers such as ...
