DVD Review: Medium Cool (A)

Medium Cool (1969)
Directed by Haskell Wexler
Starring Robert Forster, Peter Bonerz, Peter Boyle and Christine Bergstrom
MPAA: X
Grade: A

Review by Scott Standish

The film that made Robert Forster a star has finally been released on DVD and it is definitely a must see. Directed by cameraman extraordinaire Haskell Wexler, Medium Cool is perhaps one of the best films of its time period, a stunning achievement that is right up there with the similarly constructed "portrait of our time" film by Robert Altman, Nashville.

Medium Cool tells the story of John Casellis, a TV news cameraman (Forster) that is tough as nails, even as he films the violence and chaos that seems to be drowning America in 1968. As his career takes some twists and turns, he gets educated from all angles on the corruption that plagues our media. As he changes, the world is changing around him and Casellis takes a job filming the 1968 democratic convention. Casellis strikes up a relationship with a single mom, and this love affair also gets caught up in the violence and turmoil engulfing Chicago in 1968.

The amazing thing about Medium Cool is that the story leads right into a real world plotline (the riots of the Chicago convention) and couldn't have been scripted better. The camerawork is excellent (especially in the riot scenes), the script is tight and thought invoking, and Robert Forster is perfectly cast in the role of John Casellis. Medium Cool is a must watch DVD, and perhaps one of the best films to come out of the 1960s.

Buy Medium Cool On DVD