Medium Cool (1969)

7.2R111 minDirector: Haskell Wexler

1969 film by Haskell Wexler

Medium Cool is a 1969 American drama film written and directed by Haskell Wexler and starring Robert Forster, Verna Bloom, Peter Bonerz, Marianna Hill and Harold Blankenship. It takes place in Chicago in the summer of 1968. It was notable for Wexler's use of cinéma vérité–style documentary filmmaking techniques, as well as for combining fictional and non-fictional content.

The movie was met with widespread acclaim from numerous critics, including Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel of Siskel & Ebert, both calling the movie a "well-crafted masterpiece." The movie was also named one of the greatest movies of 1969, as well as one of the most influential movies in the New Hollywood movement. Robert Forster was also met with universal acclaim for his performance.

In 2003, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

FAQ

What is Medium Cool about?
Medium Cool (1969) — John Cassellis is the toughest TV-news reporter around. His area of interest is reporting about violence in the ghetto and racial tensions. But he discovers that his network helps the FBI by letting it look at his tapes to find suspects. When he protests, he is fired and goes to
Is Medium Cool based on a true story?
See the production background and source material details on the official Wikipedia article.
Is Medium Cool scary?
Content rating: R. See the reviews tab for parental guidance and tone notes.