DVD Review: All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, And The Spirit Of I.F. Stone

I’ve always believed that governments somewhat routinely play with or ignore the truth. But I’m not sure any leader has lied with such unfailing consistency as does the current occupier of the White House. Not a single word he utters is to be trusted. But perhaps something good can come of it. Perhaps it will get people questioning and thinking critically about everything that’s told to them by government officials, rather than blindly accepting such stuff as truth. The documentary All Governments Lie: Truth Deception, And The Spirit Of I.F. Stone celebrates some of the independent journalists who, in the spirit of I.F. Stone, work to uncover the truth on subjects not being discussed in the mainstream media.

The film opens with that famous footage of Trump’s role model Richard Nixon swearing that he never obstructed justice and that he’s not a crook. It cuts then to Colin Powell talking about Iraq’s supposed weapons of mass destruction, and swearing he’s delivering facts. And it’s not long before we get footage of Donald Trump speaking of his proposed Muslim ban, and telling his supporters that Mexicans are rapists. These are clear examples of the government lying to its people, but of course if the government is willing and eager to tell these large lies, why should we trust them not to tell us smaller ones as well?

I.F. Stone was an independent investigate journalist who published his own newsletter, I.F. Stone’s Weekly, in which he routinely exposed the lies of the government. The film does include snippets of interviews with him, including footage of his appearance as a guest on The Dick Cavett Show in 1969. But in large part it follows current journalists who in a way are continuing Stone’s work, folks like Matt Taibbi, John Carlos Frey, Amy Goodman, Jeremy Scahill and David Corn. And through this, the film also delves into certain stories. For example, the mass graves found along the U.S./Mexico border. Sound familiar? No? Well, that’s because big media companies didn’t cover the story, as many of the choices they make are related to the entertainment value of a story, and the deaths of immigrants aren’t seen as entertaining. The film raises the question of whether those running large media empires are any more ethical than those in charge of oil companies or tobacco companies. After all, they profited from Trump’s campaign, getting plenty of entertaining news out of it. I wish we could go back in time and see what would have transpired had the media simply not covered Trump’s campaign, or at least not given him so much coverage.

And if you’re wondering, no, Barrack Obama is not left alone in this film. His questionable activities with drones are addressed here. Hillary Clinton likewise does not escape attention. And that’s the point, really. All governments lie. But the work of the journalists shown in this excellent documentary does give me hope. The film also includes interviews with Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, Carl Bernstein (who says that conventional wisdom is “the real enemy of great reporting”), Dick Cavett, and Michael Moore (who talks about the use of humor, and how “it is very hard to respond to it”).

Special Features

The DVD contains several bonus scenes, including more on Jeremy Scahill addressing young journalists about The Intercept and about the risks of investigative reporting, and Kai Wright talking about The Nation and objectivity. There is also footage of Sharif Abdel Kouddos speaking of how he became active in political journalism. John Carlos Frey talks about getting himself hired as a grape-picker in order to get the footage he needed. There is also more with Glenn Greenwald, Ralph Nader, Carl Bernstein and Chris Hedges.

All Governments Lie: Truth Deception, And The Spirit Of I.F. Stone was directed by Fred Peabody, and is based in part on All Governments Lie: The Life And Times Of Rebel Journalist I.F. Stone by Myra MacPherson. It was released on DVD on May 23, 2017 through First Run Features.

Blu-ray Review: Voodoo Black Exorcist

Voodoo Black Exorcist is a strange one about a man who was entombed alive and who now many years later finds a chance to come out of his sarcophagus while it is being transported aboard a luxury ocean liner by a scientist, his associate and his secretary/lover.

The opening scenes show a man and woman making love in a canoe until the woman’s husband arrives, ruining the romantic moment. The man kills the husband, but then in a violent ritual, the woman is executed and the man is entombed. These scenes, completely devoid of dialogue, are effective in commanding our attention. While the man is being entombed in a psychedelically lit cavern, an authoritative off-screen voice tells us about life repeating itself. “Blood will be spilled, terrible things will happen again, and everything will start again.” No, it’s not the best narration. But no matter. Oddly, the film then cuts to a rocket taking off into space, and the opening credit sequence is shown over images of the moon. A strange choice for a mummy film, but this movie doesn’t allow us to take it seriously. Every time we might get the inclination to do so, it delivers some goofy bit of humor.

Back on Earth, the coffin is being loaded onto the ocean liner. And there are actually some carefully crafted shots, like the one when the coffin is being moved to the cargo hold of the ship. The camera stays on the face on the lid of the sarcophagus. Poor Freddy is left to guard the coffin, instructed by Dr. Kessling that he’ll even have to sleep there in the cargo hold. Geez. But I suppose they must take precautions. After all, there are some strange characters aboard this ship. Like the guy who flirts with a married woman using the line, “I have a slaughterhouse in Chicago.” How could she not fall for him? Or the drunk woman who is first shown with a giant deck of playing cards, and then shown reading the Tarot and predicting an unexpected visitor will come aboard the ship. In a slightly better movie, this character would be played by Shelley Winters. She and her hapless husband provide much of the humor of the film.

Of course, it’s not long before the coffin opens and our friend emerges. Hey, where did Freddy go? The mummy immediately wins me over by showing his distaste for cats. Interestingly, we then get shots from the mummy’s perspective, and apparently all he wanted to do was go above deck and look out at the ocean. While he does so, we see his skin slowly return to its former glory. Well, as the narrator warned us, “Everything will start again,” and it turns out everyone involved in those opening scenes is traveling on this ship. The executioner from the ritual is now a bartender. And the woman the mummy once loved is Dr. Kessling’s secretary/lover, Sylvia. You see, this is actually a love story of sorts. However, seeing her makes him return to his ugly mummy state for some reason. Hot redheads can have that effect on men, I suppose. But after a bit of rest in the coffin, he’s able to deliver a gift to Sylvia. Sometimes it’s tough buying for a woman, particularly if you’ve just met her and don’t know her taste. However, most men know that women don’t generally like receiving severed heads.

At one port, Dr. Kessling is supposed to meet a colleague, but the mummy – looking human – takes the other scientist’s place. And this is where it gets weird, because the mummy actually wants to help Dr. Kessling with his research on voodoo, telling him he could provide more help than the other scientist ever could. Ah, all any of us wants is to feel needed, I suppose.

By the way, the other character that is there mainly for humor is the detective trying to solve the murder of the bartender. At one point he says: “You see, I have a system. When I don’t have a lead, I drink gin and wait.” You’d be surprised how many crimes are solved with this system. Then later, when Dr. Kessling asks him how he’s doing, the detective replies: “Terrible. Moody. Perplexed. It’s so damn hot here, don’t you think?” There is some unintentional humor as well. During the fight scene when the mummy retrieves his special ring, be sure to look in the mirror and say hi to the camera man, who is plainly visible. And the mummy tells the scientist that he learned English from being in museums for so many years, which of course makes me wonder just where was Dr. Kessling transporting the sarcophagus from? And where was he taking it?

And if you’ve been wondering about the exorcist, I’m going to spoil the surprise and tell you there isn’t one. No exorcist in Voodoo Black Exorcist. This movie was released in 1974, a year after The Exorcist, and I’m sure that other film’s popularity had something to do with the choice of English titles for this film. It’s not a great movie, but it is truly enjoyable. The end, however, feels rushed.

Voodoo Black Exorcist is being released on Blu-ray and DVD today, May 23, 2017, through The Film Detective. The film has been digitally remastered, restored from the original 35mm film elements, and it looks good. The Blu-ray contains no special features.

DVD Review: Teenage Ghost Punk

Teenage Ghost Punk is a quirky combination of comedy, supernatural suspense and teen love story. It’s about a divorced mother who moves with her two children to another town in order to take a job at her uncle’s company. Both she and her daughter have a hard time adjusting, but the ghost that haunts their new home might be the answer for the daughter. It stars Grace Madigan as Amanda, Jack Cramer as Brian, Adria Dawn on Carol and Noah Kitsos as Adam.

The film’s opening sequence cuts between a séance and some geeky ghost hunters, and is definitely played for comedy. Part of what the medium says to contact the spirits includes a reference to David Bowie: “Like David Bowie, go Station To Station” (this film was made before Bowie’s death). This opening really stresses the supernatural aspect of the story, but ultimately does the film a disservice because the mood it establishes isn’t really the mood of the film, and the characters it establishes don’t really play all that important a role. While there certainly is a playful tone to the film, the story has a lot more heart than this opening suggests.

We are introduced to Carol and her two children, Amanda and Adam. Adam is a precocious child who enjoys sounding mature beyond his years. While it might not be quite believable when he says things like “Zeus’ beard, did you see that,” it’s all right, because of the film’s playful tone. The family’s new neighbors present them with gifts, including a can of beans and talismans to ward off evil energy. Amanda understandably misses her friends, and especially her boyfriend, Taylor. At night after she hears a tapping at her window, a hand reaches up and knocks over her bedside photo of Taylor.

Soon Carol and her children see other unexplained movements of their possessions. I like that when they come home to a mess in the front room, Carol immediately ushers them back outside. It’s refreshing to see characters acting sensibly and contacting the police rather than investigating on their own. By the way, one of the detectives who respond to the call is played by Mike Cramer, who also wrote and directed the film. He tells Carol: “This to me looks like the work of teenagers… Or maybe it was ghosts. That’s what my idiot partner says.” Of course, the idiot partner is correct. And Amanda finds she is able to see the ghosts, and finds herself falling in love with Brian, the ghost who died at the house a few decades earlier, a ghost who plays guitar on the roof and is into punk music, enjoying Carol’s records more than Amanda’s.

There are some really funny moments in the film. I love when the geeky ghost hunters play on the idea of adding “X” to something to make it sound cooler. As they get their gear ready to hunt the ghost, they add an X to every item, and it’s hilarious. I also love when Adam relates the ghost’s message: “Disco sucks, punk rules.” There is a scene I especially appreciate when Brian is weirded out because Amanda listens to music on her phone. It’s not that he is frightened of technology; it’s that he realizes that is not a good way to listen to music. And he makes a strong case on behalf of albums, using London Calling as an example.

The movie does have some minor problems. There is a twist that you can see coming from very early on, and then when it is revealed, that moment feels very rushed. It’s an important moment for three of the characters, particularly Carol, and she is not really given the chance to react. This, in some ways, really should be her moment, the climactic moment of her character, and instead it passes by too quickly. The idea of evil energy and spirits introduced early in the film doesn’t really pan out, but that’s actually fine, because this turns out to be a rather sweet film. As I said, it has a lot of heart, which I appreciate.

Much of the music of the film is provided by The Raging Spectres, Monkey Stealing Peach and Snake Oil Salesman, all of which are basically the same band, featuring cast member Jack Cramer on guitar. Jack, who is the son of writer/director Mike Cramer, co-wrote some of the music. Mike Cramer also wrote some of the music.

Teenage Ghost Punk is available on Digital HD and Cable VOD, as well as on DVD.