Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 1-JUN-2004
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41536 in DVD
• Brand: DE NIRO,ROBERT
• Released on: 2004-06-01
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 105 minutes

Amazon.com
A fictional dramatization of the anti-Communist witch-hunts that plagued the U.S. during the late 1940s and early '50s, Guilty by Suspicion examines one of the most shameful periods of American history. After producing such prominent films as Rocky and Raging Bull, Irwin Winkler made his directorial debut with this 1991 drama, basing his screenplay on the harsh reality of the blacklisting era. Set during 1951, when the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) held hearings to target alleged Communist affiliations within the Hollywood filmmaking community, the film stars Robert De Niro as a prominent director who is urged to "name names" to appease the committee. Rather than betray one of his closest friends, he refuses to "cooperate" with the committee and is quickly blacklisted, his entire career in jeopardy. Costarring Annette Bening as the director's sympathetic ex-wife, the film doesn't pack the emotional punch of The Front (another blacklisting-era film, starring Woody Allen), but Winkler captures the paranoid anxiety of the period with a wealth of authentic detail. Because the De Niro character underestimates the power of the HUAC, we share his shock and dismay when he must finally face the committee. Without seeming like a dry history lesson, Guilty by Suspicion illuminates the unconstitutional evil of the blacklist era while offering a glimpse behind the scenes of Hollywood's past. Adding to the realism, director Martin Scorsese makes a rare cameo as another filmmaker under fire. Although Winkler's script and direction are perhaps too melodramatic, Guilty by Suspicion was clearly made with noble purpose and intention. For anyone interested in the blacklisting era and Hollywood history, this movie's a must-see. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Underrated
This movie is a saddening look at one of America's darkest times. It has received lots of negative reviews, but don't listen to them. It is the best movie I have seen about the times and it captures the essence of Hollywood during the 1950s when McCarthy and the House Un-American Committee were at the peak of power. Robert De Niro is excellent, as always, as David Merrill, a director with success, fans, and he is living his dream. Then he goes on a vacation, and when he returns, the town is different. The movie opens up with a typical Committee meeting in which David's friend Larry is spooked by the committee. Before long he is burning his books and disowning his wife as a communist. Red Fever has hit town, and David is next in line. Somebody has named him as a Communist sympathyzer, and he refuses to testify to the Committee because he is angry and doesn't want to hurt his friends. Before long he finds he cannot get a job, not directing, producing, or even working in a film repair shop. His life is turned upside down, and he decides finally to testify to the Committee. The acting is what makes this movie, De Niro, but also Annette Bening, George Wendt, Martin Scorsese is great in a cameo. My favorite part is when one cast member is called a commie by the producer for siding with David. "I turned in commies without the government even asking. If you want to call me a commie, you got to back it up." David replies, "If he wants to call you a commie, he doesn't need to back it up." Some people say it is contrived or unbelievable, but the transformation in David, from materialistic director to a man seeing the need to defy the McCarthyists is done well. If you like history, or if you like De Niro, you will enjoy this film.

Very interesting
Tells the story of a dark age in which some Hollywood filmers become prey to a witchhunt. 'If you are suspicious, then you are guilty.' As a non-US person, I was astonished to see the final session (US Senate hearing?), where the judge, jury and the prosecution were all the same; what's more, the manner those judges (?) passed judgement knocked me off. What a fair trial! And it is a true story that happened in the USA!!

A MOVIE THAT PRESENTS THE ANTI-COMMUNISM SUBJECT.
*** 1/2 stars rating for "Guilty By Suspicion". The movie is set in the times when the sole mention of the term "communist" was seen as synonymous of "evil". The film is a critique to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), when it created a Hollywood blacklist, which included Hollywood celebrities considered as communists, banning their works and denying them the opportunity of getting new jobs, until they provided names of more people that "attempted against the American Way Of Life".

Despite the fact that a lot of people mistakenly relates the communism with the word "criminal", actually the communism is another way of life of some countries, mostly Europeans. "Guilty By Suspicion" criticizes the paranoia that a lot of people suffered when they heard the word "communism". The thing is that there were (and there are) some criminal communists, as well as there were (and there are) some criminal German, Americans, Mexicans, English, Asians, etc., in all the world there are criminals. But is ridiculous to judge a whole culture with a different way of life based on a few bad people.

Perhaps "Guilty By Suspicion" is not the best political drama movie, but its message is clear, and also features good performances (the fantastic Robert De Niro and the attractive Annette Bening), interesting situations, and a Martin Scorsese cameo. At the end of the day, "Guilty By Suspicion" is an interesting political drama.