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John Pligo, John Pilger

The groundbreaking leftwing journalists-cum-filmmakers Chris Martin and John Pilger helm the muckraking social activist documentary The War on Democracy - an unflinching dissection and evisceration of... read more read more... U.S. policies in Latin America during the second half of the 20th century. Beginning with interviewee Hugo Chávez's U.S.-suppressed attempts at Venezuelan social reform, and moving forward to such events as the 1954 CIA-backed overthrow of Jacobo Guzman in Guatemala and the U.S. government's decision to support the death squads in El Salvador during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Pilger and Martin hauntingly demonstrate the United States' aggressive attempts to thwart and squelch democratic movements in the Third World. Additional interviewees include: U.S. congressman José Serrano, former U.S. ambassador to Chilé Nathaniel Davis and historian Greg Grandin, among others. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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87% liked it

2,299 ratings

Critics

77% liked it

13 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: John Pilger

Release Date: June 15, 2007

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Flixster Reviews (274)

  • panta2
    April 7, 2011
    panta2
    Amazing documentary about the truth about the one of the most controversial figures in the modern history - Hugo Chavez, and the role of the US government in killing the real democracy in Venezuela!

    Someone wrote about the movie:

    "You poor poor sheep! you sleep sleep sleep... read more!

    Why wont you wake, the world is waiting for you, your mothers raped and murdered, your little sisters raped and murdered, your fathers raped and murdered, you sons, uncles, the world is raped and murdered.

    But the coke is sweet and pizza is good; the porn is hard and the music rocks..."

    This documentary hits you hard with the truth about the role of the "democratic" forces in destroying the real forces chosen by the democratic governments! There is no rules... everything is in play, destroying dreams through economical measures, napalm bombing of innocent countries, snipers, death squads... name it, they used it! Actually, they still use it!

    John Pilger YOU did a great job... I salute you!

View All The War on Democracy Reviews

Critic Reviews

Sara Maria Vizcarrondo
May 2, 2008
Sara Maria Vizcarrondo, Boxoffice Magazine

While this diligently researched film cogently moves from Latin American nation to Latin American nation, explaining the strangely predictable cycle of uprisings among these countries, it's ultimately... Full Review

Urban Cinefile Critics
September 7, 2007
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile

Yet with all its flaws and its righteous tone (thanks to Pilger's pervasive narration and on-camera presence), the film tackles the Achilles Heel of American politics: its historically abysmal foreign... Full Review

Peter Bradshaw
July 9, 2007
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

John Pilger's angry story of how a rapacious US covertly brutalised its Latin American neighbours should be a compelling documentary. And so it often is, despite being marred by a dewy-eyed interview ... Full Review

Matthew Turner
June 15, 2007
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

In short, Grow Your Own isn't quite as funny, as clever or as moving as it should have been but it remains watchable thanks to its likeable characters and performances. Full Review

June 15, 2007
This is London

But it is all very watchable, even though we have been through most of it before Full Review

Jamie Russell
June 15, 2007
Jamie Russell, Total Film

Pilger's not exactly unbiased, while belligerent talking-head interviews sometimes feel like Jeremy Paxman with 'roid rage. Yet, faced with the contempt of American policymakers, it's hard not to symp... Full Review

Anthony Quinn
June 15, 2007
Anthony Quinn, Independent

Pilger's portentous voiceover and intrusions into shot bespeak an excruciating vanity Full Review

David Edwards
June 15, 2007
David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]

GEORGE BUSH loves to lecture us about how his war on terror is all about preserving freedom and spreading democracy. What he doesn't tell us is how for the past 50 years, the US has covertly tried to ... Full Review

Kevin Maher
June 15, 2007
Kevin Maher, Times [UK]

The show is ultimately ruined by its ophidian writer/presenter Pilger, who is something of an acquired taste Full Review

Jamie Russell
June 15, 2007
Jamie Russell, Film4

A forceful if occasionally partisan documentary. Pilger's interviews are deeply revealing and his sly intelligence punctures many myths about America's support of democracy. Full Review

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