Tanner '88 - Criterion Collection
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Daniel Jenkins, Ilana Levine, Matt Malloy, Michael Murphy, Pamela ReedBrand: Image Entertainment
Producer: Frank Barhydt
Cinematographer: Jean L?pine
Editor: Alison Ellwood
Producer: Garry Trudeau
Producer: Mark Jaffee
Producer: Matthew Seig
Producer: Robert Altman
Producer: Zennia M. Barahona
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 353 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-10-05
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of Tanner '88 - Criterion Collection
Movie Review: Interesting in theory, but not in reality
Summary: 2 Stars
This is a show written by Doonesbury writer Gary Trudeau and directed by filmmaker Robert Altman. That is a pretty good team, isn't it? And the idea is great too: a fictional former congressman running for the Democratic nomination in 1988. Definitely ahead of its time - this is something MTV might have done in 2004.
The problem is, it's not very good. Trudeau's writing is fine - he says writing scenes is a lot like writing daily cartoons, so he's had the practice. It's also pretty well-informed, although the consultants who helped may have more to do with that than Trudeau.
It is very Altmanesque, down to the "cocktail party" dialogue technique, where everybody says their lines amidst chatter from everyone else. I personally can't stand this, since it makes it necessary to turn up the volume like you are deaf in order to hear the funny asides and stuff. But it's Altman, all right.
But the problems are several. First, it's shot on videotape, which looks unbelievably cheap. Think "outtakes" or "audition footage" and you'll maybe get close. Was this necessary? I really doubt it. It is hard to overcome how low-budget it makes this look.
The drama itself isn't much. Some reviewers seem to think this anticipates Clinton's rise, or skewers slickly produced political campaigns. The candidate is a standard liberal, getting arrested protesting and everything, so he's not Clintonesque. And genuine commentary on modern campaigns might be nice; instead we get meaningless platitudes that are instantly forgotten. Much is made of a scene with Bruce Babbitt advising the candidate, but I can't tell you what the heck anyone said because it was pure puffery.
The idea is an interesting one, and when I heard about it, I couldn't wait to see it. There's cameos by political consultants (Shrum, Matthews), politicians (Dole, Robertson, Kitty Dukakis), and others. The episodes sometimes show campaign techniques that are interesting. But not very often, and the drama between staffers and reporters (many of whom are out and out dorks with zero appeal) is very dull. There's also plenty of exaggerated reactions (when one character leaves the room, the camera shows everyone with dropped jaws for about 30 seconds). The whole thing feels like amateur hour. There was one hilarious moment when the candaidate goes to a robotic factory. It was one of the funniest things I'd seen in a while, but it was definitely the exception.
The most interesting thing about this is the time capsule quality of it. It shows what liberals might have wished for back in the late 80s before Willie Horton, etc. The candidate's cabinet proposals include Robert Redford, for example.
But it's not very interesting all by itself, so I can only give it two stars.
Summary of Tanner '88 - Criterion Collection
During the 1988 presidential campaign, Democratic hopefuls spiritedly canvass the country, jostle for their party's nomination and the honor of opposing Republican Vice President George Bush, when Senator Jack Tanner suddenly emerges from the shadows of a lengthy political hiatus to challenge candidates such as Al Gore, Jesse Jackson, Gary Hart, and Michael Dukakis. Filmmaker Robert Altman and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Garry Trudeau created this mock-documentary television miniseries, which brought a fictitious presidential candidate out on the campaign trail and shed a revelatory light on America's political process and landscape. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Tanner '88 in its entirety, from New Hampshire to the convention... and beyond.It still looks like one of the most adventurous projects ever undertaken for television: to concoct a fictional presidential candidate and follow him as he mingles (often improvising) amongst the real-life candidates on the campaign trail. Tanner '88 was the brainchild of director Robert Altman and "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau, who executed this on-the-fly series for HBO during the 1988 primary season. Thus we get "former Michigan congressman" Jack Tanner (Altman regular Michael Murphy) sorting out his messy professional and personal life as he hobnobs with the likes of Bob Dole, Pat Robertson, Kitty Dukakis, and real-life journalists. Some of these meta-fictional encounters are cameos, but some are remarkable full-blown sequences, such as Tanner's heart-to-heart with Bruce Babbitt as they stroll beneath Washington's cherry trees. (But then you always knew politicians were basically actors.) The deft supporting cast includes Pamela Reed and Cynthia Nixon. For fans of satire, Tanner is smart and sometimes mind-bending; for fans of Altman, it's the director at the top of his characteristic game: a multi-layered, many-sided ensemble picture that happens to be all about America. --Robert Horton
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