Power

...the doors opened and fresh air rushed in as a weary audience trudged sleepily from the theater to the parking lot.

"Power" is powerful medicine for those unable to get some sleep. Buy this as a CD or VHS and keep it in your bedroom for those nights when you are wide awake.

Those who liked the film did so because they find a political reason for it. It was written in the 1980s and apparently for no particular reason at all other than to make some quick bucks...which it did not.

Reviewers and public held the project in such low esteem that only a few critics and political zealots bother to comment on it.

Power (1986) stars Pete (Richard Gere) , a ruthless media consultant working for politicians , with clients spread around the country . He's an amoral image-maker whose services , packaging politicians for a TV orientated society , guarantee success. Pete used to work for Wilfred Buckley (Gene Hackman) until a professional disagreement led to Pete deciding to start his own consulting business, Wilfred who is now a friendly rival for the same pool of clients . After a close friend (E. G. Marhall) drops out of politics, the political consultant helping to find a replacement finds a web of corruption and deceit as well. That retirement leads to Pete being sought out by political neophyte Jerome Cade (J. T. Walsh) , who is looking to win the vacated seat. More seductive than sex... More addictive than any drug... More precious than gold. And one man can get it for you. For a price. Nothing else comes close. Smart woman , ex wife . You have the ballot. But who has the power?

A tiring often downright embarrassing story of politics and media manipulation marked a real low point in the career of Richard Gere . Fine cast can't find the energy needed to make this great , but it's still interesting . Support cast are pretty good though wasted , including prestigious actors , such as : Gene Hackman, Denzel Washington, E. G. Marshall, Beatrice Straight, Fritz Weaver, Michael Learned, J. T. Walsh and Matt Salinger . In addition , veteran Julie Christie and Kate Capshaw , Spielberg's wife , add love interest but their roles are bland cyphers . All the plot twists are well telegraphed in a storyline that doesn't come anywhere near director Lumet's corrosive exposé of other movies .Lumet did better with same material in Network and other films.

It contains adequate cinematography by Andrzej Bartkowiak and atmospheric musical score by Cy Coleman. The motion picture was middlingly directed by Sidney Lumet and it failed at box-office . After starting an off-Broadway acting troupe in the late 1940s, he became the director of many television shows in the 1950s. Lumet made his feature film Adaptation of directing debut with 12 Angry Men (1957), which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and earned three Academy Award nominations. The courtroom drama, which takes place almost entirely in a jury room, is justly regarded as one of the most auspicious directorial debuts in film history. Lumet got the chance to direct Marlon Brando in The Figitive Kind (1960), an imperfect, but powerful adaptation of Tennessee Williams'. One of the best films was ¨Network¨, giving powerful scenes and providing a lavishly mounted vehicle for three great actors, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and William Holden. .Lumet was one of the best American filmmakers, including important films such as 12 angry men, Fail safe, The pawnbroker, The hill, The deadly affair, The group, The offence, Serpico , Equus, The wiz, Prince of the city , Deathtrap , Daniel, Power, The morning after, Family business, Night falls on Manhattan, Gloria, Before the devil knows you are dead, among others. Rating 4.5/10. Average.

There is a reason this political film flies under the radar; I doubt it's up for rediscovery, either. A power cast and a power director (Sidney Lumet--director of Dog Day Afternoon and Network) should somehow add up to more than this limp media expose, but once in a while a movie is just an entertainment, and with Richard Gere in thoughtful mode (without much of a character or a script), Julie Christie as a concerned ex-spouse, and Denzel Washington cast against type, this is an OK two hours that don't demand much from the viewer, and, while predictable, certainly meant well.

It was the script, Sidney, and someone should have told you. Wag The Dog is the political gem that works; The Candidate or even better, the original Manchurian Candidate with Sinatra are more persuasive--but if you like the stars, this one passes the time pleasantly.

The beginning of Power is complicated, but just keep watching the movie and it'll all become clear to you. Richard Gere stars as a savvy campaign consultant who knows how to win elections. He knows that issues aren't as important as how a voter feels about a candidate, and his track record is so splendid, people across the country vie to hire him during election season. The movie follows him as he works on his main campaigns, but there's another obstacle in the way besides November. One of his clients, E. G. Marshall, has failing health and isn't seeking re-election. His spot is up for grabs, and different people want the power that comes with his Senate seat - even international villains. Also in the supporting cast are Kate Capshaw, Julie Christie, Beatrice Straight (understandable, since Sidney Lumet also made Network), Michael Learned, J. T. Walsh, a young Denzel Washington, and a strangely effeminate Gene Hackman Back in 1986, it was probably a big deal to film a script that exposed the inner workings of a political campaign. But today, it's common knowledge that a campaign manager will tell a candidate to work on his tan rather than his stance on an issue. It just doesn't have the same effect anymore. Or, perhaps, I'm too knowledgeable for my own good. I was a political science major in college, with an emphasis in campaign management, so to me, the lifting of the campaign season's curtain wasn't a revelation. I've been actively involved in politics for the past twenty years, and to be honest, I can't imagine having a non-political brain. Perhaps my impression of this film is correct, or perhaps there are people who will find it surprising. To those folks, go ahead and rent it if you like behind-the-scenes political dramas, to see that subgenre's daddy. But if you're political and looking for a shock, you won't find it here. Check out Our Brand Is Crisis for the equivalent of Power, thirty years later.

Nearly 20 years after its initial release, Sidney Lumet's "Power" is more timely than ever. With the U.S.A. currently under the leadership of an individual who entered the Presidency with no democratic mandate, having lost the general election, who attained office by virtue of a de facto appointment by the United States Supreme Court, and who has since chosen to make the country the aggressor in an internationally condemned war of 'preemption', many Americans are left wondering how such a mental and political lightweight attained the highest office in the land. This film helps make clear the process by which many venal, poorly qualified candidates are able to achieve office in American politics. It portrays the power of the most adept advertising industry in the world as it is used to slickly package a political product for the voting public's consumption, and how foreign economic and political interests can play an important role in the process.

With a sizable cast, it's perhaps not surprising that the quality of the performances varied as widely as they did. Richard Gere does an excellent job as Peter St. John, the packager for candidates running in several different elections through the course of the movie. Denzel Washington displays a reptilian cold-bloodedness as his antagonist, a quality he will bring to full fruition in the later "Training Day" (2001). J.T. Walsh, one of the best at playing villains, is also good in his limited role. Kate Capshaw and E.G. Marshall hold up their parts well, but Julie Christie and especially Gene Hackman are not at their best here. Beatrice Straight received a well-deserved Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress. After her big scene, there wasn't a piece of the set that didn't have her teethmarks all over it.

The cinematography, by Andrzej Bartkowiak, was terrific, and the musical score complemented the film well, particularly the repeated use of Bennie Goodman's "Sing, sing, sing" with its driving drum solo (by Gene Krupa in the original recording, I believe) used to symbolize St. John's ambition.

Two trivia points: The television game show St. John turns on in his hotel room when he discovers his phone has been bugged is, appropriately, "The Price is Right." The rock outcrop scenery for the political commercial supposedly being filmed in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico is actually part of Vasquez Rocks in southern California, a backdrop that has been used in countless movies and television shows.

As political films go, "Power" is much better than average and well worth viewing. Rating: 7/10.