Citizen Cohn

In the 50's, the ambitious and unscrupulous Jewish prosecutor Roy Marcus Cohn (James Woods) convinces Senator Joseph McCarthy (Joe Don Baker) to be his Chief Counselor in his hunting against communists. The arrogant Cohn destroys careers and lives and becomes a Jew hunting Jews and a gay hunting gays. In 1986, he dies of AIDS in a hospital in New York.

"Citizen Cohn" tells the rise and fall of an unscrupulous, arrogant and despicable Roy Marcus Cohn through flashbacks. I saw this film in the early 90's and the performance of James Woods is outstanding. This is the third time that I see this magnificent movie. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Cidadão Cohn" ("Citizen Cohn")

This film is an amazing study in self-loathing. As Cohn himself puts it in the movie, he was "a Jew who persecuted Jews; a gay who persecuted gays." Always trying to prove something to himself or his parents, he recklessly smashed lives and helped create the paranoia of the McCarthy era.

In the midst of the tragedy there are some very funny moments such as when Cohn eats off the plates of everyone he is dining with including Cardinal Spellman of New York. He was indulged and self-indulgent.

There is a Shakespearian quality to some of the scenes in which Cohn speaks to himself or to the ghosts of people he hurt. This is a disturbing look at human ego as well as a bitterly funny movie.

This is a top notch cable film about one of the dark moments in our history and the man who profited from it. There are some exaggerations and innacuracies but the point is made.

Lets hope we learned something from history.

I find this film, tv movie or not, to be absolutely incredible! James woods is great as always, and he gives us a sometimes scary look into the disturbed mind of one of the leaders of the McCarthy era. He's surrounded by an excellent cast, even Joe Don Baker turns out a good performance as the alcoholic McCarthy. A must-see for anyone interested in the early 50's or for those who have read Arthur Miller's "The Crucible".

The film is based on the book by the same name.

This movie has the failing of many 'made for HBO' films, a tendency to distort the truth to hammer home its point. Its portrayal of Cohn's personality is accurate enough, and chilling to watch, and in general, it follows Cohn's life fairly closely. However, it gives Cohn a bit more credit (or blame) than he deserves. It would have you believe that Cohn drove Joe McCarthy to his anti-Communist pogroms, when in fact McCarthy was a very determined and headstrong man, who needed no unknown NY lawyer to make him into a demagogue. It also vastly overstates Cohn's role in the persecution of Congressman Cornelius Gallagher, persecution that was actually driven by J. Edgar Hoover. It also omits the bizarre role of right-wing nut Lyndon LaRouche in destroying Cohn's credibility in the last years of his life. It does stand as a good overview of the general events of Cohn's fascinating, if venal, life. But it also makes him seem far more influential than he really was.