Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia

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Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia

2014,

1h 29m,

Documentary

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Watchlist

83%

29 Reviews

Tomatometer

84%

500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

29 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Filmmaker Nicholas Wrathall examines the life and career of the late author with numerous TV clips and interviews with Vidal's contemporaries, such as journalist Robert Scheer.

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Jul 7, 2014

[Filmmaker Nicholas D. Wrathall] couldn't have asked for a more striking scene than the one in which the writer shows him the grave he plans to occupy (beside his longtime companion, Howard Austen, who died in 2003).

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Ty Burr

Boston Globe

Jun 26, 2014

3/4

Vidal was our last great Roman senator, mourning the republic as he gazed at a corrupt empire. "Whenever I want to know what the United States is up to," he said, "I look into my own black heart."

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Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

Jun 12, 2014

3/4

We watch before our eyes as Vidal goes from an impossibly handsome young man to a broken-down old one, and age does nothing for his mood.

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David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

Jun 19, 2020

Vidal is America's mid-century gay gadfly, lacing his Ben-Hur script with a queer subplot.

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John Fink

The Film Stage

Jun 6, 2016

C+

Engaging and challenging in moments, it stumbles to the challenge.

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Jul 14, 2015

C-

It seems to exist only because Wrathall had the footage.

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Finn R

Jun 30, 2017

"Here's my prediction: the republican party is as terminated as the whigs were in 1846." Sigh. Watching this in the age of Trump is something else - everything he says about Bush is x20, his prediction of Obama were correct, but the above quote unfortunately was a rare miss. This documentary isn't terribly insightful - quite frankly it's more of a 101, Best of Enemies almost felt more thorough. But it was fun at least. I just like to watch Vidal talk.

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Nicholas D. Wrathall

Director

Gore Vidal

Self

Chris Matthews

Self

Jay Parini

Self

Tim Robbins

Self

Burr Steers

Self

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Nicholas Wrathall examines the life and career of the late author with numerous TV clips and interviews with Vidal's contemporaries, such as journalist Robert Scheer.

Director: Nicholas D. Wrathall
Producer: Theodore James, Burr Steers, Nicholas D. Wrathall
Screenwriter: Nicholas D. Wrathall
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Audax Films, End Cue
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 23, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $127.7K
Runtime: 1h 29m

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