Blu-ray/DVDebut: THE UNKNOWN KNOWN--Errol Morris tackles smiling cretin, Donald Rumsfeld

On the basis of his work history, his thousands of memos and now this "interview" film, Donald Rumsfeld would appear to be a man given over completely to verbiage and wordplay with barely a thought to spare for any content involved. That he and the entire George W. Bush regime remain still not prosecuted as war criminals is the shame of the western world (but, hell, there's so much shame on so many subjects, what's a little extra now and then?). Folk did not flock to theaters when THE UNKNOWN KNOWN, the new documentary from one of the leading lights in the field, Errol Morris (shown below), arrived earlier this year, and that should be no surprise.

A majority of America-the-beautiful has generally refused to admit or even seem to care that its leaders lied and led us into a useless war that is even now -- check out today's headlines, people -- coming back to bite us in the ass and decimate even more of the Iraqi populace. (Crap dictator Saddam Hussein must be laughing in his grave.) If you've ever asked yourself, who were these men (and one sleazy woman) who led us into our worst misadventure to date, helping to destabilize the entire mid-eastern realm, a partial answer is now yours for the watching, as Mr. Morris lets Mr. Rumsfeld ramble on, finally showing himself up for the pompous, self-satisfied, two-faced twat that he is. Oh, the man has some intelligence, all right. But how he has put it to use! Here, he almost always seems to be bearing that shit-eating grin, shown on poster, top, and below. Golly: This man is just so pleased with himself.

Rumsfeld manages to contradict himself enough times during this documentary that you'd think he'd be ashamed. But no: He goes right on smiling and blathering. Our favorite moment comes when he assures us of one fact about the U.S. government: "We don't assassinate." What about Dora Farms, asks Morris? And Rummy then explains this obvious assassination attempt as though it somehow wasn't one.

What I did not expect that the documentary offers is quite a bit of interesting history regarding Rumsfeld's time in the Nixon and Ford administrations (hearing what Nixon and his men have to say about our Donald brings up the old saw about honor among thieves). And even back then, our guy had that super pro-military stance that demanded more, more more! Eisenhower would have puked.

Morris has assembled a lot of footage that spans the 1970s until post-9/11, and through it all, Rumsfeld rarely denies anything (except assassinations) but he "talks around" just about everything. At one point, he even gloats to Morris, "That's a little bit different cast I've just put on that. Chalk one up for me!" And when we watch him in action during those Iraq War press conferences, you'll wonder how the man avoided getting numerous "fat lips" from the press corp, so blatantly self-satisfied and self-serving was he at nearly every appearance.

Some of his golden moments are included here. Re the famously missing Weapons of Mass Destruction: "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." And he tells us of his sending his President a letter of resignation (twice), which was not accepted. Perhaps the most truthful thing to come out of his mouth follows closely behind:  Had the resignation been accepted, "It would have been better for everyone involved." (But you just know he doesn't believe this for one minute.)

We learn, though not from Donald, how our torture techniques migrated from Guantanamo to Iraq. Initially he contradicts this finding, but then agrees with it. While most of Morris' questions are quietly on the mark, a couple of them we could have done without: "Do you control history, or does history control you?" he asks at one point.

Finally, it is only words that seem important to Mr. Rumsfeld. (Hence those many memos he kept sending.) Actions, it seems, count for little to nothing and can be made into something they are not by the proper use of verbiage  The final question -- and its answer -- will just add to your already simmering suspicions.

The Unknown Known -- distributed theatrically via Radius/TWC and on video via Anchor Bay Entertainment and running 103 minutes -- arrives on DVD and Blu-ray this Tuesday, July 1, for purchase or rental via the usual suspects.

TABLOID opens in theaters, as Errol Morris discovers perhaps his juiciest subject. Yum.

How much fun is TABLOID, the new film from famed documentarian Errol Morris? A better question might be, How much fun can you stand in a single 87-minute movie before your gut bursts? Here is hilarity like few other films, and certainly fewer documentaries, ever give us -- from big belly laughs to a near-constant smile/giggle. This is due, of course, to the woman at the center of the show,  Joyce Bernann McKinney, who began her big career as Miss Wyoming and ended it as... Well, you'll see. (She's still with us, actually, so that career can yet take who knows how many more twists?!).

Tabloid should burnish Mr Morris' image (shown at left) about as much as it alternately shines and then dirties up Ms. McKinney's. And it's not really the filmmaker who's doing the dirtying. He simply lets McKinney (shown above and below) babble on -- and on -- accompanied by various visuals that may now and again take your breath away. The filmmaker does not need any staged re-enactments here, as he's used in some other of his past work. No. McKinney -- and the tabloids of the title -- supply him with more than is necessary to tell a story that, were it shown in any narrative film, might be laughed off the screen in a very different way from the laughter Tabloid induces. How unbelievable, we would declare, with a tsk, tsk. Here, we're laughing our heads off in amusement, charm. shock and delightful surprise. And then repeating it all over again, as things just grow more bizarre.

If you've reached a certain age, you may actually recall, at least fitfully or fleetingly, the Morman-sex-in-chains case that rocked England and much of the western world back in 1977. (If you don't know it, the movie should prove even more fun.) This involved a young Mormon missionary -- shades of a new Broadway musical! -- named Kirk Anderson, his "fiancee" Ms McKinney (as "sweater girl," above, and sweater-less, below), and her BFF, Keith May.

What happened in England and the media coverage (above) and judicial proceedings that followed are said to have "cheered Britain up no end." They're sure to cheer you up, too. As will McKinney' later story, which involves the likes of dog cloning (below), and about which you may have a bit more recognition -- if only because these events are a good deal more current.

As the many bizarrosities pile up, Morris never ques-tions any-thing, though it does becomes clear that McKinney is or was (or maybe always is) fabrica-ting.  Or not. Whatever, she does it all with such absolute surety and even a kind of perverse grace that we find ourselves lost in her charms, if not her arms (though we might have liked to be, back then) and even, sort of, believing her story. Well, part of it, and now and again, at least.

 
Tabloid is Mr Morris at the height of his powers. (I find him more successful in his lighter films than in his darker and would-be probing ones such as The Fog of War or Standard Operating Procedure.)  If you are not smiling ear to ear by the time the end credits roll, and rising from your theater seat with a feeling of enormous satisfaction, I shall be very surprised. The film, via Sundance Selects, opens this Friday in New York City at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and the IFC Center.  And elsewhere around the country, I am sure (though I do wish that Sundance Selects/IFC made it easier, via their website, to learn the playdates, cities and theaters of their films).

DOC NYC Fest opens in the Village, with smashing new films led by Morris' latest

Beginning this Wednesday and continuing for one week is the inaugural edition of DOC NYC, the new documentary festival that takes place Nov. 3-9 at IFC Center and at NYU’s Skirball Center and Kimmel Center. The festival includes over 40 films and events, including gala screenings, world and U.S. premieres of new documentaries, tributes, panel discussions and more.

Some of these films will be screened in 3-D (unusual for the documentary genre), including the new Herzog, and there'll also be a Bruce Springsteen world-premier. Look for new films, as well as classics, an Errol Morris mini-retrospective, plus an appearancce by Morris himself and the screening of his latest (and, for my money, one of his best in a pile of good ones): TABLOID. This gem of exploration is as hilarious as anything Morris has made since Gates of Heaven, yet it never trashes its very complicated, sad subject and instead leaves you in her bizarre thrall -- wondering, as ever, what in the world might be the "truth." I'll have more to say about Tabloid when it opens commercially. And soon, I hope.

The DOC NYC organizers (click and scroll down) include Raphaela Neihausen, Executive Director; Thom Powers, Artistic Director; plus IFC Center's John Vanco and Harris Dew. The festival's mission: to guide audiences toward inspiring work, while gathering documentary practitioners from many fields and across the generations.  The festival also intends to cultivate new audiences and help expand the distribution of documentaries. All of this is wrapped around the creation of  new social spaces in the area of NYC's Washington Square Park -- fostering fresh connections between residents, while exposing visitors to the kind of opportunities that seem to happen only in New York.

OK: that's a big undertaking. TrustMovies would be happy to see even half of that agenda occur. Meanwhile, you can check out the entire DOC NYC fest here.  Specifically, click here for the roster of films, here for the festival's sponsors, here for the daily schedule, and here to buy tickers.