- An Unreasonable Man
Infobox Film
name = An Unreasonable Man
image_size = 200px
caption = Promotional movie poster for the film
director =Henriette Mantel Steve Skrovan
producer = Kevin O'Donnell
writer =
narrator =
starring =Ralph Nader Pat Buchanan Phil Donahue William Greider Eric Alterman James Ridgeway
music =
cinematography = Mark Raker
editing = Beth Gallagher
Alexis Provost
distributor =IFC Films
released = flagicon|USJanuary 24 ,2006 (Sundance Film Festival )January 31 ,2007 (limited)
runtime = 122 min.
country = U.S.A.
language = English
budget =
website = http://anunreasonableman.com/
amg_id = 1:339975
imdb_id = 0492499"An Unreasonable Man" is a 2007
documentary film that traces the life and career of political activistRalph Nader , the founder of modernconsumer protection . The film examines Nader's advocacy forauto safety features, such as federally mandatedseat belts andair bags , as well as his rise to national prominence following aninvasion of privacy lawsuit againstGeneral Motors . It also examines the formation of independent advocacy groups (termed "Nader's Raiders ") during the 1970s; organizations which carried out independent research on various federal agencies, such as theFederal Trade Commission and theFood and Drug Administration . Over the next thirty years, the film argues, Nader "built a legislative record that would be the envy of any modern president."The second half of the film traces Nader's shift to a grassroots form of organizing focused on citizen power, including his eventual disillusionment with the
two-party system following the rise ofReaganism . In assessing Nader's effect as a third party candidate, the film examines censorship in the presidential debates as well as Nader's disputed role as a "spoiler" in the2000 presidential election .The film makes use of interviews with current and former members of Nader's Raiders, including
Joan Claybrook andRobert Fellmeth , as well as politicians and political analysts such asPhil Donahue ,Pat Buchanan , andEric Alterman . It takes its name from theGeorge Bernard Shaw quote, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."Response
The documentary has an aggregate of 92% (54/59) on
Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 75% onMetacritic . [Rotten Tomatoes page on An Unreasonable Man [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/unreasonable_man/] ] [Metacritic page on An Unreasonable Man [http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/unreasonableman?q=an%20unreasonable%20man] ]Festival screenings
* [http://www.meafordinternationalfilmfestival.com/ Meaford International Film Festival 2007]
Notes
External links
* [http://anunreasonableman.com/ An Unreasonable Man Official Movie Website]
* [http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/unreasonableman/ AN UNREASONABLE MAN] site forIndependent Lens onPBS
*imdb title|0492499
*rotten-tomatoes|id=an_unreasonable_man|title=An Unreasonable Man
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ycR36N68R8 An Unreasonable Man Trailer (YouTube)]
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