Plot: What’s it about?
If you’re the kind of person who hates the corporate landscape, eats only organic foods, and wonders why anyone values money, then The Corporation is your picture. I am not someone who is endeared to the huge companies of the world, but I do see both sides of the coin, the good and bad in these corporations. That is not something you will find in this movie, which instead paints the corporate world as bloodthirsty, ruthless, and never, ever concerned with anything aside from profits. A number of companies are singled out, such as dairy farms where cows have sore udders, all in the name of growing our own food. I can understand why folks dislike corporations to an extent, but the people who made this movie refuse to turn from the negatives. In other words, this is not really a documentary, as it does not allow us to draw our own conclusions. Instead, the filmmakers want to decide for us, by not letting us see both sides of the issue. The film might some decent points, with without counterpoints, all is lost with this lackluster production.
I have to be honest, this release seems as needed to me as an air strike in my backyard, so without question, I am not the target audience for The Corporation. I mean, a bunch of people talking just to hear themselves speak, focused on a subject that of little interest to most folks. Yes, corporations are part of our lives, but that doesn’t mean we need an over two hour documentary on the subject. In the wake of Michael Moore’s rise to fame, a lot of folks have decided to pick up cameras and take on Corporate America, even if they have no good reason to do so. So in The Corporation, an assortment of talking heads, including liberal icons Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky, all sound off on the nature of the beast. Never entertaining, just bland and worthless, this is easily one of the worst documentaries I have ever seen. I’ve seen some documentaries on subjects I wasn’t interested in, but the material was presented in a way that made me want to watch. This is just talking for the sake of speech, put together by a crew with minimal talent. Zeitgeist has aced the treatment however, so if you need some help getting to sleep, give The Corporation a spin.
Video: How does it look?
The Corporation is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is a “documentary,” so the level of polish doesn’t need to be as high. This is a collection of interviews and raw footage, so don’t expect refinement, but this looks better than expected. Some of the clips look better than others, at least in terms of basic visuals, but none of the footage looks bad. The interviews have a focused, well presented look, as they should, while the raw footage is well, raw. The anamorphic enhancement does up the sharpness a notch, so at least Zeitgeist did the best work possible here.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio is solid, but you shouldn’t expect much, as this isn’t dynamic in terms of audio presentation. Most of the elements come from live situations, such as public appearances, interviews, and on location footage. In other words, the audio has a live, at the moment sound, which is good in some ways, but bad in others. The bad is that dialogue is inconsistent at times in some scenes, but in this case, that helps maintain the documentary feel. I wasn’t let down by the soundtrack on this piece, even with some minor softness at times. When you need to hear the speakers you can, you just might have to strain a little at times. This release also includes subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This release is loaded with supplements, including a host of interview segments with the filmmakers. These clips come from all kinds of sources, from radio to television to live appearances, so a wealth of questions from a diverse audience is present. A number of the clips even come from high profile programs, so there is a welcome assortment of material there. A pair of audio commentaries can be chosen, but in truth, I found them to be rather lame in this case. An interview would have sufficed, as the material in this case should speak for itself. You can also check out over five hours of additional interviews, so if you didn’t get your fill of propaganda in the movie itself, then you’ll be set after all this material. The last of the extras include some deleted scenes, a look at the marketing of the film, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
