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Reviews
The Brotherhood of the Bell (1970)
One of the best made-for-TV movies.
The Brotherhood of the Bell is a very good movie by any standard, and is one of the best made-for TV movies I've ever seen. The premise is that there exists an elite fraternity whose members occupy positions of power throughout industry, academia, and virtually all levels of government. Glenn Ford plays a member of the fraternity who, in carrying out an assignment, discovers how insidious its actions can be. As a consequence, he tries to reveal it to the public. He quickly discovers just how powerful the Brotherhood is when he loses his job, his wife, and his reputation for attempting to expose it. I realize that this movie is fictional, but I must admit that it has caused me to suspect that their really is an elite oligarchy in this country which does indeed have enormous power. I wish this movie would be made available on video cassette or DVD. It should not be forgotten.
The Replacements (2000)
A fun movie, but not as good as the team it's based on.
I enjoyed The Replacements. It's pretty silly but still a lot of fun. Gene Hackman, as the coach, is good -- as he always is. Keanu Reeves is just right as the replacement quarterback, and Brooke Langton is terrific as the beautiful, sexy-but-wholesome head cheerleader. The fact that she and Reeves' character fall in love is predictable but nice.
I would like to note, however, that this movie is very-loosely based on a real replacement team that played for the Washington Redskins during an NFL players' strike. Despite the fact that the real Redskins were the only NFL team that did not have a single player who crossed the picket line during the strike, their replacements won all three of their games and helped the Redskins make the playoffs where they ultimately won the Superbowl. The Redskins' replacements finest game was their last one -- an improbable victory over a Dallas Cowboys team many of whose regular players had crossed the picket line.
So enjoy The Replacements as a comedy, but please don't forget what the Redskins' replacements actually accomplished in real life.