Reviews

This was an eye-opener for me. I just read Noam Chomsky's book about September 11th (called "9-11") and I was really interested in learning more. I saw this film on TV and I was amazed at the man's ability to recall facts and figures from articles, interviews, etc. He really is one of the smartest speakers in the world today. His wife, Carol actually steals the show as she explains what it's like to live with such a mind. Interesting tidbits from Carol was that Noam reads 6 newspapers a day and over 80 journals every year. The fact that he's really into his grandchildren and to meeting with students and talking about the issues made me see him more as a grandfather than a radical intellectual. The reflections and insights from others in the film are equally revealing. It becomes clear that Chomsky has influenced successive generations of people and still exerts enormous influence in the world today. There is so much interesting bits from Chomsky on so many issues I am hoping to either see it on TV again or in the theatres or on video so I can pay more attention to what he's talking about. Try and get it at your local video store that specializes in non-Hollywood blockbuster films and prepare to be challenged by Chomsky and his ideas.

I got into Chomsky in a big way in the past year, with his 9-11 book and then reading his older stuff. I saw a documentary on TV in Canada called "Noam Chomsky: Rebel Without A Pause" which I thoroughly enjoyed. So when I saw this film advertised in Vancouver I went to check it out when I was there and was thoroughly disappointed. For a film that is playing in the theatres, this seemed sloppy and poorly done. Its Chomsky giving a lecture for a while, Chomsky in an interview, and Chomsky giving another lecture. Meanwhile there is some Japanese pop music which makes no sense at all and seems to come from nowhere. Chomsky really just talks about September 11th and that the US did things elsewhere and before that lead to this horrible event. "Rebel Without A Pause" is a much better and more in-depth look at Chomsky's views (including Iraq which "Power and Terror" doesn't mention). "Rebel Without A Pause" also looks at Chomsky the man as seen through his wife Carol Chomsky who also manages him

(which she tells in a great story as to how that little relationship came about) and through the eyes of other people who know him. "Power and Terror" just seems like a lazy attempt to cash in on Chomsky's new celebrity in a post-September 11th world. Skip this film and try and get "Noam Chomsky: Rebel Without A Pause" if you want to learn a lot about several relevant topics and more about Chomsky as a person.