Roger & Me (Rpkg)(DVD)

This is the movie that started my long term respect of Michael Moore. He captured the city of Flint and it's downfall from GM pulling out of Flint and the slide into poverty of many good people. The lady with the rabbits was especially telling about the situation. I take the political views some people have labeled him with and look at his movies as common sense in your face. He certainly has a unique way of showing Americans what's wrong in this country and why. I was especially amazed at watching his movie "who do we invade next" which isn't about war, but about what we should be taking from the successes of other countries' . It's a real eye opener. Especially when they were America's ideas to begin with.I watched this movie when it first came out, often thought about it over the years and have watched it again recently. I would not call it entertainment as much as calling it a movie that invokes a lot of thought.

This flick provides insight as to why Flint, Michigan is the failure it is today. Yes, Michael Moore is a sloppy, overweight, trickster. But, similar to TV detective "Columbo" - he uses that disguise to cause the bad guys to dismiss him, without consideration of his potential skill, at their own peril. You see, in order to catch a bad guy (Corporate America, in this case), you need camouflage. Admit it, everybody takes their foot of the throttle, when they see a cop car with a rack, right? Even if they're not speeding. It's simply human nature. So the best way to hunt the speeders, is with an unmarked car. Wouldn't you agree? In his debut successful film, Michael Moore must resort to concealed 8mm cameras hidden in a briefcase. That's why the look of his films appear "unprofessional". But it is how he catches the "liars" at their game; spitting out 75mph lies in a 25mph zone.

When "Roger & Me" came out in the late eighties, two Chicago film critics, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert of "At the Movies," gave two enthusiastic thumbs up to this documentary and Michael Moore. Twenty five years later, Michael Moore is still at it with his documentaries ranging on issues such as gun control, Iraq war, elections, American health care and more. Michael Moore was born and raised in Flint, Michigan.In the first documentary, you can see how Michael Moore's film style came about with a mixture of popular culture and realism. His documentary about Moore trying to meet and talk with Roger Smith, the head of General Motors, is more like a goose chase around Michigan, Chicago, and New York City. Roger Smith doesn't want to meet and talk with Michael Moore. Moore wants Smith to come to Flint.For most of the documentary, Michael Moore meets the people including an African American sheriff whose job was to evict people from their homes even on Christmas Eve while Roger Smith is celebrating in downtown Detroit. There are plenty of comparisons between the haves and the have-nots. Michael Moore has become a champion of the have-nots with his documentaries.Since "Roger & Me," Michael Moore keeps making films. Twenty five years later, he provides a commentary about his film. I usually don't listen to commentaries since they distract me from viewing them. I hated the scene where a woman skins and kills a rabbit. As a rabbit lover, I just can't watch. It's the once scene where I want to fast forward.

A Michael Moore early documentary about the abrupt downfall of Flint, MI due to GM pulling their plants out and opening plants in Mexico. The whole town went bust, and it is very moving, sad/funny, and enlightening. He interviews the Old Money Women at the golf course, the local celebrities who made good and came back, and does a nice flashback to the 50s and 60s when times were good. He also follows the guy who evicts all kinds of people from their homes. Don't miss the interviews with the rabbit lady!! All while trying to catch up to Roger Smith, the CEO of GM, whose evasiveness makes him seem even more sinister.I don't usually care for Michael Moore movies (hated Canadian Bacon), but this was an early and earnest little film, and I think he did a good job. Forget Moore's way left leaning and Trump-hating for a while, and catch this little gem.

First, to be clear, I do not agree with all of Moore's ideology or political views. I don't always agree with the actions he chooses. I have great respect for how he has pursued his interest in the general welfare of people, especially as they relate to being subjects of a government. I decided to see Moore's films after seeing him speak at his Broadway show. This is not a 5star film - my 5 stars are because I can't believe he has persisted all these years. It's a 3 star film, perhaps.

I was never able to view Roger and Me--the ONLY documentary Michael Moore made I had not seen. I put it on to play and he would not play. I changed it around and did that many times and no difference. A sign came on saying something about it was unable to play. I ordered used so just threw it away. I KNOW it would have received the highest rating but to date I still have not seen it. I should have returned it but didn't know then it was easy to do. Now I know how it is done. Sorry.

Having read most of the output from the Michael Moore production line, I came to viewing "Roger and Me" with a working knowledge of why and how Moore actually works. This film filled-in some of the gaps as it gave me a further insight as to why Michael Moore does what he does - and why he does it so well!This was the first of Moore's productions, a ground-breaking and triumphant entry into the independent, social commentary, documentary genre - a penetrating and humorous film that catalogues the difficulties of trying to reach "the man at the top". In this case that man was Roger Smith, at that time the Chairman of General Motors. His purpose in doing so was to try to engage Roger Smith in conversation and get Smith to visit Moore's home town of Flint, in the mid-west industrial state of Michigan - a town undergoing post-industrial trauma.For Michael Moore, Smith and General Motors represents some of the worst excesses of the economic system of Capitalism - profit over people, the powerlessness of industrial workers, lack of concern for future investment, re-location of industries that are of vital concern to the economic and social interests of working-class people.. In this enterprise Moore is intrepid, but his success remains an open question for the interpretation of the viewer.The film also shows how the mistreated people of Flint, Michigan, cope with the set-back of the closure of the GM plant in their town. In so doing it show how human beings can be resilient in the face of adversity. On the other side, it reveals the smugness, arrogance and lack of appreciation for the lives of ordinary people that big business, whose primary concern is financial, can and often shows.This is a film that should be watched at the beginning of a viewer's interest in and following of the work of Michael Moore. It sets the context for Moore's documentaries and starts at the place where any social commentary should start - the interface between the haves and the have-nots, the inequalities of a post-industrial society. Moore treats the subject with hilarity as he slyly lampoons corporate America, including the role played by the those at the top of corporate tree.Watch it and learn!

Yes , I am a liberal conservative and despite Moore benefiting , massively financially from attacking the capitalist or more relevant for today , corporatism , he raises good points . I think it is wrong for companies making profits to lay off workers to boost the value of company stocks at the benefit of the few at the expense of the many .I think its wrong for companies to ship jobs overseas to increase profits . It has Also resulted in an emboldened super wealthy , dangerous power like China to rise out of the ashes .This doc is well made and I agree with some of the dangers of capitalism when profits are made , but jobs cut .

The least best Michael Moore documentary. I am a fan of his work and have several in my collection. I found it very slow and I simply lost interest.

I have been trying to get this movie for some time and was horrified at the price of brand new...£45..wow. I managed to get this used and it was great value. Good movie too.

Great!