Ask the typical baby-boomer what he or she considers the archtypical "60's movie," and you are likely to get a response such as The Graduate or Woodstock. While these are undoubtedly movies straight from the time capsule, they hold their position in the memories of the times primarily due to their music, and because their carefully-edited romanticism meshes well with the nostalgiac view of the 1960s as a time of Peace, Love, and Understanding. In a true cinematic sense, however, they do little to help younger viewers achieve a sense of what it was truly like to live in America in the post-Sgt. Pepper 1960s (in the way, say, that Platoon and the first act of Saving Private Ryan act to bring the viewer into the moment).

Haskell Wexler, a noted leftist cinematographer, took over writing and directing duties as well on 1968's Medium Cool, a cinema-verite-like film that blurs the line between drama and documentary (the title is a pun on Marshall McLuhan's description of TV as a "cool medium"). Nominally basing the script on the novel "The Concrete Wilderness" by Jack Couffer, Wexler took his cast and crew to film the story on the streets of Chicago during the tumultuous 1968 Democratic Convention, bending the story and allowing his cast to improvise as the historic real-life events unfolded around him. Typically, it would seem, Wexler would keep an ear to the police scanner, then race to the location with his cast and crew; there is an undercurrent of fear throughout that is generated as you realize the peril that Wexler, his actors and actresses -- not their characters -- are in. As the real-life demonstrators (along with his cast) and the police clash in the last scene of Chapter 16, one of the police lets loose some tear gas directly in front of the camera (operated by Wexler), and a voice is heard on the soundtrack: "Look out, Haskell, it's real!"

The film was originally rated "X," then lowered to an "R." The original rating was apparently based on a nude bedroom romp by two of the leads (filmed by a handheld camera), and for the language that is heard throughout. Why this footage rated an "X" is questionable, however, and considering the events that were filmed one can't help but wonder about whether political pressures were behind the action. Remember -- "The whole world is watching."

Film Synopsis: Robert Foster stars as atelevision news cameraman in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Convention. The film stands as a riveting mix of fiction and documentary, as the actors and actresses perform amid the actual events, filmed live. It's Zelig, without the camera trickery.

Technical

Video:	Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic)
Audio:	ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Mono [CC]
Subtitles:	English, Closed Captions
Chapters:	19

Presented in an anamorphic 1.78:1 that precisely fills a 16:9 screen without further letterboxing, the pressing reveals the source film's limitations; the physical requirements of the story required the use of a 16mm handheld camera, and grain is present throughout (especially during scenes taking place inside the convention, where the inherent low light forced Wexler to push the film during development). Colors are nowhere near Technicolor saturation, but are right for the film; the lower saturation and higher contrast inherent with the source film look far more realistic -- and, after all, this was real. The frequent use of handheld may be somewhat off-putting by those who expect Steadicam-heavy films, but it is not as distracting (or motion-sickness-inducing) as in, say, The Blair Witch.

The audio is monophonic (again, in keeping with the source), but very clear; we were surprised at how discernable the ambient voices were during the crowd and riot scenes. The fact that the lack of multitrack sound keeps all voices front-and-center keeps the film from breaking out of the frame of the TV, actually enhancing the reality of what's being shown.

Supplements

• Audio Commentary by Haskell Wexler (Director/Writer/Cinematographer), Paul Golding (Editorial consultant) and Marianna Hill (Actress)
• Theatrical Trailer (3:30)