The War Room

The War Room

Directed by Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker • 1993 • United States

The 1992 presidential election was a triumph not only for Bill Clinton but also for the new breed of strategists who guided him to the White House—and changed the face of politics in the process. For this thrilling, behind-closed-doors account of that campaign, renowned cinema verité filmmakers Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker captured the brainstorming and bull sessions of Clinton’s crack team of consultants—especially James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, who became media stars in their own right as they injected a savvy, youthful spirit and spontaneity into the process of campaigning. Fleet-footed and entertaining, THE WAR ROOM is a vivid document of a political moment whose truths (“It’s the economy, stupid!”) still ring in our ears.

The War Room
  • The War Room

    Directed by Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker • 1993 • United States

    The 1992 presidential election was a triumph not only for Bill Clinton but also for the new breed of strategists who guided him to the White House—and changed the face of politics in the process. For this thrilling, behind-clo...

Extras

  • William J. Clinton Foundation Panel, 2011

    In 2011, the William J. Clinton Foundation hosted a discussion in Arkansas to mark the twentieth anniversary of Clinton’s candidacy for president. In the following excerpts from that event, veterans of the campaign discuss the trials of New Hampshire, and an unexpected audience member—President C...

  • Return of the War Room

    In Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker’s 2008 follow-up feature to THE WAR ROOM, advisers James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, and Mary Matalin, among others, reflect on the revolutionary 1992 campaign. In addition, Mark McKinnon and Frank Luntz, members of the new generation of campaign operati...

  • Making THE WAR ROOM

    In this interview, shot in 2011, THE WAR ROOM directors Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker and producers R. J. Cutler and Wendy Ettinger discuss the process of gaining access to, and then filming, a presidential campaign.

  • Frazer Pennebaker on THE WAR ROOM

    In this interview, shot in 2011, THE WAR ROOM producer Frazer Pennebaker discusses the process of gaining access to, and then filming, a presidential campaign.

  • Nick Doob on THE WAR ROOM

    In this interview, shot in 2011, THE WAR ROOM camera operator Nick Doob discusses the process of gaining access to, and then filming, a presidential campaign.

  • THE WAR ROOM: Stanley Greenberg

    Polling is the necessary but misunderstood dark art at the center of modern political campaigns. In this interview, shot in November 2011, Stanley Greenberg, pollster for the 1992 Clinton campaign, among many others, discusses the nuances of the job.