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{{for|the 2022 documentary with the same name|Unprecedented (miniseries)}}
{{Infobox Film
{{Infobox film
| name = Unprecedented:<br>The 2000 Presidential Election
| name = Unprecedented:<br>The 2000 Presidential Election
| image = Unprecedented- The 2000 Presidential Election poster.jpg
| image = Unprecedented- The 2000 Presidential Election poster.jpg
| caption =
| caption =
| director = [[Richard Ray Pérez]]<br>[[Joan Sekler]]
| director = [[Richard Ray Pérez]]<br>Joan Sekler
| producer = Richard Ray Pérez<br>Joan Sekler<br>[[Robert Greenwald]] (Executive Producer)<br>Earl Katz (Executive Producer)
| producer = Richard Ray Pérez<br>Joan Sekler
| writer = [[William Haugse]]<br>Richard Ray Pérez<br>Joan Sekler
| writer = William Haugse<br>Richard Ray Pérez<br>Joan Sekler
| starring = [[Danny Glover]] <small>(2004)</small>
| starring = [[Danny Glover]] <small>(2004)</small>
| narrator =[[Peter Coyote]]
| narrator =[[Peter Coyote]]
Line 12: Line 13:
| editing = William Haugse<br>Matthew Martin
| editing = William Haugse<br>Matthew Martin
| distributor = [[Shout! Factory]]
| distributor = [[Shout! Factory]]
| released = September 17, 2002 (U.S. premiere)
| released = {{Film date|2002|09|17|U.S. premiere}}
| runtime = 47 min. <small>(2002)</small><br>57 min. <small>(2004)</small>
| runtime = 47 min. <small>(2002)</small><br>57 min. <small>(2004)</small>
| language = English
| language = English
| budget =
| budget =
}}
}}
'''''Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election''''' is a 2002 47-minute documentary made by [[Richard Ray Pérez]] and [[Joan Sekler]] and narrated by [[Peter Coyote]] about the contested [[U.S. presidential election, 2000|2000 presidential election]] in Florida. It was re-released two years later in an extended 57-minute ''2004 Campaign Edition'' presented by [[Danny Glover]] to tie in with the [[U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004 US Presidential Election]].
'''''Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election''''' is a 2002 47-minute documentary directed and co-written by [[Richard Ray Pérez]] and Joan Sekler,<ref name=variety>{{cite web | last= Klein| first= Andy| title=Review:'Unprecedented the 2000 Presidential Election' | publisher= Unprecedented | date= November 24, 2002 | url= https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/unprecedented-the-2000-presidential-election-1200544683/ }}</ref> and narrated by [[Peter Coyote]],<ref name=chicago>{{cite web | last= Rosenbaum | first= Jonothan | title=Unpredented: The 2000 Presidential Election | date= 21 November 2003 | publisher= The Chicago Reader | url= http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/unprecedented-the-2000-presidential-election/Film?oid=1062179}}</ref> about the contested [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 presidential election]] in Florida.<ref name=laramie>{{cite web | last= Roten | first= Robert | title= Laramie Movie Review: Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election | publisher= Laramie Movie Review | date= October 27, 2004 | url=http://www.lariat.org/atthemovies/new/flavote.html }}</ref>


It was re-released in an extended 56-minute<ref name=billsmedia>{{cite web | title= Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election: Another Civics Lesson from Greenwald; Did the US Experience a Coup? | publisher= Bills Media Reviews | date= February 11, 2014| url= http://billsmediareviews.com/?p=134}}</ref> ''2004 Campaign Edition'' presented by [[Danny Glover]] to tie in with the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 US presidential election]].<ref name=rhetoric>{{cite book | last1 = Benson | first1= Thomas | last2= Snee | first2= Brian | title= The Rhetoric of the New Political Documentary | publisher= Southern Illinois University | date= 2008 }}</ref>
==Plot==
The film chronicles the [[U.S. presidential election, 2000|2000 US Presidential Election]] aftermath, centering on the contested ballots of the state of Florida. Many [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] and leftist supporters, campaign workers, and citizens were interviewed regarding the possible exclusion of many valid ballots. According to the film, Secretary of the State of Florida [[Katherine Harris]] and her associates used a wide ranging data collection system to prevent ineligible voters (such as [[convict|ex-con]]s) from casting a ballot; the controversy stems from the claims that the data system excluded many people who were eligible to vote. The film offers evidence that many people who share a name and nothing else with an ex-con in a state were denied their right to vote. The cases of mistaken identity were not discovered until citizens reached the polls, when it was too late to prove their identity and correct the mistake.


A Public Interest Pictures Film, it was co-executive produced by [[Robert Greenwald]] and Earl Katz.<ref name=variety/> Greenwald later made this the first of his "Un-Trilogy", which also includes ''[[Uncovered: The War on Iraq]]'' and ''[[Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties]]''.<ref name=commondreams>{{cite web | last= Nichols | first=John | title= Filmmaker Takes Fox News to Task| publisher= Capital Times| date= September 16, 2004 | url= http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0916-02.html }}</ref>
The film then attempts to draw connections among Governor [[Jeb Bush]], [[Katherine Harris]], and the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] (both national and state parties), to make the case that they conspired ahead of the election to deny African Americans their right to vote, by exploiting the flawed data system that excludes ex-cons and ineligible voters. Reasoning that African Americans typically vote heavily in favor of Democratic candidates, the Republicans worked to exclude these votes to capture the state's electoral votes, the film argues. Another area of contention brought up by the film is that recounts were only taken in certain counties, not statewide; again, this is suggested to be a Republican tactic due to the evidence presented by the film which claims that the recounts in those counties were vastly different from the original count.


==Participants==
==Synopsis==
*[[Danny Glover]] – presenter (''2004 Campaign Edition'')
*[[Peter Coyote]] – narrator
*[[Vincent Bugliosi]] – author, ''[[The Betrayal of America]]''
*[[Alan Dershowitz]] – author, ''[[Supreme Injustice]]''
*[[Frances Fox Piven]] – author, ''[[Why Americans Don't Vote]]''


''Unprecedented'' chronicles irregularities in the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 US presidential election]] in the swing state of Florida.<ref name=laramie/>
==Alternate versions==
The 2004 extended 57-minute ''2004 Campaign Edition'' was released to tie in with the [[U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004 US Presidential Election]]. This edition of the film features a filmed introduction from [[Danny Glover]] and an epilogue spent analyzing the drawbacks of the new computer ballot system, which does not leave any paper trail with which to enact a manual hand recount should the need arise. The film claims that the computer systems also had errors, but there was no way to know how many due to the lack of a paper trail.


The film begins with claims that African Americans and other likely Democratic voters were disenfranchised by a resurrected 1868 law that prevented felons from voting. <ref name=bostonglobe>{{cite web | last= Burr | first=Ty | title= Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election| publisher=Boston Globe | date= October 31, 2003 | url= http://www.unprecedented.org/Unprecedented_Boston_Globe.html }}</ref> This law was originally intended to keep blacks from the polls, in the wake of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref name=progressive>{{cite book | last=Rampell | first= Ed| title=Progressive Hollywood | publisher= The Disinformation Company Ltd. | date=2005 }}</ref> In 2000, Florida Secretary of State [[Katherine Harris]] used the original law to create a computerized list of supposed ex-cons. The list had the vaguest parameters, and included as many as 57,000 to 91,000 non-felons, who were overwhelmingly people of color.<ref name=rhetoric/> On election day, these people were turned away at the polls.<ref name=billsmedia/> Since 90% of African Americans vote Democratic, this effectively reduced the number of votes for Democratic candidate [[Al Gore]].<ref name=rhetoric/>
The computer ballot example used is the [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] Governor's race between incumbent [[Roy Barnes]] and challenger, and victor, [[Sonny Perdue]] in 2002. Because Governor Perdue is the first Republican governor elected in Georgia since [[Reconstruction Era of the United States|Reconstruction]], the film strongly suggests that hackers and key personnel with access to the computer balloting system may have been able to influence the outcome of the election, propelling Perdue to the governor's mansion. The film does not mention the wide array of political issues which had made Governor Barnes very unpopular in the state before the election, specifically his drastic reductions in education spending and overall budgetary difficulties of the state.


''Unprecedented'' also examines the Florida recount and the [[hanging chad]] controversy.<ref name=billsmedia/> It faults Gore for demanding a recount of only certain counties, instead of the whole state;<ref name=chicago/> and also presents evidence that the Republican Party paid staffers to create a disturbance and end the recount prematurely.<ref name=bostonglobe/>
== Reception ==

=== Reviews ===
The film then takes aim at the December 2000 [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] decision that gave [[George W. Bush]] the presidency.<ref name=billsmedia/> The film documents conflicts of interest that should have resulted in the recusal of two of the SCOTUS justices.<ref name=bostonglobe/>
[[Ned Martel]], writing in the ''[[New York Times]]'', describes it and its companion piece ''[[Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties]]'' as ''somber films'', which ''use experts and eyewitnesses to less rousing effect than [[Michael Moore]].'' He concludes that, ''From the muddle comes a coda warning that electronic voting machines, to be used next month in some states, will have no paper trail, no possibility of audit and even less evidence for polemicists like Mr. Greenwald who want to make sense — or political hay — of the aftermath.''<ref name="nyt01">{{cite news |title=Attempts to Sort Out and Make Sense of History |first=Ned |last=Martel |coauthors= |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/2004/10/01/movies/01UNCO.html?_r=1 |work=[[New York Times]] |date= October 1, 2004|accessdate=2010-07-11 }}</ref>

Finally, it explores the problems with electronic voting machines.<ref name=rhetoric/> It argues that the companies that make these machines do not allow audits of the machines (allegedly because of copyright and trademark issues), which leaves them wide open for fraud.<ref name=billsmedia/> The machines also do not give paper receipts, so there is no physical evidence in case of the need for a recount.<ref name=bostonglobe/>

== Distribution ==

In the festival circuit, the film won eleven awards, including the Grand Festival award at the Berkley Film and Video Festival; the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary, and the Director's Award at the New York International Film Festival.<ref name=rhetoric/> It enjoyed a limited theatrical release<ref name=progressive/> and was broadcast internationally on cable.<ref name=unprecent>{{cite web |lang=en |publisher=Unprecedented.org | url= http://www.unprecedented.org/UnprecedentedBroadcast.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031015031617/https://www.unprecedented.org/UnprecedentedBroadcast.htm |archive-date=2003-10-15 |title=Broadcast |access-date=2023-04-10}}</ref> The DVD sold extremely well on [[Amazon.com]], coming in at 68 on their 2004 sales rank.<ref name=progressive/> Liberal advocacy group [[MoveOn]] sold 25,000 copies in three days.<ref name=moviemaker>{{cite web | last=Thompson | first= Rustin| title=Robert Greenwald | publisher=MovieMaker | date= September 23, 2004 | url= http://www.moviemaker.com/articles-directing/robert-greenwald-2919/ }}</ref> ''Unprecedented'' was also viewed at screenings in homes and communities across the country, and was available streaming on the Internet.<ref name=moviemaker/>

This multi-tiered distribution model was revolutionary at the time. Executive Producer [[Robert Greenwald]] called it a "breakthrough", and has honed it in his subsequent films.<ref name=moviemaker/>

''Unprecedented'' is said to have "jumpstarted" Greenwald's documentary filmmaking career.<ref name=progressive/>

After this film, Sekler went on to produce ''[[Unconvention: A Mix-Tape from St. Paul, RNC '08]]'', a documentary about the [[2008 Republican National Convention]] in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]].


==See also==
==See also==
Line 52: Line 58:


{{United states presidential election and recount, 2000}}
{{United states presidential election and recount, 2000}}
{{Brave New Films}}


[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:Documentary films about elections]]
[[Category:Documentary films about elections in the United States]]
[[Category:Films about the United States presidential election, 2000]]
[[Category:Films about the 2000 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Documentary films about Florida]]
[[Category:Films scored by Bobby Johnston]]

Latest revision as of 21:08, 5 November 2024

For the 2022 documentary with the same name, see Unprecedented (miniseries).
Unprecedented:
The 2000 Presidential Election
Directed byRichard Ray Pérez
Joan Sekler
Written byWilliam Haugse
Richard Ray Pérez
Joan Sekler
Produced byRichard Ray Pérez
Joan Sekler
StarringDanny Glover (2004)
Narrated byPeter Coyote
CinematographyRichard Ray Pérez
Edited byWilliam Haugse
Matthew Martin
Music byBobby Johnston
Distributed byShout! Factory
Release date
  • September 17, 2002 (2002-09-17) (U.S. premiere)
Running time
47 min. (2002)
57 min. (2004)
LanguageEnglish

Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election is a 2002 47-minute documentary directed and co-written by Richard Ray Pérez and Joan Sekler,[1] and narrated by Peter Coyote,[2] about the contested 2000 presidential election in Florida.[3]

It was re-released in an extended 56-minute[4] 2004 Campaign Edition presented by Danny Glover to tie in with the 2004 US presidential election.[5]

A Public Interest Pictures Film, it was co-executive produced by Robert Greenwald and Earl Katz.[1] Greenwald later made this the first of his "Un-Trilogy", which also includes Uncovered: The War on Iraq and Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties.[6]

Synopsis

[edit]

Unprecedented chronicles irregularities in the 2000 US presidential election in the swing state of Florida.[3]

The film begins with claims that African Americans and other likely Democratic voters were disenfranchised by a resurrected 1868 law that prevented felons from voting. [7] This law was originally intended to keep blacks from the polls, in the wake of the Civil War.[8] In 2000, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris used the original law to create a computerized list of supposed ex-cons. The list had the vaguest parameters, and included as many as 57,000 to 91,000 non-felons, who were overwhelmingly people of color.[5] On election day, these people were turned away at the polls.[4] Since 90% of African Americans vote Democratic, this effectively reduced the number of votes for Democratic candidate Al Gore.[5]

Unprecedented also examines the Florida recount and the hanging chad controversy.[4] It faults Gore for demanding a recount of only certain counties, instead of the whole state;[2] and also presents evidence that the Republican Party paid staffers to create a disturbance and end the recount prematurely.[7]

The film then takes aim at the December 2000 Supreme Court decision that gave George W. Bush the presidency.[4] The film documents conflicts of interest that should have resulted in the recusal of two of the SCOTUS justices.[7]

Finally, it explores the problems with electronic voting machines.[5] It argues that the companies that make these machines do not allow audits of the machines (allegedly because of copyright and trademark issues), which leaves them wide open for fraud.[4] The machines also do not give paper receipts, so there is no physical evidence in case of the need for a recount.[7]

Distribution

[edit]

In the festival circuit, the film won eleven awards, including the Grand Festival award at the Berkley Film and Video Festival; the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary, and the Director's Award at the New York International Film Festival.[5] It enjoyed a limited theatrical release[8] and was broadcast internationally on cable.[9] The DVD sold extremely well on Amazon.com, coming in at 68 on their 2004 sales rank.[8] Liberal advocacy group MoveOn sold 25,000 copies in three days.[10] Unprecedented was also viewed at screenings in homes and communities across the country, and was available streaming on the Internet.[10]

This multi-tiered distribution model was revolutionary at the time. Executive Producer Robert Greenwald called it a "breakthrough", and has honed it in his subsequent films.[10]

Unprecedented is said to have "jumpstarted" Greenwald's documentary filmmaking career.[8]

After this film, Sekler went on to produce Unconvention: A Mix-Tape from St. Paul, RNC '08, a documentary about the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Klein, Andy (November 24, 2002). "Review:'Unprecedented the 2000 Presidential Election'". Unprecedented.
  2. ^ a b Rosenbaum, Jonothan (21 November 2003). "Unpredented: The 2000 Presidential Election". The Chicago Reader.
  3. ^ a b Roten, Robert (October 27, 2004). "Laramie Movie Review: Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election". Laramie Movie Review.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election: Another Civics Lesson from Greenwald; Did the US Experience a Coup?". Bills Media Reviews. February 11, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e Benson, Thomas; Snee, Brian (2008). The Rhetoric of the New Political Documentary. Southern Illinois University.
  6. ^ Nichols, John (September 16, 2004). "Filmmaker Takes Fox News to Task". Capital Times.
  7. ^ a b c d Burr, Ty (October 31, 2003). "Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election". Boston Globe.
  8. ^ a b c d Rampell, Ed (2005). Progressive Hollywood. The Disinformation Company Ltd.
  9. ^ "Broadcast". Unprecedented.org. Archived from the original on 2003-10-15. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  10. ^ a b c Thompson, Rustin (September 23, 2004). "Robert Greenwald". MovieMaker.
[edit]
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