Morley Safer Movies
One of the decades-long mainstays of the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes, Canadian broadcast journalist Morley Safer single-handedly altered the face of live and pre-taped correspondence. In particular, Safer's 1965 piece on American escalation in Vietnam (with its indelible image of Cam Ne blazing to the ground at the hand of U.S. Marines) is credited with doing much to turn the tide of public opinion against that miscalculated (and heinous) conflict. This and other similar efforts virtually established Safer as a household name.Born in Toronto, Ontario, Safer attended Harbord Collegiate Institute and the University of Western Ontario as a young man, and quickly launched his reporting career, first in traditional print journalism for several English and Canadian newspapers and wire services, then in broadcasting, as a correspondent for the CBC. Following a stint at the London CBS bureau, Safer traveled to Vietnam to open up the CBS Saigon office (1965) and received a promotion to CBS London bureau chief in 1967 -- a position from which he covered Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Safer joined the weekly anchorage of 60 Minutes in December 1970, following the departure of Harry Reasoner, and the program's producers appointed him as the premier documentary reporter. Over the following decades, Safer helped bring numerous unforgettable accounts into the nation's homes, via that series.
In addition to his broadcast work, Safer appeared as an interviewee in the 1981 documentary Vietnam: Chronicle of a War. He also joined many of his 60 Minutes colleagues for amusing cameos on a 1993 episode of the Diane English/Candice Bergen series Murphy Brown, "All the Life That's Fit to Print." ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Does the general American populace prefer an individual thinker in the White House or a more predictable president who performs according to expectation? Are independent leaders more respected and embraced by the public? In this film, The American President: An Independent Cast of Mind, presidential scholar Richard Neustadt examines these questions, citing past presidents who marched to a different drummer. John Adams, Zachary Taylor, Rutherford Hayes, and Jimmy Carter each struggled in their terms, and two who tried for another term were not re-elected. ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Architect, engineer, philosopher, author and poet Buckminster Fuller was one of the great iconoclasts of the 20th century, alternately revered and misunderstood, his ideas were far ahead of their time and even today have yet to be fully realized. Best known for creating the geodesic dome (examples of which can be found the world over), he was an important counter-culture figure during the '60s and was calling for people to act globally and care about the ecology long before it became fashionable. This is made-for-Public Television film is the first documentary to made about him since his death in 1983 and features off camera reminiscences from the wide variety of luminaries who knew him. Though he became most famous during the '60s, Richard Buckminster Fuller has been presenting his innovative designs and stridently claiming that science and technology could solve all human problems since the early '30s when he unveiled his radically different tri-wheeled Dymaxion Car. Considering the earth a giant spaceship, and deeply concerned about ecology, Fuller endeavored to create inexpensive living environments that made minimal impact upon the world by using natural heating and cooling and super strong structures that employed minimal natural resources. The geodesic dome was this magnum opus, but he also created the Dymaxion House, a pre-fab circular structure that was storm proof, earthquake proof and required no exterior maintenance and minimal interior maintenance. Punctuating his life story are interviews from the wide variety of famous people who knew him including Philip Bosco, E.G. Marshall, Arthur Penn and Marian Seldes. The body of the film is narrated by Morely Safer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Former Alf regular Max Wright appears as an author to whom Murphy (Candice Bergen) has granted authorization to write her biography. Once the deal is signed, Murphy begins to fret over what her friends and colleagues will say about her when interviewed for the upcoming book. This results in an "all-star nightmare" for our heroine, featuring a number of real-life politicians and journalists--including virtually the entire cast of 60 Minutes! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
This video features five investigative stories from the award-winning television news magazine. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Vietnam: Chronicle of a War is a documentary which maps the stages of the United States' military involvement in the Vietnam War. Produced by CBS News, the program features historic wartime footage and interviews with key political players. Walter Cronkite narrates. News legends Charles Collingwood, Charles Kuralt, Dan Rather, Morley Safer, Eric Sevareid, and others contribute reports. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
