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Sicko (2007) DVD Review
Sicko (2007) DVD Credits:
Sicko (2007) Directed by:
Michael Moore
Sicko (2007) Written by:
Michael Moore
Sicko (2007) Cast:
Not available at this time
Sicko (2007) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Sicko (2007) DVD Release Date:
6th November 2007
Our Rating: Extras Rating:

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Sicko (2007) Synopsis:

Michael Moore, director of "Fahrenheit 9/11," the highest grossing documentary of all time, sets his sights on the American healthcare system and the corruption within.

Sicko (2007) DVD Review:

Michael Moore really seems to enjoy exposing the underbelly of America, and for this reason his films can be quite entertaining. Whenever it is obvious someone is passionate about their work it seems to engage people far more easily, and it just happens that Moore is passionate about finding problems with the United States. His success has spawned all sorts of documentaries exposing truths about everything from credit cards and voting machines to electric car recalls and global warming. The truth has been released about so many problems with our country, and in many cases the documentaries have helped spread awareness in order to make positive changes. I certainly hope that this is the film Michael Moore makes which finally does make a positive change. His last few films have done more in hyping his infamy and creating conspiracy theories than they have brought out positive change. They were slanderous rather than exposing, and for that reason even the truth he placed in them seemed marred by cheap theatrics. Fortunately Moore has chosen a very responsible and fact filled topic for his new film, also returning to the basics which first brought him success in this career; the human struggle.

Ultimately what makes Moore’s new documentary work so well is his willingness to remove himself from the spotlight and relying on the individual stories from those personally affected by the disturbing behavior of insurance companies. These individual stories are touching and effective, and the footage that Moore collects for historical background is fascinating, and it is only the moments that Moore goes off on his own theories and opinions that the film seems to go astray. Often he throws out facts without an explanation or the proof to back it up, which can be quiet disheartening for anyone who checked all of the facts in some of his recent films. The good must be taken with the bad, and the bad is mostly in the smart-ass way that Moore enjoys making America look as stupid as possible.

Continuing his questioning of American ways by looking to the way things are in Canada, it is actually quite surprising that Moore is not a Canadian yet. I suppose then he would have nothing to make films about. He also travels to other countries to investigate other health care systems. Occasionally the filmmaker seems to be trying to figure out what makes these other systems work but instead of applying them to the United States to compare the countries and discover accurately whether they would work for us as well, Moore tends to simply enjoy bashing America with the pleasant foreigners. It really is a shame to watch a valid point destroyed by a man’s inappropriate sense of boundaries and relevance. Still, one can agree with Moore without needing to agree with his methods.

The DVD has plenty of new and extra footage collected since the film was made, including a promising bit of footage of Michael Moore in Washington helping to push a bill for national health care. With time passing we are able to see in the special features how things have begun to change with awareness. There is also a new clip about the documentary and all of the criticism it received, and his response is just a new segment about Norway. “Uniquely American” is a difficult to read segment that is strangely condescending and essentially just another deleted sequence. There is also a segment with a French employee working for an American company but still getting the benefits of a French person, because those are the laws in the country. There is also more footage with some of the people already shown in the documentary, a music video, trailer and footage from the Hollywood premiere.


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Sicko (2007) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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