The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Vitagraph Films | Release Date: November 5, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
VarietyScott Foundas
A superior example of fearless filmmakers in exactly the right place at the right time. Read full review
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
An extraordinary piece of electronic history. And a riveting movie Read full review
90
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Gets viewers inside these tense, emotional and occasionally terrifying events with immediacy and, given the confusion of the time, remarkable clarity. Read full review
90
Dallas ObserverMelissa Levine
Fast-paced, riveting and affecting. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
As riveting as a documentary can possibly be, this slim (74-minute) film is also one of the most politically aware films of the year. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
More effort could have been made to fully flesh out the international perspective on this "people's president," but as a play-by-play look at a modern coup, it's an amazing, insightful film. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A remarkable documentary by two Irish filmmakers that is playing in theaters on its way to HBO. It is remarkable because the filmmakers, Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain, had access to virtually everything that happened within the palace during the entire episode. Read full review
88
PremiereAaron Hillis
While Bartley and O'Briain flat-out lucked out with this felicitous endeavor, their fearlessness, unobtrusive narration, and lack of Michael Moore man-and-microphone pandering is to be saluted. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Stunning you-are-there account of a grand swindle in the making. Were the coup not such an outrageous and chilling affront to democracy, their documentary would be a gut-busting comedy along the lines of Woody Allen's "Bananas." Read full review
80
Film ThreatMerle Bertrand
A gripping example of "You Are There," on the spot journalism, even if it is a little slim when it comes to motives and back stories. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Proves again that the best documentaries currently outshine Hollywood features as the most watchable, energizing, and relevant movies around. Read full review
80
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
In addition to reporting a scoop, Bartley and O'Briain do an excellent job in deconstructing the Venezuelan TV news footage of blood, chaos, and rival crowds. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen Holden
As these tumultuous events play out in the film... they generate the suspense of a smaller-scale "Seven Days in May." Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
Rough-hewn, improvisatory and contentedly lo-fi, the resulting documentary should prove warmly encouraging to embattled progressives of all stripes, and incidentally offers the best political date-movie of the week. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Their (Kim Bartley and Donnacha Ó Briain ) remarkable true-life footage makes this 74-minute film as potent as behemoths twice its size. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
The sensation is dizzying, and you may feel relieved -- certainly the filmmakers do -- when Chavez re-enters the picture. There's a feeling of order restored, but the depiction of political free fall has been unnerving. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The remarkable footage includes damning evidence of how the media, the people and the army were manipulated. Which leads to that eternal question - if it's not on TV, did it really happen? Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
A fascinating front-row seat for what could be history's shortest-lived coup. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
A fascinating look at events mostly unknown to outsiders. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Mao had it wrong; in ''Revolution,'' political power comes out of the barrel of a TV tube. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerHoward Shapiro
Remarkable documentary. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Both farcical and deeply troubling, it unfolds with the kind of breathless, minute-by-minute immediacy that only eyewitness reportage can bring. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
Often gripping footage, and the finished product resembles a taut if at times confusing and inadvertently comic political thriller. Read full review
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