What I Saw at the Documentary   By DON HURLEY, Contributing Editor for HarryHurley.com

Don Hurley

A great event took place tonight, (10-27-04), at the Frank Family Theater in Egg Harbor Township, NJ.

David Bossie premiered his film “Celsius 41.11” before a packed house of about three hundred people.

By the way, “Celsius 41.11” is the temperature that the human brain begins to die. That might seem like a morbid thought, but I think it is just Mr. Bossie’s way of suggesting that Michael Moore might be the one who is brain dead after all.

The film is a great retort to the radical film-maker, Moore’s, Fahrenheit 9/11. It debunks many of the lies and distortions in Moores “Mockumentary”, which had been designed to fraudulently attack President Bush, while fueling a level of rage and contempt that we have not seen in our country since the 1960’s.

Without question, this was an event! The packed house began to file in the stadium theater, which was a reminder of days gone by, when you might see a stage show or some other activity before a film was shown. I liked that feeling of nostalgia that came over me.

You got the sense, right away, that something special was about to happen. Two sound engineers had wonderful music filling the theater. I am always a sucker for a great song, and there were many.

I had decided a few days ago to create my own documentary of this event. My thought was to document the Documentary, which I did. Much of my view of this wonderful evening occurred through the view of a camera lens. I enjoyed this view. It was especially pleasant for me to observe people filing in two, three and four at a time with a spirit and energy which are reserved for great moments.

I spoke with one nice lady, who admitted to me that she was a moderate democrat. She also said that she came with an open mind. I was happy that she had come at all, thinking that it is never to late to change someone’s mind or their heart.

It got to the point where the theater was full and it was time to start the show. My brother, Harry, who happens to be a very famous Talk Radio Show Host on a local station, greeted everyone. I am happy to say this group also included media from all over our area, different newspapers and Radio and TV Show Hosts, which I thought was a great sign of fellowship. There were no territorial disputes to be had.

At this point, Bret Schundler, who many believe, (myself included), will be the next Governor of the State of New Jersey arrived. Mayor Schundler made a very polite entrance.The skilled public official always knows how to fill a room without a feeling of pompousness, and Bret is certainly a skilled public official.

Harry introduced all of the dignitaries,(too many to name here). He then introduced Mayor Schundler to the crowd, who received him wildly. Schundler went on to state a very passionate case for the war in Iraq and the need to re-elect President Bush for another four years.

At this point, as if on cue, the creator of the film and guest of the night, David Bossie arrived in the theater, following hours of traffic jam in his trip from Maryland. Harry introduced Mr. Bossie to the packed house, with just enough time for him to give the crowd a brief overview of the film they were about to see.

It was a great opportunity to see a film premiere with the presence of the movies creator. It is truly a rare opportunity, and one that I believe the crowd was well aware.

It was now movie time, following some ordinary movie previews, capped by a wild French Film Coming Attraction that I can not decently describe within the confines of this story. (There go the French again).

The movie began with a thunderous applause from the eagerly awaiting spectators. It started very dramatically with the images of the planes about to strike the World Trade Center. This is a stark reminder that the elite media has decided for us that we should not view these images again. I believe it is actually in their desire for the public to forget the true horrors of the attacks of 9/11.

I do not wish to spoil the rest of the film. I would only implore that people need to see this film. While Michael Moore’s movie sought to scare, enrage, confuse and deceive people, this film was organized in a compelling manner to educate and uplift people. It sort of reminds me of the two campaigns for President, now that I think of it.

I hope that my documentary does some justice to this wonderful night. I will admit right up front that there are some lighting issues, my inferior equipment as well as my own inabilities to be concerned about when I get to editing. But, I hope that in the end, I will have captured the sentiment that was in that building for one night.

I thought Harry said it best, when he remarked for my film, “At least for two hours people could relax in good company, lower their collective blood pressure and put some context to an otherwise crazy campaign”.

The truth is a powerful weapon. Truth always prevails; vigilant people must make sure that the truth bears witness at the right time. I think this is the lesson that I took away from tonight.

What I saw, was a very unique gathering of interestingly diverse people, of all ages, (I liked that).

As I was putting the final interviews of my documentary together, I spoke with a delightful young lady who asked me if I thought we were preaching to the choir tonight.

I thought about this for a second, and replied "don't we need to preach to the choir every once in a while"?

This was the only film that I have ever been to, where people applauded at the beginning of the movie, and at the end. Perhaps this was because the creator happened to be in the audience with us, or perhaps because it was just great. I suspect it was the latter.

In the end, David Bossie fielded questions from the audience, which ranged from the election and Florida from four years ago, the Swiuft Boat Veterans, to the perils as they are in the world today.

Bossie is a well-informed, creative film-maker and author. His work deserves audiences all over the country, and Bossie says it is now playing on 115 screens throughout America.

If every American saw this film, John Kerry would have no chance of ever being elected to anything again. This work was not a cheap or petty assault upon Kerry, but rather a well-crafted piece of real-life history.

I congratulate Harry and everyone involved, as I think we all witnessed a little piece of history in Egg Harbor Township tonight. I urge everyone to see the film or borrow the DVD from those of us who purchased one. You’ll never see this on TV. It’s too good!

Enter Here:   “Celsius 41.11” Website

October 28, 2004