Blood in the Face (1991) User Reviews

Fascinating Documentary examining the far, far right in America

[Zane-14 · 8/10 · 21 August 1999]

This is a fascinating documentary examining the neo-fascist movements in North America; the militias, the Aryan churches and the Klans. The camera mingles with Klansmen and militia members as they attend social gatherings and discuss issues like the plans for a white homeland in the northern U.S.A., the proper pronunciation of the name of the biblical figure Adam and how Hitler was actually a misunderstood man who America should have sided with during the war.

The film makers rarely intrude on the action and allow the subjects to speak for themselves, thus giving people the opportunity to make a wide range of 'these would be funny if you didn't know how serious the person was when s/he said them' comments. My personal favourite was when an elderly man was giving a speech to his brethren and wrapped up the pep talk by saying "I'm hungry, so 'Sieg Heil!' and let's eat."

In one scene the meaning of the film's title is explained to us by a member of one of the groups portrayed. He claimed black people were inferior to white people because they (black people) could not blush (show blood in the face) and therefore were unable to feel shame like god fearing white folks, a rather tenuous basis on which to claim racial superiority in my mind but there you are.

The film also contains archival footage of assassinated American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell and Klansman turned politician David Duke, as well as toddlers parading in white Klan outfits while their mothers cooed about how cute they looked.

While I had the feeling that none of the people portrayed in this movie were members of Mensa, 'Blood in the Face' did convey to me the potential menace that such groups could cause in American society (and already have, as the Oklahoma bombing showed). This film may be dated by now but is still definitely worth watching. If nothing else it will make you think twice about visiting Idaho.

This is a Very Scary Movie

[mrjla-1 · 7/10 · 9 November 2006]

"Blood In The Face" is a documentary that takes you "inside the KKK and the American Nazi Party. It is almost unbelievable to realize the amount of hate practiced by these groups. Even scarier is the knowledge that the number of participants in these groups grows yearly. Worthwhile watching for parents and their children, In hopes that they teach them about tolerance toward others regardless of their races and nationalities. After seeing this movie I realized that there is a segment of American society as intolerant as Fundamental Islam. What a sad statement on a segment of American society, but one that must be heard so that as a country we will never let these people have any political power. Although this movie is somewhat dated (1991), the beliefs expressed by the Aryan culture and churches are still being practiced and preached today. As they pray for harm and death to befall those who are not of pure white race, they pray to Jesus to help them in attaining these pursuits

Quite Good but what's chilling is TODAY's version

[xhidden99 · 7/10 · 30 October 2012]

Quite a good review of the neo Nazis in America circa 1960-1990. The method of using these people's own words to their own deadly effect is perfectly well done. What's chilling though is that these neo Nazis sound almost moderate compared to totalitarian antisemitism coming from the right AND the left today. One needs only to read any of the comments on a 'progressive' website like Huffington Post, Salon, or Alternet touching on anything to do with foreign policy, Israel, Judaism, Jews, Wall St, the economy, the media and so forth. There you can find long insane diatribes calling for a new holocaust, denying the holocaust, asserting Jews control the world etc etc etc all on 100% moderated websites where each comment has to pass muster with a person representing that website.

So from today, it looks quaint, these Pennsyltucky rednecks and their burning crosses and George Lincoln Rockwell with his corncob pipe calling on TV, for the gassing of all Jews, homosexuals and just about everyone else not 'white.' But the real horror is that it's not even horrible enough for our modern day 'progressives' and their pro terrorist, pro nuclear Iranian, antisemitic hate speech.

Their own worst enemy

[frankfob · 9/10 · 24 April 2002]

This is an extraordinary documentary about the people who make up what used to be called the "lunatic fringe," consisting of such extreme right-wing groups as the Nazis, the Klan, white separatists, the ultra-fundamentalist, Jew-hating Christian Identity religious zealots, and others that make your everyday, garden-variety racists look like choirboys. This differs from many other documentaries about this particular nasty band in the American political spectrum in that the filmmakers were granted almost complete access by the subjects of the film themselves; many documentaries on these people are basically recycled newsreel and television news footage and interviews. The film's subjects granted this access in order to "polish up" their image--as one of their leaders admits to in an interview--but no matter what kind of spin they try to put on it, or how "reasonable" they try to come across, their views are so hateful, repellent and repulsive that it doesn't take long for their true nature to come out, and for all their rantings and ravings about the forces conspiring against them, they come across as their own worst enemies. At first many of their beliefs--for example, that 100,000 Red Chinese troops have been hiding in the mountains of New Mexico for 20 years, waiting to strike as soon as the "traitorous liberals" in the U.S. succeed in "taking away our guns"--are so hopelessly divorced from reality that you think they couldn't POSSIBLY believe what they're saying, and you look for another, even remotely logical reason they could have for making these assertions. Slowly, though, it begins to dawn on you that they're dead serious and believe utterly and completely that the "Jews," the "liberals", the "feminists", the "homos", the "secular humanists", the "race-mixers" and all the other groups they hate are joined together in one gigantic conspiracy to destroy Christianity and the white race, helped along by "race traitors" in Congress and the federal government (which they call "ZOG," their acronym for Zionist Occupation Government). You almost begin to feel sorry for them; they are, for the most part, poor, ill-educated and either unemployed or employed in semi-skilled, low-paying jobs, fearful of things they don't understand and resentful of people who have what they never will. Then you realize that it was people with this mentality who blew up the Murrah building in Oklahoma City and crashed planes into the World Trade Center, and whatever empathy you may feel for them vanishes. This is truly a landmark documentary; the filmmakers make no attempt whatsoever to editorialize, slant their coverage or take any point of view at all, just letting these people speak for themselves, and it's more terrifying than all the "Freddy Krueger" or "Halloween" movies put together. This is a must-see for anyone who wants to know more about the rise of the ultra-right wing in this country.

Great Documentatry

[mike_210000 · 9/10 · 20 June 2012]

I found this doc on You Tube. Its is great and if you can grab it and make it part of your library... you should.

And here is my take on it, which may cause some discussion.

First, finding out that Michael Moore was involved in this doc gave me a sense of dread. Michael Moore does not make documentaries. He makes sociopolitical period pieces. The difference being, in every Michael Moore film he has a constant voice over. That fact makes it not a doc... but a personal film, which directs the viewer to identify with the director.

This film does not do that. All film is straight from the bigoted, racist mouths of the characters. Good on the filmmaker.

Second, this film... and any movie like this, requires the worst to make it work. I have no doubt that the guys in suits interviewed are 100% serious about their belief. But they also interview dumb ass people... not challenging their ideals... which i think if done would reveal a human nature, and visible misunderstanding and misguidness that proves humanity still exists.

Racism completely exists. I am not disputing that in any way. But I would love to have seen a couple interviews of folks that are in the community they interviewed questioning the ideals.

Showing both sides allows us to decide the depth of hatred and disgust we choose to embody in our feeling. Docs presented from a one sided view only guides us towards hate, and no understanding of the point of view of the character. Our ability to use our individual predisposition to problem solve and make our own decisions on the subject matter is paramount in a good documentary, because it engages us in the conversation.... and good documentary should be a presentation of a "thing" which can be discussed and challenged, in a group and within ourselves.

This film provides us with flawed individuals. Got it. But I need a counterpoint from inside that shows there is another viewpoint within this community. Because if its not there I only can assume that this is a doc created for a purpose... with an agenda. That is not a good doc.

But I am sooooo happy I found this film. As you can read... it sparks great thoughts and discussions... on society and our own personal beliefs. As long as you are willing to discuss it from both sides.

Come face to face with evil.

[Will_Scarlet · 10/10 · 3 July 2004]

The worst evil, my English teacher told me shortly after September 11, comes into play when the evildoer believes it to be good. So it is in this bone-chilling documentary on the racist opinion. Michael Moore appears in this, but this is very different from documentaries like 'Bowling for Columbine,' or 'The Corporation.' This film makes no effort to distract with narration from the horror of seeing the leaders of the Ku Klux Klan, the Neo Nazis, the Aryan Resistance fighters, and hearing them speak, uninterrupted by the interviewers. There is no relieving support for the lovers of all races from the liberals behind the cameras. We are left to gather our own thoughts, and what remains of our opinion, the filmmakers leave to us as well, almost as a test to the strength of our principles, and ultimately, our minds. That is what makes this film drive its point so effectively. You will not be able to blink when you see this film. The people who speak will make your flesh crawl. We stare these people in the face and hear them speak their piece, in an almost spell-binding way, and their words almost seem hypnotic. The most horrific part is when some of their words start to make a bizarre sense, which makes this film all the more frightening. It is only when we think of all they HAVE done, as opposed to what they say, that we see these people for what they truly are. One elderly racist here puts it perfectly, ironically, that our actions define us. Even more ironically, he could hardly remember the quote correctly. With that kept in mind, only with that, are we able to hold on, and not be sucked in. At the beginning, we see people just like anyone we'd meet in our neighborhood, happy families with adorable children. Then, we hear them speak, we hear the hate that festers under the politics, the religion, the ethical issues these people bring up to try and hide it. And when the film delves deeper into the radicalism of their theories, these people begin to look more and more sinister. In the end, for me, it was not the speakers I felt sympathy for, for as they say, they will die before they see their ideals take effect. But seeing ordinary children deprived of the rich and wonderful experience of interacting with people of all kinds is one of the most tragic things I have seen. I see the innocence that begins in all humans, and the comparison of racist ideals to Johnny Appleseed's seeds seems almost tragic, as well as fearful. It is terrifying to remember just how many of them there are, and how they will multiply as they say. But, you must think, will they? In a society where it is impossible to 'shield' a child from interracial contact, it seems unlikely it will last in future generations. What is more, even without narration, the film is still able to expose the hypocrisy and outright bigotry that lies at the root of it all. The film's greatest brilliance comes from the fact that narration is not necessary to expose that, provided you keep the truth in mind. To this end, the footage of the Holocaust, used briefly, is almost relieving, seeing Jewish children herded into boxcars, and remembering the tyranny and ruthlessness of Hitler, and the men these people worship. So keep that truth close to you throughout this film as if it were your mother embracing you, and you will see the truth without the filmmaker's help. It is difficult to know the true extent of these people's hatred, but the film still establishes the truth of who they are. They come from past generations. They are old, dying out. One thing you must also keep close is the truth of what democracy stands for: Freedom for all races, colors, creeds, and types. Freedom to succeed where you want if you try. And above all, freedom to learn the truth. These people will never learn that blacks can be intelligent, can be as good as them, because they refuse to try. They insist on seeing the world, pardon the expression, in terms of black and white. The thing that comes to my mind, in seeing this movie, at the end, is a quote from Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's brilliant musical, Assassins. 'There are those who love regretting, there are those who like extremes, there are those who thrive on chaos and despair. There are those who keep forgetting how the country's built on dreams. But they forgot about the country, so it's now forgotten them.'

Disturbing stuff

[Red-Barracuda · 9/10 · 7 September 2021]

I remember seeing this back in the 90's on Sky TV quite randomly. Like The California Reich it is a disturbing watch but a better film overall. It features Michael Moore's first appearance on screen but despite the topic, the approach to documentary film-making is diametrically opposite to Moore's style.