Fidel: The Untold Story

Starring:Fidel Castro, Harry Belafonte, Vlasta Vrana, Alice Walker, Ted Turner, EliÃ¡n GonzÃ¡lez (II), Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Angela Davis
Director: Estela Bravo
Studio: First Run Features
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

True Propaganda.
Misleading, Inaccurate and Grossly Distorts the Truth
A refreshing look at a figure we hear many lies about
A unique perspective
Social Bully, Lamb Disguise

Fidel: The Untold Story
Starring: Fidel Castro , Alice Walker , Nelson Mandela , Ted Turner , and Elián González (II)
Director: Estela Bravo
Manufacturer: First Run Features
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Biography - Fidel Castro: El Comandante (A&E DVD Archives)

ASIN: B00009IAYC
Release Date: 2003-07-22

Customer Reviews:

True Propaganda. .......2007-03-25

This movie was somewhat astounding to me as, from the very beginning, it makes a point of depicting Fidel Castro in the kindest of lights. We see him as a man and a man alone which, frankly, is not an honest way to portray him. Certainly, humanizing him is appropriate as a human being is exactly what this mass murderer is, but to treat him as an underdog is to miss the real point of his reign--regardless of what Harry Belafonte might think. The increased poverty and suffering of the Cuban population that he produced is what should be remembered first and foremost. I refer viewers to Ron Radosh's memoirs if they'd like to know what its like in Cuba in the eyes of a disinterested third party or the other excellent works written about him like Against All Hope or Inside the Pirate's Den. In Cuba today, the arrests continue as does Castro's repulsive totalitarian regime. I do not wish death upon Mr. Castro, but hope Revolucion! ends as soon as possible.

Misleading, Inaccurate and Grossly Distorts the Truth.......2007-02-28

Being an American myself who has actually visited Cuba within the last year, I find the other reviews of this documentary to be completely misguided. Like them, I first saw this documentary and believed that Castro wasn't actually such a bad guy, but that the U.S. and Cuban exiles were biased and portrayed him as a monster. When I met several Cuban exiles who emotionally told me the stories of how they had their houses taken away by Castro and how their parents were tortured and placed in rat-infested prisons for simply expressing their support democracy, I thought these Cuban exiles were exaggerating. However, after I visited Cuba last year, I have to painfully admit that these people were correct in the stories they told me. I went to Cuba expecting to see racial equality, free healthcare and free education, as people like Ted Turner and Steven Spielberg had claimed existed in Cuba. What I learned from actually speaking to people in Cuba during my trip was a competely different picture from that portrayed of Castro in this documentary. Not to mention, I expected to see beautiful, exotic buildings. However, what I actually saw was building after building in Havana crumbling, with no electricity and on average, there were five to six families living in one two-story house. In one house I visited, the roof was partially torn off, one family of three lived under the staircase, two families lived in the kitchen, and three families lived upstairs, which consisted of two bedrooms and one closet. Very, very sad. Each day they had to wait in a line for two hours to just to get one ration of bread and rice. When I asked one of the mothers about the school system she explained that all children who attended were required to denounce any "counterrevolutionary activity" they saw at home to their teachers. As a result, many Cuban parents went to jail because one of their children notified authorities that their parents were "disagreeing" with the government some way. Imagine being placed in jail because U.S. law states your child must tell his third grade teacher he overheard you say "I disagree with the Iraq war and dislike President Bush" at your kitchen table. I also learned that when school children participate in a government march for the communist party they're given a coupon, which must be given to their teachers the following day to prove they participated. If they don't turn in their your coupon, the teacher will make a notation on a report card that each Cuban student carries from kindergarten until he graduates from high school. In addition to information about the student participation in all political activities, the report card also has information about his family including whether his parents belong to the Communist Party, a Committee for the Defense of the Revolution or the CTC or Confederation of Cuban Workers. In pre-Castro Cuba, the CTC used to represent Cuban workers and demand new benefits and better salaries for them. In Castro's Cuba, however, the CTC, exploits the workers, treating them as if they were slaves. The poor Cuban workers have to pay a fee to the CTC from their meager salaries in order to be "represented" by them. I was in such shock to learn these facts that I am now firmly convinced there is no such thing as a "free educational system" in Cuba.

As my conversations with Havana locals turned to the issue of free healthcare, praised by many ignorant Americans (myself having been one of them before this trip), I became even more distraught at the truth about healthcare in Cuba. The truth is that Castro has built excellent health facilities for the use of FOREIGNERS who pay hard currency for medical services. However, Cuban citizens are not even allowed to visit those facilities ! Cubans who require medical attention must go to other hospitals, that lack the most minimum requirements needed to take care of their patients. Most hospitals are filthy and patients have to bring their own towels, bed sheets, pillows, or they have to lay down on dirty bare mattresses stained with blood and other body fluids. Next time you hear someone say that Cubans receive "excellent free healthcare" (as I once used to say) please think again because that is simply not true. I spoke to five people whose family members died while attempting to "float" to Florida on dangerous, man-made rafts because they were so desperate to escape Fidel Castro's regime. Most people I spoke to were afraid to answer my question "Do you like Castro?" But their silence and weary down-turned eyes spoke volumes about the truth. Most people HATE Castro and think he is selfish, oppressive monster who has banked millions of dollars while the Cuban people starve and wait in line for rations of bread. I came back from my trip to Cuba a changed person. I felt so stupid and ignorant for having believed this documentary and other statements made by American actors and directors such as Sydney Pollack, Danny Glover, Steven Spielberg, Jack Nicholson and Kevin Costner, that portrayed Castro as "brilliant" and Cuba as having "excellent healthcare and education." If you watch this documentary you should also watch the movie "The Lost City." This movie is the story of a Cuban family during the Cuban Revolution and ACCURATELY shows you both pre-Castro and post-Castro Cuba. It depicts how Castro's government slowly began eliminating free press any semblance of property rights and freedom. The movie is fair because it portrays both points of view--one brother in the movie supports Castro and the other disagrees with Castro. The cab driver I had while I was in Havana told me that, being 75 years old, he had experienced both pre-Castro and post-Castro Cuba. When Castro took power he was poor and believed in socialism and the revolution. But now, 45 years later, he is no better off than he was before. At least before Castro, he told me, he had better healthcare, a better house and freedom to express his religious beliefs (Castro closed all churches and essentially banned religion) and political beliefs. Perhaps the saddest part of my trip, which still resonates in my head today, was how this old man just kept repeating over and over "I should have left in 1959. I should have known. I should have known. Now I am old and cannot leave. I'll never be free."

A refreshing look at a figure we hear many lies about.......2007-02-21

America never gets the real story- should be required viewing.

A unique perspective.......2006-08-11

What is so rewarding about this traditional-style documentary is the humanization of Castro, a figure made grotesque and often demonized in the United States by a very small minority of persons. Regardless of how you perceive "socialism", this documentary shows Castro from a relatively positive profile and therefore his and Cuba's history from a unique perspective. Americans will be surprised to discover that in many parts of the globe Castro is considered a great hero, whereas here he is portrayed as equal parts monster and tyrant. No mention is made of repressive measures or political prisoners however, an interesting omission, but given the fact that almost all reports and documentaries focus exclusively on his "repression" and the fate of political prisoners, it is somewhat understandable. Even the uneducated would benefit from seeing this documentary, and would probably think of Castro in a different light.

Social Bully, Lamb Disguise.......2006-05-24

If you are interested in the psychology of social bullies, a.k.a. dictators, do not miss this one.
The documentary will add some unseen footage of this minor character in the gallery of Stalin, Hitler, etc. Also you can exercise your brain pondering why people that seem to be normal and even intelligent in some cases, can have such a limited field vision as to laud this, and by extension any, dictator.
The director of the documentary, Estela Bravo, is a non Cuban filmmaker with strong leftist bias, that for many years has been the darling of the only governmental Cuban studios, and has been given access to material totally out of boundaries to the own Cuban filmmakers.
And that is the norm in The Island of Dr. Fidel: foreigners with propaganda potential get the white glove, nationals are sub-citizens in their own country.

Shame on you Fidel Castro. One only hopes that Estela on the side has been hiding some real relevant material to be shown after the dictator's "biological solution".

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