''McLibel'' (also known as ''McLibel: Two People Who Wouldn't Say Sorry'') is a British

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

directed by

Franny Armstrong Franny Armstrong (born 3 February 1972) is a British documentary film director working for her own company, Spanner Films, and a former drummer with indie pop group The Band of Holy Joy. She is best known for three films: '' The Age of Stupid' ...

and

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

for

Spanner Films Spanner Films is a small London-based documentary company founded by film director Franny Armstrong in 1997. Productions The company's earliest production was '' McLibel'' (1997/2005), a documentary film about David Morris and Helen Steel, a pos ...

about the McLibel case. The film was first completed in 1997 as a 52-minute television version after the conclusion of the original McLibel trial. It was then extended with new footage to 85-minute feature length in 2005, after the McLibel defendants took their case to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

Production

The 1997 version was shown at film festivals worldwide, and sold to TV in about ten countries. The 2005 extended version was released theatrically in the UK, U.S., Australia, and other countries and sold to TV around the world, notably to BBC 2 (as part of their prestigious " Storyville Classics" season, where it achieved one million viewers at 10pm on a Sunday night) and CBC in Canada. ''McLibel'' features courtroom reconstructions of the trial directed by well-known UK film director

, who gave his time for free. It also features interviews with

Eric Schlosser Eric Matthew Schlosser (born August 17, 1959) is an American journalist and author known for his investigative journalism, such as in his books ''Fast Food Nation'' (2001), '' Reefer Madness'' (2003), and '' Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, ...

(author of the 2001 book ''

Fast Food Nation ''Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal'' is a 2001 book by Eric Schlosser. First serialized by ''Rolling Stone'' in 1999, the book has drawn comparisons to Upton Sinclair's 1906 muckraking novel '' The Jungle''. The book ...

''),

Morgan Spurlock Morgan Valentine Spurlock (born November 7, 1970) is an American documentary filmmaker, humorist, television producer, screenwriter and playwright. Spurlock's films include '' Super Size Me'' (2004), '' Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?'' ( ...

(writer/director of the 2004 film ''

Super Size Me ''Super Size Me'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003, during which he ate only McDonald's f ...

''),

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras s ...

(who provided free legal support to the McLibel defendants for many years), and

Howard Lyman Howard F. Lyman (born September 18, 1938, in Great Falls, Montana) is an American farmer and animal rights activist known for promoting vegan nutrition and organic farming. In 1997 he was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for his ...

of Oprah/Mad Cow infamy.

Release

''McLibel'' was broadcast on BBC 2 in 2005, to an estimated 1 million viewers. It was then also broadcast on TV in 15 countries – including Australia, Canada and the USA – and released on DVD worldwide. ''McLibel'' was released in cinemas and DVD stores in the U.S in summer 2005 and this was followed in the UK in 2006.

Reception

, the producers estimate that more than 25 million people have seen the film. Anti-McDonalds protest Leicester Square London 20041016

The film has a 100% positive rating on the review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 10 reviews. Metacritic gave the film a rating of 81% based on 4 reviews. Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine describes it as "an alarming if ultimately inspiring David-and-Goliath parable for today". Wendy Ide in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' described ''McLibel'' as “a very watchable little film about a big battle”. ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington ...

'' said “An irresistible David and Goliath tale ... you can’t help but cheer along”, and ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' called it “An extraordinary example of independent filmmaking”. A ''

Time Out London ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

'' reviewer said “a radical screen full that will satisfy both head and heart”. ''McLibel'' was nominated for numerous awards, including the Grierson Documentary Award (

Grierson Awards The Grierson Awards are awards set up by The Grierson Trust to recognise innovative and exciting documentary films, created to commemorate the life and work of the pioneering Scottish documentary filmmaker John Grierson. The inaugural Awards w ...

) and the

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

. It was picked for the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

's prestigious series, "Ten Documentaries which Changed the World".

Home media

The DVD version was released in 2005 and features more than six hours of extras, including a spoof McDonald's commentary track from comedian Rob Newman.

References

External links

* {{Ken Loach 1997 films 1997 documentary films 2005 films 2005 documentary films British documentary films Criticism of fast food Documentary films about business Documentary films about McDonald's Films about food and drink Films shot in London Films directed by Ken Loach Films directed by Franny Armstrong 2000s English-language films 1990s English-language films 1990s British films 2000s British films