Four More Years

1972, 61:28 min, b&w, sound

The landmark documentary Four More Years is an iconoclastic view of the American electoral process, captured through TVTV's irreverent, candid coverage of Richard Nixon's 1972 presidential campaign and the Republican Convention in Miami. Using lightweight 1/2-inch portable video equipment, the TVTV crew was able to plunge onto the Convention floor for a close-up, subjective view of the proceedings. Whether soliciting off-the-cuff analyses from Dan Rather and Walter Cronkite, or making behind-the-scenes forays into the Nixon camp (with glimpses of the Young Republicans' maneuverings, the Nixonettes, and a fundraiser with Tricia and Julie Nixon), the spontaneity and wit of TVTV's coverage results in fascinating, unorthodox broadcast journalism. In this countercultural, Portapak successor to John McGinniss' 1968 The Selling of the President, the well-oiled Nixon publicity machine is contrasted with the angry demonstrations of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. TVTV's verite documentary is a classic work of guerrilla television, and an alternative time capsule of a volatile era in American history.

Production: Wendy Appel, Skip Blumberg, Nancy Cain, Steve Christiansen, Michael Couzens, Bart Friedman,Chuck Kennedy, Chip Lord, Anda Korsts, Maureen Orth, Hudson Marquez, Martha Miller, T.L. Morey, Allen Rucker, Ira Schneider, Michael Shamberg, Jodi Sibert, Tom Weinberg, Megan Williams. Produced by Top Value Television.