njmollo Taking Liberties is an interesting documentary that is successful in showing how the Blair Government slavishly followed the foreign and domestic policies of a corrupt American administration.Yet one very important issue that exposes the authoritarianism of the Blair Government is not addressed and that is the refusal of a full and independent inquiry into the events of 7/7.Taking Liberties automatically assumes that the events of 7/7 are in accordance with the official Government narrative. This official explanation is taken as a given by the makers of Taking Liberties even when the British Government themselves have admitted that the official story put out to the public is erroneous.Obviously there was a desire on the part of the Blair Government to leave the events of 7/7 unexplored. Why?The mainstream media is simply refusing to discuss the numerous anomalies and coincidences concerning the events of 7/7 and 9/11. The BBC purposely goes out of its way to misinform the general public by producing "hit pieces" that vilify those with opposing opinions and tries to align them with "holocaust deniers" or "nutty conspiracy theorists".Generally the mainstream media response to awkward questions and mounting evidence that contests the official explanation of 7/7 and 9/11 is to remain coldly silent.Taking Liberties should at least have explored why Blair was so adamant that the events of 7/7, the worst attack on Britain since the blitz, did not deserve a full and independent inquiry.

Jonty Nuttall ...ask what your country can do to you.The central thesis of this film aligns itself nicely with the Mark Thomas (who appears in the film) comment that "If You're not p*****d off, you've not been paying attention". It shows by example the story of the gradual erosion of our civil liberties that has been occurring in the recent years, concentrating particularly on the last decade. This is a subject which should have us all handing over our hard earned to be educated and entertained by.The artful thing about this film is the fact that it cleverly manages to take a fairly dry subjects of civil liberties and human rights, "Not normally box office dynamite" to quote Chris Atkins, and present it in an entertaining and even amusing way. Very much in the tradition of The Road to Guantanamo this film is as shocking but with a greater capacity to entertainment, which will hopefully mean that it will appeal to a wider audience.Whether you believe that it is the press to blame for forcing gullible media hungry politicians into rushing through knee jerk, badly drafted laws or that there are more sinister forces at work or especially if you are blissfully unaware of what your government has been doing in your name this film holds something for you. See it and tell your friends!

holden caulfield Many films need to be made to inform a wider audience of a crucial issue that is being largely ignored. In the UK, one issue being deftly swept under the carpet by the authorities is that of identity registration and our rapidly eroding civil liberties.If I was to deduct points from Chris Atkins for any aspect of this film, it would be one of timing. Where was this film when these draconian reductions in our powers to decide for ourselves were passed into law? The fact is, Atkins has used every last minute of news up until the film's release as source material. This issue is ongoing; it must have been difficult to know when to stop reporting and when to finish editing, so it is no wonder that this film took so long to arrive. Politics, and in particular liberal politics, is never very easy to force down the throats of a nationwide audience. In a fairly successful move to sex up and illustrate certain points, the film gives way to more of Simon Robson's (of Knife Party fame) beautiful polemic motion graphics. These (although sometimes hard to read) add to the sense of revolution, that dissent and caring about politics could one day be considered 'cool'.The serious journalism comes into play in several case studies involving several cases where anti-terrorism laws have been abused by police forces to indiscriminately break up peaceful protests. One shocking section reveals how a weapons guidance manufacturer on the South coast effectively 'hired' the local police force to arrest people attending the weekly protest outside the EDO factory.The examples of police brutality, recording of the public, and general ignorance are not simply garnering antipathy for police officers. The film's makers clearly understand the need to blame not the police but those that equip them with unmitigated authority.This film manages to weave between pretty much all of the concerns surrounding UK liberty, legal issues, our rights (as guaranteed by Churchill, apparently) without getting too heavy or legalese, or mentioning Orwell a million times like other idiot journalists who write about civil liberties. It seems longer than it really is, because it, like many of its long-form docufeature bedfellows, it manages to cram in a lot of relevant and scary imagery and info without always resorting to the dreary voice-over-and-stock-footage formula that is tempting when writing a documentary.Obviously Chami Chakrabarti was in the film - as director of Liberty, the charity trying to save us from pseudofascists, she acted, as always, as the voice of cool, calm reason. The one line I was waiting to hear was a rebuttal to: "If I've done nothing wrong, I've got nothing to hide". Maybe I'll put that one in my film:POLICE STORMTROOPER: Everyone get down on the floor! We can see you all and we have guns pointed at you!TERRIFIED CIVILIANS: Leave us alone! Get out of my house!POLICE STORMTROOPER: If you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide from us, no?Edmund BrownPostscript: Brian Haw, the only man in Britain allowed to legally protest outside Parliament, went to my screening tonight at the Ritzy Brixton and was sat in front of me. He got an ovation after the screening. What a guy. At several points, I guffawed out loud, right into Brian's left ear. Everyone else in the screening was being polite and quiet and reserved, and there, to the chagrin of the whole audience, I found myself unable to keep from laughing at little quips about our right-wing government.

Helen Clifton i have just been to the premiere of 'Taking Liberties' and was both astounded and thoroughly entertained. this film is a documentary about the prolific nature of the statutes that Blair (AKA Bliar)'s government have introduced over the past decade, that not only contradict what Blair promised the British People in his campaign for the Premiership at the 1997 election, but more worryingly, contravene our human rights and our civil liberties. this film is both hilarious and terrifying - the scariest part is that it is all true! the only disappointing thing about this film is that when it is released on June 8th it will only be shown in about 15 cinemas. i know that a lot of cinema goers (me included) will be anxious to see the summer blockbusters that will be released around the same time, but believe me it will be well worth waiting a week, so as to see 'Taking Liberties' instead, not only for your own entertainment and enjoyment but also for the benefit of the rest of the country as the distributors have promised to release this film nationwide if enough people go to see it on the opening weekend.you WILL enjoy this film so please go and see it!