Watch Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon For Free

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Dreadfully Boring

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The film-maker may not use the phrase "fair and balanced", but I will. He did an excellent job of letting the truth speak for itself.I think the superintendent was wrong to change the name of the team from "Warriors" to "Cadets". What is wrong with the concept of the warrior? Such arrogant politically correct heavy-handedness is disgusting. Other than that, I don't see where he did much wrong.Somebody said that the foundation had a right to withhold money from students who worked against the foundation's principles and values. My understanding was that the foundation's mission and value was to provide tuition for all students who attended Philomath High. What a noble mission, freely, with no self-serving strings attached, to promote the education of those not as fortunate as you. Is this value not worthy and sufficient in its own right? And even if you don't think so, where is your respect for the person who provided the money for the foundation in the first place? It was Mr. Lowther - a fortunate heir and beneficiary of Rex Clemen's hard work and business success - who undermined these values. While you are enjoying the wealth that you yourself did not earn, Mr. Lowther, could you not at least honor the legacy of the man who did so much for you and others? They were not your toys to pick up and take home. You have only reaped and trampled where others have sown. Shame on you.

My grandparents were long-time residents of Philomath and my mother graduated from Philomath High School. The Clemens Foundation provided scholarships to every PHS graduate for many years. When people heard about the scholarships, they started moving their kids into the high school for their last year just so they could get free money. When it was realized that this was happening, the rules changed a little bit, and understandably so.The Clemens family has done so much for that little community. It's difficult for most people to fully understand how small the community really is if you just watch the documentary and haven't really been there. The Clemens has donated property to build a school, built a nice pool and countless other efforts to better the community.I don't think it was too much to ask for the school (including an obvious "tree-hugger" superintendent) to fairly recognize the timber industry and its contribution to that community. Teachers like those in the documentary didn't want to 'promote' logging but yet they were the first in line to expect money from a foundation that was started because of it! The Lowther family has every right to stipulate how the foundation funds will be distributed. If the school district didn't want to educate the children about the logging industry, why should the foundation continue to support the school district in the manner it had been all those years? The scholarships haven't stopped completely - they're just not handed out so readily anymore.I commend Steve Lowther and his family for everything they have done and everything they are doing for their community. They weren't willing to sit idly by and continue to let some of the district staff continue to snub their noses at the industry that provides the money but also expect perpetual handouts from it.I support the Clemens Foundation!

A "Backwoods-Red-Neck" who wants to go "back to the 50's" vs "Progressive-intellectuals" who are forward thinking and interested in Diversity and want to take the school and it's students into the modern world (read 60's)While I watched the movie I had to hand it to the director/writer who went out of their way to make sure all comments were 1 for 1. Unlike our news media that usually gives conservative views a 1-3 conservative to liberal ratio, I was impressed that for each comment, the counterpart got a say. However, this was all window dressing. (Ironically, our protagonist claimed this was the case for him as well.) For the conservative side, few students were found to make cogent points. One old lady was found, labeled as a teacher, who halting, and hesitantly, sounded like she might be in the Lowther's camp. It was obvious to me she was measuring her words so as not to get fired for not towing the company line. For the liberals, we got the radical, in-your-face, we are not going to be told what to do crowd. And a number of teachers and some "townsfolk". They all pretended how concerned they were about being fair and not political. It amazes me how liberals in America think. No liberal ever thinks what they do is either politically motivated or divisive. As was readily demonstrated by the proponents of this Documentary, not one of the liberals in this movie considered anything they were doing to be politically motivated, yet when the guy with the money says he'd like a say in how the money gets spent, whoa-nelly all the liberals get all bent out of shape with the guy with the "political agenda". Of course they had a political agenda, the least of which was to totally convert the town from conservative to liberal and to indoctrinate the kids into a "progressive mentality". It was especially telling when the Science teacher compared logging to tobacco, and then said the curriculum wasn't strident enough in regards to it's Eco-fundamentalism.I found a few things interesting about the whole ordeal and how it was portrayed: They showed a Fox News Teaser, not the actual body of the story, but the teaser. Ostensibly to show that Fox News seemed to have a cynical approach to the story, even though they are supposed to be this radically biased conservative outlet. The scene near the end where the Superintendent got a plaque and how he went out of his way to say how much he was loved and how, THIS ONE TIME, he actually made friends that would last a lifetime. Only one student, sort of off-handedly mentioned, that it was "their money, they can do with it what they want to". No one on the school board, no community members. Odd. In the end, the guys they wanted out left, and this was AFTER they got their contracts extended, etc.. This led me to believe that they were in it for the money and that when the money left, so did their interest. Liberals think it's other people's money that should fund their failed policies.The whole bent of this movie, and the comments that came from those who were in favor of the movie were on how "fair' the movie was. Yet I was still struck by how I was manipulated in the movie. I am obviously a conservative but I can take a good liberal argument, if there is one. But my overriding feeling coming away is that once again I was given the Conservative Strawman and that there was something missing, something left out that could have been in there.In the end, I will say it's one of the most even-handed documentaries I've seen in awhile.

Concur with the first recorder that this film illustrates what good documentaries should do: provide enough information from all the angles without bias and let the observer decide for him or herself.All of the parties are intelligent, articulate and unburdened by melodramatic flair. Any of them could be our neighbors, relatives or kids and Philomath emerges as a kind of Everytown, USA.I will say that I don't see some of the points that the original commentator picks up on. I missed a few minutes while watching but apparently missed Mr Lowther's "latent violence". His "tar and feather" comment is a much more a reference to "the old days" than a threat of violence. Mr Lowther doesn't hang himself but, like the other interviewees, simply states very clearly what he believes in.You will agree or disagree with Mr Lowether based on your own values system and/or political beliefs, but there is no denying that a charitable foundation certainly has the right to decide to whom it gives its money. In short, public schools should not have agendas but all private institutions have them.Also, his criticism of the fact finding meeting is well founded. As we saw during the OJ Simpson trial and from many a congressional hearing, that public hearings can easily degenerate into popularity contests and circuses, in which politicians bloviate and pander to the majority.The title is a well chosen one. It's a pun that obviously refers to the town's historical heritage and less obviously a contradictory reference to the two sides in this debate. In Clear Cut, the protagonists and antagonists are anything but. In the end, there are no bad guys, but just a running commentary about the continuous evolution and shifting sands of each and every community in the country.