Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens

Birth : 1949-04-13, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK

Death : 2011-12-15

History

Christopher Eric Hitchens was an English-American author, columnist, essayist, orator, journalist, and social critic. Hitchens was the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of over 30 books, including five collections of essays on culture, politics, and literature.

Profile

Christopher Hitchens

Movies

The Princess
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Decades after her untimely death, Princess Diana continues to evoke mystery, glamour, and the quintessential modern fairy tale gone wrong. As a symbol of both the widening fissures weakening the British monarchy and the destructive machinery of the press, the Princess of Wales navigated an unparalleled rise to fame and the corrosive challenges that came alongside it. Crafted entirely from immersive archival footage and free from the distraction of retrospective voices, this hypnotic and audaciously revealing documentary takes a distinctive formal approach, allowing the story of the People’s Princess to unfold before us like never before.
Best of Enemies
Self
A documentary about the legendary series of nationally televised debates in 1968 between two great public intellectuals, the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. Intended as commentary on the issues of their day, these vitriolic and explosive encounters came to define the modern era of public discourse in the media, marking the big bang moment of our contemporary media landscape when spectacle trumped content and argument replaced substance. Best of Enemies delves into the entangled biographies of these two great thinkers, and luxuriates in the language and the theater of their debates, begging the question, "What has television done to the way we discuss politics in our democracy today?"
The Hitch
Self (archive footage)
The life of Christopher Hitchens as told through his own words and through archive footage.
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune
Self
From civil rights to the anti-war movement to the struggles of workers, folksinger Phil Ochs wrote topical songs that engaged his audiences in the issues of the 1960s and 70s. In this biographical documentary, veteran director Kenneth Bowser shows how Phil's music and his fascinating life story and eventual decline into depression and suicide were intertwined with the history-making events that defined a generation. Even as his contemporaries moved into folk-rock and pop music, Phil followed his own vision, challenging himself and his listeners. Not one to pull punches, Ochs never achieved the commercial success he desperately desired. But his music remains relevant, reaching new audiences in a generation that finds his themes all too familiar.
Collision
Self
COLLISION carves a new path in documentary film-making as it pits leading atheist, political journalist and bestselling author Christopher Hitchens against fellow author, satirist and evangelical theologian Douglas Wilson, as they go on the road to exchange blows over the question: "Is Christianity Good for the World?". The two contrarians laugh, confide and argue, in public and in private, as they journey through three cities. And the film captures it all. The result is a magnetic conflict, a character-driven narrative that sparkles cinematically with a perfect match of arresting personalities and intellectual rivalry. COLLISION is directed by prolific independent filmmaker Darren Doane (Van Morrison: Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl, The Battle For L.A., Godmoney).
Is God Great? - A Debate Between Christopher Hitchens & Professor John Lennox
At the 2008 Edinburgh International Festival, Oxford professor and Christian apologist John Lennox and leading atheist and acclaimed journalist Christopher Hitchens first debated over the question of whether or not atheism could save Europe. In March 2009, Lennox and Hitchens debated the topic ‘Is God Great?’ Witness this thought-provoking discussion, now on DVD, as well as a special feature interview with the two men together.
Atheist Alliance International Convention 2007
Self
The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science presents a DVD collection of 9 speakers from the Atheist Alliance International 2007 Convention (AtheistAlliance.org) held in Washington, D.C. Hear from some of the world's leading rationalists on a variety of subjects including suicide terrorism (Thomson), the Intelligent Deign movement (Scott), Islam (Hirsi Ali), church/state separation (Tabash), "The OUT Campaign" and the labeling of children (Dawkins), atheism, religion and much more. Q&A sessions follow most of the talks.
Does God Exist? (Frank Turek vs Christopher Hitchens)
Frank Turek, co-author of "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist," and Christopher Hitchens, author of "god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," met at VCU in Richmond, VA to debate the subject, "Does God Exist?"
Discussions with Richard Dawkins, Episode 1: The Four Horsemen
Self
Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens sits down for an unmoderated 2-hour discussion on religion.
Heckler
Self
HECKLER is a comedic feature documentary exploring the increasingly critical world we live in. After starring in a film that was critically bashed, Jamie Kennedy takes on hecklers and critics and ask some interesting questions of people such as George Lucas, Bill Maher, Mike Ditka, Rob Zombie, Howie Mandel and many more. This fast moving, hilarious documentary pulls no punches as you see an uncensored look at just how nasty and mean the fight is between those in the spotlight and those in the dark.
Blog Wars
Self
In 2004, political bloggers came of age. They propelled Howard Dean from fringe candidate to front-runner. They took on CBS anchor Dan Rather and won. As the 2006 mid-term elections approached, bloggers were preparing for battle again. This documentary examines how online democratic activism is shaping important elections by focusing on the decisive Connecticut senate race and Ned Lamont's challenge to incumbent Joe Lieberman.
Texas: America Supersized
Self
Documentary from 2004 about Hitchens travelling to Texas on the Trio network.
Texas: America Supersized
Writer
Documentary from 2004 about Hitchens travelling to Texas on the Trio network.
The Trials of Henry Kissinger
Writer
This riveting documentary depicts former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as a warmonger responsible for military cover-ups in Vietnam, Cambodia and East Timor, as well as the assassination of a Chilean leader in 1970. Based on a book by journalist Christopher Hitchens, the film includes interviews with historians, political analysts and such journalists as New York Times writer William Safire, a former Nixon speechwriter.
Princess Diana: The Mourning After
Self
In "Diana: The Mourning After" Christopher Hitchens sets out to examine the bogusness of "a nation's grief", tries to uncover the few voices of sanity that cut against the grain of contrived hysteria. His findings suggested that the collective hordes of emotive Dianaphiles sobbing in the streets were not only encouraged but emulated by the media. In the aftermath of Diana's death a three-line whip was enforced on newspapers and on TV, selling the sainthood line wholesale. The suspicion was that journalists, like the public, greeted the death as a chance to wax emotional in print, as a change from the customary knowing cynicism, to wheel out all those portentous phrases they'd been saving up for the big occasion. Sadly, they just seemed to be showboating; the eulogies, laments and tear-soaked platitudes ringing risibly hollow.
Hell's Angel
Writer
Christopher Hitchens investigates whether Mother Teresa of Calcutta deserves her saintly image. He probes her campaigns against contraception and abortion and her questionable relationships with right-wing political leaders.
Hell's Angel
Self
Christopher Hitchens investigates whether Mother Teresa of Calcutta deserves her saintly image. He probes her campaigns against contraception and abortion and her questionable relationships with right-wing political leaders.