List Price: $26.95You Pay Only: $15.49 You Save: $11.46 (43%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0767685987131
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Label: NEW VIDEO GROUP
Manufacturer: NEW VIDEO GROUP
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: NEW VIDEO GROUP
Region Code: 1
Release Date: September 25, 2007
Running Time: 91 minutes
Sales Rank: 17237
Studio: NEW VIDEO GROUP
Theatrical Release Date: July 31, 1992
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
A riveting Academy Award-winning documentary, made all the more timely by recent U.S. invasions and the current war on terror, THE PANAMA DECEPTION documents the untold story of the December 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama, the events which led to it, the excessive force used, the enormity of the death and destruction and the devastating aftermath.
Acclaimed filmmakers Barbara Trent and David Kasper uncover the real reasons for this internationally condemned attack, and reveal General Manuel Noriega s longstanding relationship with the C.I.A., the D.E.A., and George Bush, Sr. Utilizing devastating footage, expert commentary, and eyewitness testimony, the film shines a spotlight on this pivotal moment in U.S. history. Network news clips and media critics contribute to a staggering analysis of media control and self-censorship used to deceive the American public--a film hauntingly relevant today.
An example of documentary journalism at its best, THE PANAMA DECEPTION is ...tough, provocative, highly opinionated... an answer to the official United States Government line about the 1989 invasion of Panama. (The New York Times)
DVD Features: Follow-up interviews with filmmakers Barbara Trent & David Kasper; Panama to Iraq: The Trajectory of U.S. Militarism; The Future of Panama & Latin America; The Politics of Demonization and Fear, with Phyllis Bennis; Panama After the Invasion, with Humberto Brown; Trailers from GoodFilms.org; Resource Guide; Filmmaker Biographies
Amazon.com:
Years before the US went after Saddam Hussein, the White House had Manuel Noriega, another former ally, in its sights. In their Oscar-winning documentary, director Barbara Trent and writer/editor David Kasper (Cover Up: Behind the Iran Contra Affair) contrast media coverage of the 1989 invasion with expert testimony. The filmmakers backtrack to America's turn-of-the-century takeover of the Panama Canal--and volatile aftermath--before flashing forward to the reform-minded Carter era. When the CIA-supported Noriega comes to power, reform gives way to repression, and Reagan calls for the dictator's ouster. His successor, Bush, brings in the troops. It would be one thing if they only targeted military facilities, but witnesses claim soldiers also fired on civilians and residential property (a Pentagon spokesman denies the accusation). Depending on the source, casualties ranged from 250 to 4,000. Narrated by Elizabeth Montgomery, Panama Deception was shot on video--and looks it--but content is king. To some, the film will play like conspiracy theory as a few speakers are unidentified (probably to protect their identities). Trent and Kasper also suggest that General Torrijos's 1981 death by plane crash may not have been accidental, though they offer no proof. More often, however, they’re persuasive in their case against the intervention--and they have extensive audio-visual evidence to back it up. Incidentally, the 1989 operation was dubbed 'Just Cause.' It seems unlikely many Panamanians would agree with that description. DVD extras include filmmaker profiles and interview updates on the impact of the invasion. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Business as Usual
The invasion of Panama is one of many military operations in Central America that result from business deals going bad. The business in this case was drug smuggling. Noriega was found out for what he was, a CIA operative that was following orders to facilitate CIA drug running to the US. US criminal boss ,Poppi Bush, had him taken out to rid the world of this drug kingpin who was also head of state. "Panama Deception" shows in grisley detail the results of "Operation Just Cause".
Rating: - Absolutely Amazing
If there is any event that showed how the government & the American media controls the flow of information to the public it is definitely the reporting on the invasion of Panama. I watched the events on TV and knew nothing of what was in this documentary. It is a sobering look at how war really is and how the Bush Administration took great pains to restrict the flow of information to the American Public and substituting propaganda which the public accepted without discussion or dissent.
Rating: - "How Can The American People Be So Stupid?"
This film helps put into perspective the importance of the Panama invasion. There appear to have been a number of reasons for the invasion, and "restoring democracy" wasn't one of them. However, we did get an opportunity to test out some high tech weapons and destroy the military of Panama and, in essence, nullify the Panama Canal Treaty.
The high death toll, the destruction, and the suffering caused by the invasion and the ulterior motives behind it, as well as the nauseating complicity of the media in hiding the truth, need to be known by every American citizen. This film should raise an alarm for everyone.
Rating: - An opinionated answer
This extended director's cut of over 80 minutes of bonuses makes the Academy-Award winning film by Barbara Trent and David Kasper an exceptional winner - and required acquisition for any serious dvd library. It's an opinionated answer to the official U.S. government line about the 1989 invasion of Panama and deserves a space in any serious history or military lending library, offering up in-depth investigative information and a probe which reveals the progress of Noriega's relationship with Bush and the CIA.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Rating: - Better Late Than Never
I just watched this little horror story from the American past (that history which so few Americans know about and perhaps even fewer willingly believe)on Spanish TV. I knew most of the details of the story, the incontrovertible truth that Noriega was a CIA creature until he got too big for his britches, the Washington politics (IranContra and such) that made him embarassing to Reagan and Bush, the incredible overkill of the American invasion, the manipulation of the media, the cover-up. Seeing it on film was nonetheless quite distressing. But the truth must be known, however uncomfortable.
And of course, the parallels to the Iraq disaster are remarkable. Santayana was right: Those who don't study/remember history are condemned to repeat it... only ten times worse.
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