It is a performances centric movie

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Intimidating as it inspires, Page One pushes cameras into one of the highest-pressure environments around and captures a few human moments in the midst of empire-cleaving times. As he explores the prognosis for the Gray Lady, Andrew Rossi also lends light to lives led in pursuit of larger issues, and he illuminates just how frantic days are within the halls and heads of those responsible for the paper of record. Best of all, we're allowed to be entertained by journalists who otherwise appear only in text that has been scraped and stapled by an institution until its fit to print. More than the documentary's macro plunge into the fate of print media, it is these nicks and knacks of picking up Twitter and trying to break through to clarity in reporting that defines Page One as an inside scoop.

The New York Times' problem is one facing thousands of papers across the globe; Why pay for a newspaper in a world where information is everywhere, instantly, and for free?The grave tones of some of the witnesses jar the viewer into shock (and awe) at the reality of the threat facing these once powerful institutions. These are troubling times, make no mistake.There is a good reason for the bulk of the film to focus on David Carr (a reformed drug addict who came to journalism at the age of 46, who now works for the paper). He stands out as a passionate spokesperson for the New York Times and the traditional media. He is an engaging presence and has a charisma. Unfortunately, however, the film struggles to contain an impulse to melodramatically delve in and out of his back story and this diminishes the impact of the piece.The film suffers as a result. It leaps about too frequently, covering too many bases. This should have been a channelled, and terrifying, testimony to the precarious future of the print industry, and you do get the feeling that there is a riveting documentary beneath the murk.Ultimately, although it stands as a fascinating insight into the day-to-day practices of a longstanding and famously influential printing giant, this film is, frustratingly, an opportunity missed.Read the full review, and many others at: toomuchnoiseblog.wordpress.com

How can old-fashioned print media survive and be competitive in the revolution of new technology and media like Twitter, Internet bloggers and Wikileaks? It seems like everyday the obituary columns of newspapers are full of reports of the death of major American newspapers, and the ability of The New York Times to survive in these difficult economic times has been a source of much speculation over the years. Advertising revenue has collapsed, and major newspapers have gone bankrupt across the country. These are some of the issues explored in this fascinating and eye-opening documentary from Andrew Rossi (who co-produced Jehane Noujaim's Al Jazeera doco Control Room). Granted unprecedented access, Rossi and his film crew spent a year embedded in the offices of the venerable New York Times, observing the day to day operations of the newsroom, the editorial meetings, the retrenchments, and following a few journalists. One of the most colourful characters we meet is David Carr, a former crack addict, who is now a respected and outspoken media columnist for the paper. Rossi compares the Wikileaks site and its exposure of secret files with the paper's own achievements in publishing the infamous Pentagon papers three decades earlier. But he also questions the future of investigative journalism in this age of quick and immediate on-line blogging that mainly passes on snippets of gossip and rumour without the basic fact checking and verification of sources of newspapers. He draws a parallel with the Watergate affair and how intrepid reporters from the Washington Post brought down a President. The film charts the changing face of journalism, but argues that there is still a place for print media in this electronic age. Page One is a fairly balanced view, as Rossi also looks at some of the recent scandals that have tarnished the Times' reputation and damaged its credibility.

Page One is a documentary that follows the newspaper business, a business that is being beat out by the internet and mobile devices. The film follows one year at The New York Times and the people who work there. The main focus of the film is David Carr, a journalist with a rough exterior but a good heart and a great wit. Carr is a former drug addict and a New York Times reporter for many, many years. Carr has been writing for so long that he even says during the film "If you write about media long enough, eventually you type your way to your own doorstep." Carr is a fascinating character. This summer, we have gotten Thor, Captain America, The Green Lantern, Mr. Popper, ETC, but nothing beats watching a real guy with real strengths and genuine flaws go through every day life. Carr is an incredibly smart and humorous man with quick responses to just about everything. There is a scene, for example, when David Carr is looking at an I Pad with a fellow employee. Carr says "Wow, this is a great reading experience," in which he follows up with "you know what this reminds me of?..a newspaper." There are a lot of funny lines like that from Carr throughout the film. While there are a lot of people we get to meet and share experiences with in Page One, Carr is the only one worth reviewing because he is the only one who brings a realism to his role as a reporter. I must add that seeing how all of these people live is fascinating, but Carr is truly the only one who makes Page One worth reading into.