--- From: "Ken Horowitz" <kenhat_private> To: declanat_private Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 09:54:16 -0400 Subject: Echelon docu, reviewed in Variety I haven't heard anything about Echelon for a while, so here's a timely Variety review of a new French documentary titled "Echelon: The Secret Power". The final line is a good summary: "Backed up by leading British and New Zealand investigative journalists and former security agents from the countries concerned, so overwhelming and smartly presented is doc's thesis that by the time a former CIA head weighs in with a straight-faced rebuttal, he appears to have less credibility than a bag lady raving about little green men." http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=review&reviewid=VE1117920535&categoryid=31&cs=1 Echelon: The Secret Power Echelon: Le Pouvoir Secret (Docu -- France) A France 2, KUIV production. (International sales: SFP, Bry-sur-Marne, France.) Produced by Michael Rotman, Mahel Ranc. Directed, written by David Korn-Brzoza. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Lisa Nesselon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you phone, fax or email a friend to say "Let's go see 'Echeleon: The Secret Power,'" be advised, you'll doubtless end up on a list somewhere. Juicy, entertaining and densely informative doc demonstrates the extent to which private communications are illegally and constantly spied on by the title network, which spans the globe, plumbs the ocean depths and beams into outer space and back. Visually and intellectually lively doc, designed to mimic an espionage thriller, is a riveting, spine-tingling account of five sneaky English- speaking nations working in collusion. Sure to be a fest favorite, "Echelon" should be snapped up by tube outlets hither and yon and beyond. Shot split screen/widescreen in mock "surveillance camera" mode, pic piles on the revelations with matter of fact authority. Doc traces roots of comprehensive electronic surveillance to 1943, when the U.S. and Great Britain pacted to break Germany's Enigma code, shortening WWII by as much as two years. [snip. --DBM] Doc overflows with real names and precise addresses. In a modest building at 8 Palmer St. in London, for example, every fax entering or leaving the U.K. was analyzed in the 1980s, according to information in the docu. Ecehlon grows ever more powerful with next to no oversight. In the early 1970s the base on British soil in Cornwall had only two antennae. Now 21 dishes are aimed at over 21 satellites. Easy to grasp 3-D diagrams show how simple it is to intercept various signals. Programs with titles like "Advanced Vortex" cull transmissions to and from pagers and mobile phones. Semantic Intelligence is the term for scanning for spoken words. "Voicecast," a form of personalized voice recognition, is credited with making the shooting of Emilio Escobar in 1993 possible. Fred Stock, a Canadian agent from 1987-1993, testifies that he was instructed to listen in on the Red Cross, Greenpeace, Amnesty Intl. and -- get this -- Princess Diana when she began campaigning against landmines. The Queen of England, even the Pope--nobody is impervious. Backed up by leading British and New Zealand investigative journalists and former security agents from the countries concerned, so overwhelming and smartly presented is doc's thesis that by the time a former CIA head weighs in with a straight-faced rebuttal, he appears to have less credibility than a bag lady raving about little green men. Camera (color, widescreen), Claude Pavelek, Bjorn Kathofer, Bruno Henry, Christophe Petit, Korn-Brzoza; editor, Cecile Coolen; music, Francoise Marchesean; sound (Dolby), Robin Aramburu, Witold Kubeck. Reviewed at Gothenburg Film Festival, Sweden, Jan. 26, 2003. (Also in Amsterdam Documentary Festival.) Running time: 82 MIN. Narrator: Francois Devienne. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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