Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn
Original title: Bully. Coward. Victim: The Story of Roy Cohn
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
936
YOUR RATING
A look at the life and work of New York power broker Roy Cohn.A look at the life and work of New York power broker Roy Cohn.A look at the life and work of New York power broker Roy Cohn.
- Awards
- 5 nominations
Photos
Joey Adams
- Self - Comedian
- (archive footage)
Peter L. Allen
- Self - Cohn's former driver
- (as Peter Allen)
Maryanne Trump Barry
- Self - Sister of Donald Trump
- (archive footage)
Tom Brokaw
- Self
- (archive footage)
Susan Brown
- Ethel Rosenberg
- (archive footage)
Roy M. Cohn
- Self
- (archive footage)
Alan Dershowitz
- Self
- (as Alan M. Dershowitz)
Richard DuPont
- Self
- (archive footage)
Peter Fraser
- Self
- (archive footage)
Carmine Galante
- Self
- (archive footage)
Mikhail Gorbachev
- Self
- (archive footage)
David Greenglass
- Self
- (archive footage)
Irving Kaufman
- Self - Rosenberg Trial Judge
- (archive footage)
Larry King
- Self
- (archive footage)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIvy Meeropol, the director of this documentary, is the daughter of Michael Meeropol--the older son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The subject of this documentary, Roy Cohn, was a prosecutor in the Rosenbergs' espionage trial. Cohn was accused of (but never absolutely proven to have committed) an array of unethical and illegal acts during the trial, including encouraging Ethel's brother to lie on the stand to falsely incriminate Ethel and save himself and his wife. Cohn's actions led to the death penalty for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Michael and Ivy Meeropol's last name is not Rosenberg because after Julius and Ethel's execution, Michael and his brother were adopted by the activist and songwriter Abel Meeropol, best known for having written the anti-lynching song "Strange Fruit."
Featured review
"Bully.Coward. Victim." vs. "Where's My Cohn?": and the winner is...
"Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn" (2020 release; 98 min.) is a new documentary about the life and times of Roy Cohn, albeit with a different twist. As the movie opens, we see a young girl talk about pictures of her grandparents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed in the 1950s for selling the atom bomb secrets to the Soviet Union. That little girl is of course Ivy Meeropol, the writer-producer-director of this documentary. It's not long before we understand that Roy Cohn, then a young District Attorney, was pivotal in ensuring the death penalty for the Rosenbergs. Meeropol uses this historical fact as a stepping stone to look at Roy Cohn's life and times. "To call him evil, it's true, but it doesn't explain everything", comments someone early in the movie.
Couple of comments: this new documentary is a labor of love by longtime documentarian Ivy Meeropol. You may recall that just last year there was another documentary about the life and times of Roy Cohn called "Where's My Roy Cohn?" which was worth seeking out. So how does this new documentary set itself apart? Several factors: first and foremost, there is of course the deeply personal connection between Ivy Meeropol and the fact that Cohn basically sent her grandparents to their death. The movie examines what exactly happened in those dark days of the early 50s (including extensive interview clips with her dad/the Rosenberg's son) and how Cohn used it as a stepping stone in his career. Second, while it is alluded to in "Where's My Cohn?", this documentary goes into far greater detail about Cohn's split personality (the public "Mr. Fix-It"/Republican Party figure vs. the private Jewish gay man). Third, this documentary spends more time on Cohn's mentoring of the then-young Donald Trump, who has never forgotten Cohn's first and foremost advice to never, ever, ever admit to anything and instead deny, deny, deny, and attack, attack, attack. Yes, the pupil of Roy Cohn is now in the White House. That is how far this country has sunk... Bottom line: while both "Bully. Coward. Victim." and "Where's My Cohn?" are worthwhile, "Bully. Victim, Coward." is the better of the two by a nose, as its deeply personal connection resonates and also the timing of this film (in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election) is perfect.
"Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn" premiered this week on HBO and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. If you have any interest in politics and/or want to better understand how events from decades ago still influence what is happening to this very day, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: this new documentary is a labor of love by longtime documentarian Ivy Meeropol. You may recall that just last year there was another documentary about the life and times of Roy Cohn called "Where's My Roy Cohn?" which was worth seeking out. So how does this new documentary set itself apart? Several factors: first and foremost, there is of course the deeply personal connection between Ivy Meeropol and the fact that Cohn basically sent her grandparents to their death. The movie examines what exactly happened in those dark days of the early 50s (including extensive interview clips with her dad/the Rosenberg's son) and how Cohn used it as a stepping stone in his career. Second, while it is alluded to in "Where's My Cohn?", this documentary goes into far greater detail about Cohn's split personality (the public "Mr. Fix-It"/Republican Party figure vs. the private Jewish gay man). Third, this documentary spends more time on Cohn's mentoring of the then-young Donald Trump, who has never forgotten Cohn's first and foremost advice to never, ever, ever admit to anything and instead deny, deny, deny, and attack, attack, attack. Yes, the pupil of Roy Cohn is now in the White House. That is how far this country has sunk... Bottom line: while both "Bully. Coward. Victim." and "Where's My Cohn?" are worthwhile, "Bully. Victim, Coward." is the better of the two by a nose, as its deeply personal connection resonates and also the timing of this film (in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election) is perfect.
"Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn" premiered this week on HBO and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. If you have any interest in politics and/or want to better understand how events from decades ago still influence what is happening to this very day, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.
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- paul-allaer
- Jun 18, 2020
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- Bully. Coward. Victim: The Story of Roy Cohn
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- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
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By what name was Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn (2019) officially released in India in English?
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