''Mighty Ira'' is a 2020 documentary film by Nico Perrino, Aaron Reese, and Chris Maltby. The film profiles the life and career of
Ira Glasser
Ira Saul Glasser (born April 18, 1938) served as the fifth executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1978 to 2001. His life was the subject of the 2020 documentary '' Mighty Ira''.
Early years
Ira Glasser was born on ...
, who was executive director of the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1978 to 2001.
The movie focuses on Glasser's advocacy for free speech and racial justice, as well as his defense of the rights of neo-Nazis to rally in the Chicago suburb of
Skokie, Illinois in the 1970s, which at the time was home to many
Holocaust survivors. It also covers Glasser's unlikely friendship with
William F. Buckley Jr.
William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded ''National Review'', the magazine that stim ...
and his upbringing as a fan of the
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
baseball team.
Production
The idea for ''Mighty Ira'' first originated in 2017, after Perrino met Glasser in New York City at the funeral of writer and jazz critic
Nat Hentoff. The film was produced by Perrino and his
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), formerly known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, is a non-profit Civil liberties in the United States, civil liberties group founded in 1999 with the aim of protectin ...
colleagues Reese and Maltby. Perrino, a millennial, said that he helped create the film because he felt his generation didn't understand why Glasser's generation fought for free speech rights.
The name "Mighty Ira" comes from a line in a poem written by one of Glasser's ACLU colleagues, read at the end of the film. The title of the poem, "Ira at the Bat", is a play on the famous "
Casey at the Bat" poem by
Ernest Lawrence Thayer that includes a line about "mighty Casey."
Release
Because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the filmmakers decided to forgo taking ''Mighty Ira'' on the film festival circuit and instead released it through
Angelika Film Center
Angelika Film Center is a movie theater chain in the United States that features independent and foreign films. It operates theaters in New York City, Texas, Washington, D.C., California and Virginia. Its headquarters are in New York City.
Histor ...
's virtual cinema program in October 2020. The movie was later made available on streaming platforms, such as
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
and
Apple TV+.
Glasser appeared on
The Joe Rogan Experience and
Real Time with Bill Maher to promote the film.
Reception
Critical reception
''Mighty Ira'' received generally positive reviews. The Hollywood Reporter called the movie "a warm portrait that poses ever-urgent questions," while journalist
Matt Taibbi
Matthew Colin Taibbi (; born March 2, 1970) is an American author, journalist, and podcaster. He has reported on finance, media, politics, and sports. A former contributing editor for ''Rolling Stone'', he is an author of several books, co-host o ...
noted that it is "elegant and thought-provoking."
''Spiked'' claimed the film is "a long-overdue tribute to a civil-liberties hero." Matt Fagerholm, writing for RogerEbert.com, gave ''Mighty Ira'' a more mixed review, awarding it 2.5 out of 4 stars.
The film attracted interest from Jewish publications, where it received favorable reviews focusing on the film's treatment of the Skokie case and Glasser's relationship with 96-year-old Holocaust survivor (and former Skokie resident) Ben Stern.
Film festivals
''Mighty Ira'' won the grand prize at the 2021 Anthem Film Festival. It was also awarded "Best Documentary Feature Film" at the 2021 Lake Travis Film Festival.
[{{Cite web , last=I.Faleye , date=2021-06-23 , title='Toprak' and 'Mighty Ira' Win Top Filmmaker Awards at Lake Travis Film Festival 2021 , url=https://www.vimooz.com/2021/06/22/toprak-and-mighty-ira-win-top-filmmaker-awards-at-lake-travis-film-festival-2021/ , access-date=2023-04-05 , website=VIMooZ , language=en-US]
References
American documentary films
American independent films
2020 films
2020s American films
American Civil Liberties Union people