"An irresistible David and Goliath tale...you can't help but cheer along" Seattle Times

McDonald's loved using the UK libel laws to suppress criticism. Major media organizations like the BBC and The Guardian crumbled and apologized. Then they sued gardener Helen Steel and postman Dave Morris. In the longest trial in English legal history, the "McLibel Two" represented themselves against McDonald's £10 million legal team. Every aspect of the corporation's business was cross-examined: from junk food and McJobs, to animal cruelty, environmental damage and advertising to children. Outside the courtroom, Dave brought up his young son alone and Helen supported herself working nights in a bar. McDonald's tried every trick in the book against them. Legal maneuvers. A visit from Ronald McDonald. Top executives flying to London for secret settlement negotiations. Even spies.

Seven years later, in February 2005, the marathon legal battle finally concluded at the European Court of Human Rights. And the result took everyone by surprise - especially the British Government.

McLIBEL is not about hamburgers. It is about the importance of freedom of speech now that multinational corporations are more powerful than countries.

Filmed over ten years by no-budget Director Franny Armstrong, McLIBEL is the David and Goliath story of two people who refused to say sorry. And in doing so, changed the world.

NOTE: This feature length version of the original McLibel: Two Worlds Collide was made after the landmark ruling in the European Court of Human Rights, which declared that the McLibel case was in breach of the right to a fair trial and right to freedom of expression.

Other films by Franny Armstrong are Drowned Out and Baked Alaska



Grade Level: 10-12, College, Adult
US Release Date: 2005     Copyright Date: 2005
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-290-4     VHS ISBN: 1-59458-289-0

Reviews "An irresistible David and Goliath tale...you can't help but cheer along" - Seattle Times "Hilarious and engrossing" - BBC "Freedom of speech rarely tasted so satisfying" - The (London) Times "Truly, hilariously dramatic" - SF Weekly "Twists the dagger in McDonald's clogged arteries" - Orlando Sentinel "Complex and fascinating" - CBS News "Dynamite" - Yahoo Movies "Will make you think twice about what civil liberties are worth in the corporate era...Powerful." - Time Out "Alarming, but ultimately inspiring" - Variety "Satisfies both head and heart" - Time Out "Kind of legendary" - E-Insiders "Absolutely unmissable" - The Guardian (UK) " * * * * An intriguing, important documentary. Don't miss it. " - Todd David Schwartz, CBS Radio "A racing plot with more twists than a John le Carré novel...the perfect 21st century narrative...a wonderfully human tale about two people who simply refused to say sorry and in doing so they changed the world. Brilliant." - Bermuda Sun Newspaper "Inspirational...Absorbing." - Chicago Reader "Will make you think twice about what civil liberties are worth in the corporate era...Powerful." - Time Out "I learnt more from this film - and laughed much more - than I did in Super Size Me." - Nick Fraser, BBC Storyville Series editor "An often-hilarious exposé of big business arrogance and an extraordinary example of independent filmmaking." - Sydney Morning Herald "Absolute nonchalance and great pizzazz...Dynamite." - IndieWire "Dramatic, inspiring, hard-hitting and heart-warming" - New Internationalist