counter-argument to Curtis. In April 2005, Curtis expressed interest in releasing an official DVD because of popular demand, but noted that his montage technique created serious legal problems with getting such a release approved. An unofficial DVD release was made in the quarterly DVD magazine Wholphin over three issues. Reaction Critical reaction The Power of Nightmares received generally favourable reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 88% of critics gave the film positive write-ups, with an average score of 8.1/10, based upon a sample of 8 reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 78, based on six reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Entertainment Weekly described the film as "a fluid cinematic essay, rooted in painstakingly assembled evidence, that heightens and cleanses your perceptions" while Variety called it "a superb, eye-opening and often absurdly funny deconstruction of the myths and realities of global terrorism." The San Francisco Chronicle had an equally enthusiastic view of the film and likened it to "a brilliant piece in the Atlantic Monthly that's (thankfully) come to cinematic life." The New York Times had a more skeptical review, unimpressed by efforts to compare attacks on Bill Clinton by American conservatives with Islamist revolutionary activities, claiming (in a review by literary and film critic A. O. Scott) that, "its understanding of politics, geo- and national, can seem curiously thin." In May 2005, Adam Curtis was quoted as saying that 94% of e-mails to the BBC in response to the film were supportive. The film won a BAFTA Award in the category of Best Factual Series in 2005. Other awards were given by the Director's Guild of Great Britain and the Royal Television Society. Political reaction Progressive observers were particularly pleased with the film. Common Dreams had a highly positive response to the film, comparing it to the "red pill" of the Matrix series, a comparison Curtis appreciated. Commentary in The Village Voice was also mostly favorable, noting, "As partisan filmmaking, it is often brilliant and sometimes hilarious – a superior version of Syriana." The Nation, while offering a detailed critique on the film's content, said of the film itself "[it] is arguably the most important film about the 'war on terrorism' since the events of September 11." Among conservative and neoconservative critics in the United States, The Power of Nightmares has been