Live From Baghdad

Rating:
Summary: Would have been interesting if it was true
Review: Sadly, this docudrama is built around the infamous 'incubator' story, which was later found to be US and Kuwaiti propaganda. The movie never admits this. I suppose if it had, a lot of the motivation for the movie characters would be lost. It's a pity that the filmmakers decided not to plumb the real depths that surrounded the events that the movie covers, for if they had, there would be a really gripping story of media manipulation (i.e. not only manipulation by Iraq). Sadly, the filmmakers either ignore the more subtle manipulations that went on, or are blithely unaware of them. In the end, this movie becomes a pro-CNN fluff piece, and is as superficial as the network coverage it intends to portray.

Rating:
Summary: Finally
Review: Thank God that after all these years Michael Keaton is back. It was worth the wait. Nobody can do it like he can. Espectacular and thoughtful movie.

Rating:
Summary: Another Notch In HBO's Belt!
Review: This film is really good. It belongs up there with THE INSIDER, ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN, BROADCAST NEWS and all the other great journalism films. As usual, HBO's production relies on a strong cast - headed up by the always solid Helena Bonham-Carter and Michael Keaton - and a tightly written script. Add in confident direction by Mick Jackson and wrap it around a true story and you have a compelling movie. This is much, much better than the usual [stuff] that Hollywood decides we should pay [money amount]to see.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: What a film! It is so great to see a movie that can not only entertain, but also educate. And it was great to see Michael Keaton doing what he does best, after so much time. It brings to life what was going on over there. I was 15 when I was watching The Gulf War on TV... It was scary, but at that age I didn't understand. I'm glad to learn the truth in history, especially from movies. I felt the same about the movie "Thirteen Days". Keep bringing those movies that teach us our own history. Robert Wiener and Mick Jackson, you did a great job in telling the story from this perspective.

Rating:
Summary: HBO Does it Again! Their Best Work Yet!
Review: Who would have thought that one of the best producers of quality films these days is a premium, cable television channel? It's one thing to have terrific shows like THE SOPRANOS & CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, but to consistently put out films that are, in most cases, better than what gets released to local movie theatres is no small feat.
With "Live From Baghdad," HBO has outdone themselves, once again. Based on a true story and a book by Robert Wiener, this film tells the story of how the 1991 Gulf War put a fledgling news network, CNN, on the map.
Wiener (played by the always excellent and underrated Michael Keaton) and his crew set up shop in Baghdad on the eve of the war and, while all the other major networks bail as the Americans eventually strike Baghdad, they make the bold decision to stay and report.
I remember, clear as day, sitting in my living room, with my father, watching the coverage of CNN that night America first attacked. I was amazed at how daring and amazing the three reporters (John Holliman, Peter Arnett & Bernard Shaw) were at that time, as they remained in their room of the Al-Rashid hotel in downtown Baghdad with a microphone put up right by the window so that viewers could hear all the bombing. Director Mick Johnson perfectly recreates this scene and keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat.
Keaton receives excellent support from the likes of Helena Bonham Carter (wonderful and sexy, as always), Lili Taylor and, especially, David Suchet, who plays Naji, an Iraqi gentleman from the Ministry of Information who assists Wiener and, eventually, befriends him.
Perhaps what's most effective with LIVE FROM BAGHDAD is that it doesn't take the easy way out and tell a one-sided view of the Gulf War. Nor does it let the viewer off the hook with a typical, triumphant, Hollywood ending.
While it's obvious that Wiener and crew are thrilled with what their bravery and courage has earned them, they are clearly conflicted and saddened that it took such utter death and destruction to get them such accolades.
I highly recommend listening to Mick Johnson's commentary. It's quite fascinating and engrossing and puts things in a much different perspective by reminding us that this thrilling and action-packed story is based almost entirely on fact!
Kudos again to HBO for producing quality material like LIVE FROM BAGHDAD. As usual, they have impeccable timing, for, as the film was about to premiere, America was on the verge of invading Iraq yet again. This is all the more reason to view LIVE FROM BAGHDAD, for it serves as a reminder of just how daring Wiener and his crew were.
With America's current occupation of Iraq, the television coverage is constant from the likes of the three major networks, BBC, FOXNEWS, etc. But, back in 1991, as one character in the film puts it, CNN "owned the war."

Rating:
Summary: HBO Does it Again! Their Best Work Yet!
Review: Who would have thought that one of the best producers of quality films these days is a premium, cable television channel? It's one thing to have terrific shows like THE SOPRANOS & CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, but to consistently put out films that are, in most cases, better than what gets released to local movie theatres is no small feat.
With "Live From Baghdad," HBO has outdone themselves, once again. Based on a true story and a book by Robert Wiener, this film tells the story of how the 1991 Gulf War put a fledgling news network, CNN, on the map.
Wiener (played by the always excellent and underrated Michael Keaton) and his crew set up shop in Baghdad on the eve of the war and, while all the other major networks bail as the Americans eventually strike Baghdad, they make the bold decision to stay and report.
I remember, clear as day, sitting in my living room, with my father, watching the coverage of CNN that night America first attacked. I was amazed at how daring and amazing the three reporters (John Holliman, Peter Arnett & Bernard Shaw) were at that time, as they remained in their room of the Al-Rashid hotel in downtown Baghdad with a microphone put up right by the window so that viewers could hear all the bombing. Director Mick Johnson perfectly recreates this scene and keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat.
Keaton receives excellent support from the likes of Helena Bonham Carter (wonderful and sexy, as always), Lili Taylor and, especially, David Suchet, who plays Naji, an Iraqi gentleman from the Ministry of Information who assists Wiener and, eventually, befriends him.
Perhaps what's most effective with LIVE FROM BAGHDAD is that it doesn't take the easy way out and tell a one-sided view of the Gulf War. Nor does it let the viewer off the hook with a typical, triumphant, Hollywood ending.
While it's obvious that Wiener and crew are thrilled with what their bravery and courage has earned them, they are clearly conflicted and saddened that it took such utter death and destruction to get them such accolades.
I highly recommend listening to Mick Johnson's commentary. It's quite fascinating and engrossing and puts things in a much different perspective by reminding us that this thrilling and action-packed story is based almost entirely on fact!
Kudos again to HBO for producing quality material like LIVE FROM BAGHDAD. As usual, they have impeccable timing, for, as the film was about to premiere, America was on the verge of invading Iraq yet again. This is all the more reason to view LIVE FROM BAGHDAD, for it serves as a reminder of just how daring Wiener and his crew were.
With America's current occupation of Iraq, the television coverage is constant from the likes of the three major networks, BBC, FOXNEWS, etc. But, back in 1991, as one character in the film puts it, CNN "owned the war."

Rating:
Summary: FIRST CLASS TAKE ON WAR-TIME JOURNALISM DESPITE MINOR GUFFS
Review: Yet another crisp production from HBO, a glimpse into the life and travails of reporters who covered the first Gulf War. Adapted from the memoirs of a real reporter, Bob Wiener.

How easily this could have gone down as a lame self-aggrandizing project underwritten by one member of the Time Warner family on behalf of another. But it's riveting drama instead, with dollops of integrity thrown in for good measure.

While the film is surely guilty of toting the CNN badge at times (it's just a TV channel folks) it does a remarkable job in capturing the grim realities of war time coverage, including many honest protrayals of the failings of the crew. The horror wreaked on Kuwait is brought back vividly during a sequence in which Wiener and his team travel to Kuwait to investigate allegations that Iraqi troops had ripped babies out of incubators as part of their plundering. Such news is hard to come by though, as is palpably evident in the hunt for that prize interview with Saddam Hussein.

Blood-curdling mindgames, inscrutable obstacles, ethical question marks, even a romantic subplot (which I believe could have been snipped a bit) -- the movie has oodles smooshed in, most of which have a powerful ring of truth and a striking sense of authenticity, as relevant, insane, urgent as tomorrow morning's headlines.

Heartily recommended all-round entertainer for discerning viewers.