Live From Baghdad

Rating:
Summary: Don't hurt your arm patting your own back
Review: After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, CNN positioned a television news team in Baghdad. When the U.S. commenced the First Gulf War in January of the following year, only CNN stayed in the Iraqi capital while all other major news organizations scuttled for cover. The executive producer of the team was Robert Weiner. LIVE FROM BAGHDAD is based on the book of the same title by Robert Weiner. The film's script is by, you guessed it, Robert Weiner. Please forgive my cynicism if I think this film a self-congratulatory spasm.

Perhaps the main reason to view LIVE FROM BAGHDAD is to watch Michael Keaton play Weiner. Keaton's film career began about the same time as that of Tom Hanks, yet the latter has completely eclipsed the former. Yet I wonder why this should be so since Keaton is a fine actor. We don't see enough of him on the Big Screen (much less the Small Screen that hosted this HBO production).

Helena Bonham Carter plays Ingrid Formanek, Weiner's co-producer, a role incorporated into the script for completeness, but which otherwise left me at a loss to appreciate. Early on, Weiner declares to his boss that he and Formanek are bitter rivals. Yet, the two are apparently soft on each other, a state of affairs resulting from the two of them having gotten drunk together in ten different countries while on assignment. But there's never any real chemistry between the two, and Ingrid's occasional brilliant but enigmatic smile just isn't enough to carry the character.

Most of the film is contrived suspense as the CNN team works around, or is manipulated by, the Iraqi Ministry of Information. At one point, Information Minister Naji Al-Hadithi, wonderfully played by David Suchet, cunningly uses Weiner and his crew to refute rumors that Iraqi troops had torn Kuwaiti babies from hospital incubators. (I mention this because that "atrocity" has since been revealed to have been anti-Iraqi war propaganda falsely manufactured by the Kuwaitis.) In any case, most of the film's excitement occurs at the end as CNN correspondents Peter Arnett (Bruce McGill) and John Holliman (John Lynch) eyewitness report U.S. bombing of Baghdad on the first night of the war. The pyrotechnics are spectacular.

History marches on, and America, having since toppled Saddam, is now militarily mired in a wretched place. The biggest problem with this film is that the Second Gulf War has made any news of the First passé. Does anybody care at this late date besides Robert Weiner and CNN?

Rating:
Summary: Accurate and worth buying
Review: As a TV journalist I may be a bit biased about this movie. I feel that Keaton's portral of a news producer was accurate, they really do try to do anything to get the story. Even though I was never in Iraq, I could see what the people went through, they knew if they survived it would be the story of their lifetime, and for many it was. Deciding if you should take the assignment to go into a war zone is a highly personal one, which you must weigh carefully. This movie shows what it was like in Iraq during the first Gulf War, with all the danger that is associated with being in a war getting the story. This is in my opinion the best example of what being a war corrospondent is really all about; and for all the history buffs out there this is how CNN got the exclusive on the Gulf War. 'Live from Baghdad' takes on more significance because of the recent war in Iraq, and since many still have loved ones over there. Buy the movie, if you like a good war pic, or are intrested in journalism.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good movie, but...Part 2
Review: Before I wrote my first review I had not read the book. Basically what that means is that I did not take into account what HBO would be willing to do to make the movie more palatable to an audience. The most obvious measure was inserting a hint of romance between the Micheal Keaton and Helena Bonham-Carter characters. If anything the movie follows the book pretty closely. Robert Wiener was in Iraq for many months as opposed to the films several week period, but it would not have been feasible for the film to depict this. If anything few "liberties" are taken and the film is all the more stronger for it.

Rating:
Summary: Great Docudrama!
Review: From the opening frames of Michael Keaton trying to weasel his way into what he suspects will become the assignment of a lifetime, this production of CNN producer Robert Wiener's best-selling book, "Live from Baghdad" is a tightly shot, nerve-racking melodrama depicting how the CNN team bribed, cajoled and maneuvered their way into the story about the road to war in Iraq in 1990-91 and wound up being the only news network to cover the actual outbreak of the American bombing campaign. In the process they also single-handedly vaulted the reputation and stature of CNN into becoming the premier news source for the world at large. In one provocative scene, it shows the eyes of Saddam Hussein and George Bush after the first night of the war, both of them focused on the TV screen before them, tuned in to CNN.

Wiener literally sneaks the small and ill-regarded CNN team into Baghdad after the invasion of Iraqi forces into Kuwait amid threats form American President George Bush that the Iraqi invasion meant a certain American military response with an international coalition. Keaton plays the ambitious and neurotically-driven Wiener quite well, and he has an excellent leading lady by way of Helena Bonhan Carter, playing his erstwhile assistant producer, Ingrid Formanek. By far the most interesting character depicted is the Iraqi Information Minister Naji, is played to perfection by David Suchet (of Poirot fame on BBC TV). What ensues is a clever and dangerous 'cat and mouse' game in which Wiener takes what victories as can be grabbed and dispersed over the secure lines he has conned the Iraqis into allowing. For example, they film Saddam's frightening interview with a young British boy, and without any voice over, catch the essence of the extreme fear of the boy in a way that both electrifies the world wide audience into understanding how horrific Saddam is and puts the lie to the idea that such hostages were merely the "guests "of the regime.

But the CNN team is manipulated and used by the Iraqis as well. In one particularly telling case, they are allowed to go to Kuwait city to interview doctors to quell the rumors of Iraqi soldiers having stolen incubators while leaving infants dying on the cold hospital ward floors. At the hospital, Wiener discovers the doctor is trembling with fear, an indication that the whole interview is a set-up, and when he attempts to alter the situation, finds himself and the crew forcibly ejected and manhandled back into the escort vehicles and quickly flown back to Baghdad. Arriving back in the city, he finds a nightmare situation; the Iraqis have meanwhile already leaked the news story they want, that being that the CNN team had found no evidence of the stolen incubators in Kuwait. Suddenly, the CNN team becomes the story of the day rather than just reporting it.

The final scenes leading to the initial American bombing attacks are accurate, well-produced, and nerve-shattering, as the team finds itself alone in the hotel and free to report the exclusive unfolding story of the invasion with an incredible job of voice-over reporting 'live from Baghdad". The film is a thought-provoking production, and the "location shots" are quite realistic and very believable as being Baghdad, which obviously they were not. The panorama provided of the aftermath of the first night's bombing is horrific, and clearly portray the cruel and savage nature of modern warfare. While the movie pulls no punches, it is fairly apolitical, sticking to the basic story of how it is that CNN came to be the sole source of news for the first few days of the war, and how that happenstance launched CNN into becoming the news organization it is today. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: A great Docudrama
Review: I found the story compelling to follow, I've watched this movie 3 times and enjoyed all aspects of it. Because the characters are real (i.e. CNN's crew) it was credible.But the most moving part was the background music. This would make an awesome CD to own, ranking it right up there with Black Hawk Down Sountrack. I can't find any reference as to the availability of this in a soundtrack, but if it exists......I WANT IT!

Rating:
Summary: Good movie, not quite accurate
Review: I know a lot of people get their history lessons from films, but please do not take everything at face value! While "Live From Baghdad" was a wonderfully acted and for the most part well-scripted movie, it had one glaring error. It bills itself as the "exhilarating true story" but includes the bit about Iraqi soldiers taking babies out of incubators in a Kuwait hospital. This story is false, and has been debunked by numerous sources, including Congress and the journalist who first broke the story. So while there are many reasons to vilify the Iraqi Army, murdering hundreds of premature Kuwaiti babies is not one of them. The story amounts to propaganda. Don't believe everything you see in movies.

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: I liked this movie and so would you. It is based on a true story of CNN heroes who are and decide to stay in Iraq during the Gulf War despite the so many risks. Their brave hearts make them the envy of every journalist from all over the world as this CNN crew is the only one that covered Gulf War - LIVE.

Michael Keaton rocks in this movie. I liked his performance here more then in the famous Batman movie or any other he played before.

I would especially and highly recommend this movie to those people who burned their own flags that represent Justice and Democracy for a scumbag such as Sadam Hussein and its loyal followers which today thanks to U.S.A are the sorest losers as they have always been. Then you'll see how "smart" you were to burn your own flag for someone who is a menace to the civilised world.

A must watch movie. Well done to all the people who made this great movie. Well done to CNN heroes too. CNN rocks - as always.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good movie, but...
Review: I liked this movie because I'm a news junkie and a fledgling journalist myself, but I also liked it because of the acting by the various leads. Micheal Keaton has refined the manic energy of his more extreme roles to portray go-getting CNN producer Robert Wiener. You'd never think that Helena Bonham-Carter is British, I had no idea she was this good an actress. David Suchet as the Iraqi official who heads the Ministry of Information is superb also. The rest of the cast likewise deserves a big hand.

The question is whether or not the story is accurate or if the filmakers have taken "liberties." I tend to think that author and scriptwriter Wiener has given himself a small pat on the back in his portrayal of himself. In the movie he starts off as a hotshot relentlessly pursuing his agenda. When he inadvertantly puts the life of an oil worker in danger he finds himself questioning his journalistic ethics as well as his own morality. Ultimately his motives are noble and he is absolved of any wrongdoing. So what's the real story? Is this realism or idealization? I'd say it's some of both. In what proportions it is hard to say exactly. I'll give the movie the benefit of the doubt.

Rating:
Summary: Behind the scenes of round one
Review: I remember well the evening Operation Desert Shield morphed into Desert Storm. Everyone knew the invasion of Iraq would come soon after Saddam Hussein failed to meet the January deadline set by President Bush. What we didn't know for sure was how soon that attack would take place. Hours after the deadline passed, American military forces unleashed a maelstrom of destruction on Iraq. Cruise missiles and bombers soared over Baghdad with impunity, and the only news network there to capture it all live was CNN. It's difficult to imagine now, but Ted Turner's cable news network was essentially an unknown entity in 1991. Most, if not all, of the on-air personnel were largely unfamiliar to the American viewer. You might watch CNN if you stumbled over it on a pass through the cable channels and saw something interesting, but you simply did not make a habit out of watching the channel regularly. Nowadays, we have a host of cable news networks drawing viewers away from ABC, NBC, and CBS in droves. The coverage provided by CNN of those bombing runs in Baghdad thirteen years ago is primarily responsible for the success of pay cable news.

"Live From Baghdad," a made for HBO film, revisits the events that led up to that epochal moment in television news history. CNN producer Robert Wiener (Michael Keaton) jumps all over the Iraq assignment at the channel's Atlanta headquarters, figuring that events there will soon heat up to a fever pitch and thus create career making opportunities. He brings in the brash Ingrid Formanek (Helena Bonham Carter), Judy Parker (Lili Taylor), and cameraman Mark Biello (Joshua Leonard) to assist him in digging up the dirt in Baghdad. The trip over to Iraq exhausts these pampered journalists, as does the drudgery of setting up shop. We see the intrepid reporters hiring a translator, securing lodgings, finding bugs in their hotel room, and attempting to set up contacts with the notorious Ministry of Information. As we soon learn, working as an American journalist overseas is not an easy job. First, you have to live as high on the hog as you can. After all, you're an American; no one can expect you to live in a hovel. Second, transmitting a story from a country on the brink of war is headache inducing. Third, the journalistic field is dog eat dog; if you're not working on a story every day, not finding an angle everyone else isn't working on, you may as well throw in the towel.

Well, Wiener and his associates overcome most of these difficulties. Bob even strikes up a friendship with Naji Al-Nadithi, the Iraqi in charge of dealing with foreign correspondents. Both Al-Nadithi and Wiener profess to want peace, but larger issues keep getting in the way. For example, the CNN crew convinces the Iraqi government to let them into Kuwait to cover the now infamous incubator story. Unfortunately, the reporters become the story when accusations arise that Hussein's government is using them to propagate its own version of events. A few stories dealing with American workers trapped in Iraq, and the problems at the American embassy, act as filler for the big finale. As the deadline for invasion nears, the other news agencies leave the country, but Wiener and a few members of his crew decide to stick it out. Joining them are three now famous individuals: Bernard Shaw, Peter Arnett, and John Holliman. Thanks to Wiener's deft handling of the Iraqis (or is it the other way around?), the reporters witness the air strikes raining down on Baghdad outside of their hotel room window and manage to transmit video and audio transmissions to Atlanta via a special communications gizmo. Thus CNN scooped the other networks and the rest, as they say, is history.

I generally liked "Live From Baghdad." Keaton and Bonham Carter do a good job with their characters, as does David Suchet as Al-Nadithi. It's always nice to see the beautiful Lili Taylor in another movie. The film portrays Peter Arnett (played by Bruce McGill) as a devil may care boozehound, a depiction that provides a few humorous scenes. Too, the special effects used to recreate the air strikes are quite frightening. Regrettably, I have a few problems with the film. My opinion of the American media systems is at an all time low, and has been for many years. I think the emphasis on churning out new stories at breakneck speed contributes to many problems, the least of which is sloppy and superficial reporting. We see that here with the incubator story. Moreover, and probably most important, is how the film attempts to portray these reporters as heroes. C'mon folks! They sat in a hotel room and stuck a camera out the window. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have that job any day compared to flying the planes over Baghdad or serving as a soldier in the ground invasion that followed the air war. The media make themselves out to be heroes because anyone else who can prove otherwise never gets airtime.

Still, I did enjoy the movie and would watch it again. HBO discs rarely offer anything in the way of extras, but this DVD does. You get cast and crew biographies and a commentary track from director Mick Jackson. I haven't subscribed to HBO for many years now, so I never heard about this film until I stumbled over it quite by accident a few months ago. I think the irony of its release date, coinciding with the second invasion of Iraq by the younger Bush in 2002, is more than amusing. I'm surprised the movie didn't engage in blatant, far left propaganda but tried to depict both sides of the conflict. Perhaps I'm wrong, and if so you should watch the movie and judge for yourself. You'll probably like it.


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.