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Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down

List Price: $19.94
Your Price: $14.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Taking a page from Disney DVD...
Review: While the Black Hawk Down movie is compelling, I am upset that the DVD contains no real special features. There is no directors track, no interview from the military, etc. There is a 30 minute 'making of' type of feature, but for me it provided little added value.

My guess is that after waiting for a significant number of people to purchase this first release, they will turn around and release some 'collectors' or 'limited' edition. I think these 'Disney' like marketing tactics are sleazy, so I will not but this DVD. Save your money and go rent it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best War Movie I Have Ever Seen
Review: This has to be the most powerful, touching, outstanding, and emotionally-packed war movie I have ever seen. Everything about this movie is fantastic. This is A REALITY. THIS IS WAR.

People saying this movie is hard to watch: Yeah, it is. But I cannot stand when people say that it's too violent. It's war! That's how war is. And the events in the movie are supposed to be true, so it's not like they can change anything just to please people.

The direction and cinematography is really outstanding and breathtaking. You really feel like you're there with those men at the time they were attacked. And the reason why this movie lacked character development is because this is A REAL EVENT. In war, there is no time to figure out who the dreamer is, or the romantic, or the writer, and so on and so on. We were given all of the info we needed.

Why did I like this better than "Saving Private Ryan?" Because, this is a true story. And it just seems more powerful. Don't get me wrong, I loved "Saving Private Ryan," but I liked this a lot more.

For those of you who like special features, there are a few. I haven't had the chance to check them out yet, though. But, they are there.

I think "Black Hawk Down," is something EVERYONE needs to see at least once. It is a very important film that shows us how courageous human beings can be. "No one gets left behind." Remember those words.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Great cast and gripping story but too much war
Review: I love war movies, I will admit. Whether it is Saving Private Ryan or one of the many war film starring John Wayne, there has always been something special about going to the limit and making sacrifices for what you believe in. But this movie was just too much of that.
People say that the first ten minutes or so of Saving Private Ryan is intensive and ultra-graphic. And they would be right. About 85% of Black Hawk Down is at the same level of intensity and graphic depiction. It is almost like a rollercoaster ride from hell. It left me somewhat dazed at the end.
Having said that, I thought the cast was wonderful. The characters were colorful and managed to each stand out in the midst of hellish wave of war imagery bombarding your eyes and mind.
All and all, not a bad film but not an exceptional one. Less beating about the head and shoulders with the imagery stick and I think it would have been an exceptional one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Action Movie
Review: This movie not only provides a Great overview of the situation that took place in Somalia and Bosnia but it also really makes you feel like you were there in the fight with the people. After watching this movie I now appriciate the men and women that protect our great land. I highly recomend this movie for the older members of the family, due to some graphic injury scenes.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not suitable for family viewing
Review: Two hours of shooting, killing and blood squirting. Not suitable for family viewing. Even though this movie may have some factual background, the storyline flatlined.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow! I really loved this one!
Review: I thought it was going to be a "Hollywoodized" overly dramatic movie. Boy was I proven wrong. This movie contains excellent combat sequences, compelling acting by famous actors such as Josh Harnett and yes: Jedi master himself Ewan McGreggor.

I loved the way this movie did not stray from what really happened. I read the book Black Hawk Down years before the movie came out and I must say they did a good job of not altering it. But then again they didn't have to. The real story is great as is.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gritty, intense war epic
Review: With combat scenes that make past works like Platoon, Hamburger Hill and more recent ones such as The Thin Red Line and We Were Soldiers look absolutely plain in comparison, Black Hawk Down achieves a new standard in war filmmaking, something I thought would be impossible after Saving Private Ryan.

Ironically enough, Black Hawk Down happens to be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the man responsible for ... Con Air, but for him, this is probably just a fluke considering the release of Bad Company. For director Ridley Scott, however, the man is on a streak. With the enjoyable, epic story telling and exciting fight sequences in Gladiator, the stylish and suspenseful Hannibal, and now the brilliant battle scenes and military logistics of Black Hawk Down, he's added another successful film to his list, and like Spielberg, he could possibly become one of the few directors with complete creative control over his projects. There's no denying the man is an action genius, weaving together over a dozen skirmishes into one coherent, extremely long and violent battle sequence that will make heads spin and hearts pound.

This was the best film of 2001, with Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings as its only true competitor.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best of the recent spate of war films.
Review: From the beginning of 2001 to summer 2002, there's been a glut of war films (actually if you notice, there's always an interval for a mass pile of films of a certain genre; in 1999 it was horror and 2000 was sci-fi). Counting television miniseries, we have had Enemy at the Gates, Pearl Harbor, Band of Brothers, Uprising, Behind Enemy Lines, Hart's War, We Were Soldiers, Wintalkers, and the best of them all, Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down.

Down is an anti-war film that may seem simplistic in its approach (that being featuring non-stop combat), but is more complex than it seems. First, it offers more perspectives and point-of-views of war than any other film I've ever seen. Whether it's the pilots in the air, the soldiers fighting on the ground, the convoy, or the leaders back in headquarters, director Scott wisely displays the frantic situation by letting us see how each side handles the matter.

There are other interesting elements at work, such as the very fact that this terrible event is the reason why America's stance on foreign involvement weakened, and as a result, so did our fight against terrorism.

But of course, most people will see this for the battle scenes, and they're probably the best ever filmed, creating an authentic atmosphere and "you are there" feeling that only Saving Private Ryan and the attack sequence in Pearl Harbor achieved in the past fifteen or so years. Honestly, it's a little hard to go back and watch beloved combat films such as Platoon and not be put off by how basic the battle choreography is in comparison to what Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, and even Michael Bay have accomplished.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Do some homework!
Review: I suggest everyone do some homework regarding the events that lead to this black eye in US Military history. Like Vietnam, Operation Restore Hope is a perfect example US Political leaders using our most valued resource (our sons and daughters) to gain favor with the electorate or foreign countries. The blame starts at the top and ends with Gen. Garrison. For their mistakes and miscalculations America lost 19 brave and honored souls. What a waste!

Suggested reading: Col. David Hackworth's About Face and Hazardous Duty

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Black Hawk Down
Review: Everything positive about this movie has been stated repeatedly. Having read the book and the online articles from the Philadelphia Enquirer, I was disappointed that some things that happen in war were not shown. This was probably a result of the U.S. Armed Forces involvement. What I am referring to is women getting shot, and children getting shot. The enemy hiding behind women while shooting, and children sitting on the shooters. I am sure with special effects, the results of being hit by a .50 calibre machine gun could be shown. The purpose is not that I am blood thirsty, but the devastating effects of the bullets would be very illuminating. The closest I have seen any of these factors illustrated was Rules of Engagement with Samuel Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones. I know that Delta Force is not supposed to exist, but I think that the movie should have shown the differences between the younger Rangers and older Delta Force. Don't get me wrong, I loved the movie. I am just waiting to buy the director's edition.


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