Black Hawk Down [Region 2]

Mark Bowden's excellent book makes a good transition, but the necessary filmic needs of recognizable characters leaves us with little to hang on to; too many faces look alike, talk alike. Die alike. Some reviewers have called this war pornography, but there is too much pain, at least for me, to enjoy the violence. This is not Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. If this were War Porn, Ridley Scott would have shown the massive numbers of Somali dead and hideously wounded our forces caused. The kill ratio was at least 10 to 1 or higher.

This film also made me ask questions so I ended up reading the book, thus learning more than I intended. For me, at least, this makes Blackhawk Down worth seeing.

By the way, this is a landmark historical film: For the first time actual videotapes of a battle in progress were availible for the filmmakers to use, creating a record of words and wounds, unlike say Saving Private Ryan, which is an unlikely concoction of wishful thinking and cgi.


An engrossing war movie...   July 21, 2002
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Ridley Scott followed his great success in "Gladiator" with this gripping war film about a "small-scale" US military and humanitarian mission which went horribly wrong. In 1993 the East African nation of Somalia was falling apart - a drought had caused a massive famine, and the situation was made worse by the fact that there was no "national", or central government in Somalia. Instead, the nation was divided up among various warlords, most of whom were little more than bloodthirsty thugs who employed "militias" (little more than heavily-armed street gangs) to terrorize the population. The Red Cross tried to send food to the starving populace, but it was intercepted by the warlords, who doled out the food to increase their power. A force of US Army Rangers and Delta Force was sent to Somalia to "keep the peace" and ensure that the food reached the Somalian people. In a raid to seize the most powerful warlord - a raid which wasn't supposed to take over an hour - the US troops were pinned down by thousands of "militia" in a brutal street fight which went on for hours. As in "Gladiator", Ridley Scott gives a realistic view of battle - and as a result it's sometimes difficult to tell what is going on, as the battle scenes are often confused, with lots of screaming and running and the camera jerking awkwardly as you follow the soldiers. But that only adds to the realism, as (like the American soldiers), you never know who or what might be around the next street corner. ... I thought that "Black Hawk Down" simply showed America's soldiers in a VERY realistic light - they were simply trying to rescue their wounded, save themselves and their fellow soldiers, and get out of a nasty situation. I never saw a soldier "wave the flag", and given the way the warlords were treating their own people, they were hardly "victims" of American aggression in any sense of the word! ... Again, I thought Ridley Scott was simply trying to give moviegoers the "feel" of what it was like to be in the streets of Somalia's capital city during the fight. If you've got a strong stomach and wish to see a realistic film that will give you a much greater appreciation of America's "fighting men", then "Black Hawk Down" will not be a disappointment!


worth owning even if DVD lacks extras.   July 19, 2002
Yeah, eventually, there will be a special edition DVD release for Black Hawk Down. With such astonishing battle scenes, how could there not be? But for me, this DVD release is just fine, considering the superb quality in picture and sound, making this the perfect film to show off a surround system.

But, anyway, as far as the movie itself goes; yes, few war movies will give the feeling that you're actually in the middle of the fighting. That's how realistic this film is.


No fun   July 19, 2002
 3 out of 12 found this review helpful

This is probably the most realistic depiction of war I've seen. The explaination of the battle plan was clear enough, but after things start to go wrong, it was easy to lose track of the action. Blood and gore is abundant. There is little character development, hence it is difficult to truly care about any of them. It was not my idea of a fun evening.


Too Real For Me - Ridley Scott - Why?   July 19, 2002
 1 out of 12 found this review helpful

Blackhawk Down is another war film that graphically depicts the terrors of war. This film was extremely graphic and detailed. After a while it became a little intense for me.

It tells the tale of the real mission that was taken upon by the US in the mid 90's. And it failed. The men, the mission and the principals were upheld, but many lives were very brutally lost. The film shows compassion, strength and brotherhood but it also shows the demonic terroristic nature of man.

Ridley Scott directed this piece with a lot of care and concern and it shows, but to the general audience it was just too much for me. There are really not even notable performances. The cast was so large not everyone had enough to say to develop anything really interesting for the audience. The action and special effects are large and broad however. From model helicopters to great body part effects - this movie doesn't hide anything.

The DVD has a few neat extras. Besides the commentary and the documentary they have some sequences that show you the various angles of the action sequences, that was definitely interesting and educational to watch. Overall its good to rent, but I wouldn't purchase this one.