GoldenJCJ

In honor of Veterans Day I decided to pull down some of my war DVDs to watch, the first one to watch in was Black Hawk Down, now this is probably the 5th time I've seen this movie and I was still on the edge of my seat throughout the whole thing. Watching it I'm amazed at how well this movie was made: from the sets which look like they were literally shot in downtown Mogadishu, to the amazing shots of the helicopters spinning out of control and crashing, I am amazed at what a great film this is.

With such a chaotic pace and with so many different characters and with so much happening all at the same time, it could have very easily turned out to be an incoherent mess of a movie but somehow Ridley Scott manages to make a film that doesn't confuse or disorient the audience.

I like Alien, Blade Runner, and Glaidiator just fine but I believe Black Hawk Down is without a doubt Ridley Scott's finest work to date. Truly amazing.

Dr. DVD

I agree that it is a good. Not as ecstatic about it as you though.

Shannon Nutt

One of the reasons this movie is on my "good," but not "great" list.

Rivero

Wish I could share your enthusiasm for this movie but I was dissapointed. There are no characters in the film, it never gets into anything about anyone. It's pretty much just two hours of watching interchangable guys die with the occasional badly written platitude coming from Eric Bana. Whenever the gunfire stops for even a moment to focus on characters, just about every war movie cliche takes over. I don't need to know a person to see the senselessness in their death, but when the people in this movie end up feeling like props just waiting to be mowed down and connect the haphazard and incoherently directed action scenes then the film is doing something wrong. On a technical level, it's still a harrowing depiction of what happens when applications of American military power go very wrong. The complete pointlessness this operation ultimately was and soldiers dying fighting someone else's war remain strong themes in the film, but Scott should have probed these events on a deeper level then just be content delivering yet another 'Horrors of War' wall-to-wall action film to add to the pile.

GoldenJCJ

This is my one complaint about the film. I too would have liked for Scott to have delved into this aspect of the story more. Probably not commercially feesable, unfortunatley. Putting America in somewhat of a bad light, that is.

CharlesC

The book its based on stayed pretty politically neutral too.

Numanoid

I watched it once after hearing all the praise for it. To this day I can't tell you a single thing that was said or happened during that movie. Not a good sign.

Corvin

I personally think it's the best modern warfare movie there is. Perhaps that's because it's one of the only ones. Then again, that isn't it entirely because I think the film is excellent.

Rivero

chanster

Book is a hell of a lot better. I bought the Special Edition DVD only because I was interested in the PBS Frontline report which is excellent and does a better job all the way around

Brent L

I think the film is just awesome also, one of the best from the past few years IMO. Pick up the DVD set also, it's packed, and is also one of the best DVD sets ever...again, IMO.

SeekOnce

Audio commentary by Task Force Ranger veterans -->

Panda Phil

This movies one of my favs too. I tend to prefer my war films realistic.

Watching the documentaries on the multidisk SE and getting some background on the real events does help a lot though.

conscience

It's a good film because it sticks to the battle at hand and doesn't venture off into a love story.

PopcornTreeCt

Amen. I think Black Hawk Down is one of the best war movies of all time. Great movie. Yes, its better than Saving Private Ryan, no its not Lawrence of Arabia.

auto

I agree with those praising this movie.

The whole idea was to present the events not cater to the audience's preconceived need for a love story or back story for all the characters. This film was much more representative of actual "war" than say "Casualties of War".

I also appreciated that the film did not take a definite stand for or against either side.

This was a beautifully shot movie and definitely amongst Scott's best.

vikings

I'm going to echo CHANSTER: If you like this movie, go ahead and read this book.....it will blow your mind.
It is the only book I have ever read that when I finished reading the last page, I turned back to page 1 and started all over again.

pro-bassoonist

Pro-B

Corvin

As far as the book/movie comparison goes, after reading the book I felt that the movie should have been even more unrelenting.

jfoobar

Yup, and the Eric Bana platitudes should have been almost entirely removed.

The film was visually stunning with some of the best combat depictions ever caught on film, but some of the writing is just nauseating.

"It's all about the guy next to you. Oh, and no you can't come with me. I work better alone. Blah, blah, blah."

duff beer

can someone help me, i need the screen cap of the moge soldier getting blown up by the GI bazooka

Saxofonix

Another recommendation to read the book. The movie stayed faithful to the book as far as the film-makers could in terms of budget and logistics and requirements of a different medium .. but if you loved the movie, you owe it to yourself to read the book. It's probably the best piece of investigative journalism I've read. This guy did his homework!

Minor Threat

Great movie.....sad as well.....

kahuna415

This movie still moves me and makes me proud to be an American. I remember seeing it in the theater and as the credits rolled. there was a respectful silence from the audience as they left. This came out in December of 2001 and you knew because of 9/11 the audience was truly impacted by the true story and the heroism of our soldiers on the battlefield. Ridley did it right.