During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
- Won 6 Oscars
- 125 wins & 130 nominations total
- Black Suit Man
- (as Suhail Al-Dabbach)
- Iraqi Police Captain at UN
- (as Imad Daoudi)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Best Picture Winners by Year
Best Picture Winners by Year
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFilmed in the country of Jordan. Access was denied for a week of filming at a U.S. Military Base in Kuwait.
- GoofsOne character says an Iraqi with a video camera is preparing a clip for YouTube. The scene takes place in 2004. YouTube was created in 2005.
- Quotes
Staff Sergeant William James: [Speaking to his son] You love playing with that. You love playing with all your stuffed animals. You love your mommy, your daddy, your nature pajamas. You love everything, don't ya? Yeah. But you know what, buddy? As you get older... some of the things that you love might not seem so special anymore, you know? Like your Jack-in-a-Box. Maybe you'll realize it's just a piece of tin and a stuffed animal, but the older you get, the fewer things you really love, and by the time you get to my age, maybe it's only one or two things. With me, I think it's one.
- Crazy creditsThere are no opening credits, not even a title.
- ConnectionsEdited into De wereld draait door: Episode #5.104 (2010)
- SoundtracksFear (is Big Business)
Written by Al Jourgensen (as Jourgensen) / Tommy Victor (as Victor) / Ministry
Performed by Ministry
Courtesy of 13th Planet Records, Inc.
The film drags along at a snail's pace at times, which works for some scenes, such as a great scene wherein the main characters are pinned down for several hours by insurgents in the middle of the desert - but mostly the slowness just feels slow. There is no real story here, yet it isn't just a docudrama, either. It doesn't seem to know what kind of a movie it is, or from which characters' view point it is being told. In my opinion the story that it started to tell (and would have made it a much more interesting film) was of the drug-like addictive nature of high risk behavior, and how people who engage in that sort of thing in war will return to civilian life only to find other dangerous, high risk behavior to engage in... which is not dissimilar thematically to another of director Kathryn Bigelow's films, "Point Break". Alas, it seemed as if she forgot about that angle halfway thru the film. The worst part of the film is the ending, which after 125 minutes of slow pacing suddenly races past what should have and could have given the film its purpose.
If I had seen this film back when it first came out, I think I would have said, "OK. A well-acted, decent film despite its problems." The thought that this film would be nominated for and would win so many major awards, including being the front runner for any Oscar whatsoever -- would not have even crossed my mind, and it is mindboggling to me now that that is the case.
- Cinemadharma
- Jan 12, 2010
- Permalink
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $17,017,811
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $145,352
- Jun 28, 2009
- Gross worldwide
- $49,259,766
- Runtime2 hours 11 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1