This is How Movies Should Be Made

Powerful

One of my all time favorites.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

It's 2011 and the Internet's bandwidth is getting wider each day. Netflix offers streaming HD movies to your Internet connected TV or PC.Cost for watching? Totally free to a few bucks a month.High Quality films brought into your life.. Are you equipment to handle it? (I know I'm not)It is a natural human trait that we seek out programs that reinforce our belief systems. Generally if we see a program that "Challenges" our beliefs.. we turn the channel or turn "OFF" the program."Films" like this are very dangerous. I consider myself pretty good at media studies. AND still this movie/documentary or whatever it is scares the heak out of me.If you insist on watching.. At least question everything you see. If you find yourself at the end with a lot of "A Ha" moments.. Then do your homework.GENE

I found it hard to view the user comments on this film because of all the partisan ranting from demagogues of both parties. Therefore, I am going to try and leave my own political persuasions out of this review although I definitely have a viewpoint about what was happening in Iraq and the need for US involvement there.*** This may contain spoilers, although this is a simple documentary with no plot, so there ain't much to spoil.*** After all the hype about Michael Moore's slanted, biased, and intellectually dishonest film Fahrenheit 911, and all the celebrity hubbub about how George Bush is an evil so-and-so and our involvement in Iraq was simply about obtaining oil, I thought I might have a look at what the other side (who gets far less sensationalistic coverage in the national media) had to say about the whole situation. I had heard that this documentary was particularly brutal and difficult to watch, but I thought it was important to see just what was going on in Iraq before the US dismantled Saddam Hussein's regime.It was brutal, it was grotesque, and it was very difficult to sit through. We are treated to footage of people's arms stretched out across two concrete blocks and then being broken with axe handles; we see fingers hacked off, then the screaming, bleeding victim tossed aside to fend for himself; we see hands amputated surgically and tongues clipped out—all these horrific atrocities committed by way of punishment in the name of "justice". We see torture, murder, and disturbing footage of women being publicly shot or stoned to death for "crimes" such as adultery.My problem is that the documentary, hosted by some boring, no-name yobbo in a suit and tie, frequently wanders from its supposed focus in favor of showing gruesome footage. At first it feels, albeit unpleasant, at least informative; however, as the film wears on, it becomes even more unpleasant, loses its informative nature, and begins to feel distinctly exploitative in tone. I found that shift in tone more disturbing than the film itself. The film ends with every videotaped beheading they could find. I had seen many when they were current news, believing it important to see what the enemy (terrorists and radical religious fundamentalists) was all about, but I just couldn't stomach re-watching these cold-blooded, grotesque murders again, presented as they were in the guise of "infotainment", and turned the movie off.In some ways this film shows some important things that were happening within Hussein's Iraq that folks like Sean Penn either didn't see or chose to ignore. It will make you appreciate living in a free country where you don't have your tongue cut out or your hands amputated for displeasing a mad dictator. The US got involved in Bosnia and Somalia based on concern for the genocide occurring there, how could we in fairness turn a blind eye to Iraq? Saddam Hussein actively and arrogant defied every UN sanction and action taken against him, including those he agreed to in order to end the war in 1991, but the UN clearly wasn't going to do anything about it, especially with corrupt UN officials making under-the-table deals with Hussein. Who else but the US would have taken steps to correct this injustice? These are all good points made in the beginning of the film.But the film's weakness is where it loses its focus on the reasons we went there and simply becomes a parade of gore, brutality, and murder. Although it has its good points, I can't in good conscience recommend it as a good, well-made documentary.Cheers Brent

This was a waste of time. Out of context video meets out of context prejudice. Quotes are taken from Democrats in supposed support of a war in Iraq (predicated on intelligence provided by the Bush administration) and are seamlessly narrated by our helpful nobody ra-ra, 'my way or the highway', war mongering nobody commentator. The videos are graphic, real and disturbing, but out of place and badly analyzed.Please, put your time to better use. This film will either make you hate 'Islamic Extremists', the 'Radical Left' or just yourself for giving this garbage the time of day.

I borrowed this movie from my grandparents and watched it one Saturday afternoon with my dad. We knew that it was going to be a little disturbing. It starts off mellow. People are beaten until their kidney's fail, there fingers are cut off and they are released to do whatever the hell they want. Feet are also cut off and tongues are clipped. As Jigsaw once promised us "Yes. There will be blood".After these clips the host, Mark Taylor, comes on screen for his second appearance. He does get annoying during most of the film, saying things you already know. More then anything he will tell you the scenes are violent, brutal and disturbing yatta yatta yatta.They show more scenes like this, they also show more torture like techniques by Saddam's sons and they show prison footage of how the guards beat the inmates. Even at this point there is nothing to be queasy about. Then comes what are the most gut wrenching scenes I have ever seen. Live beading's of an American contractor and Japanese workers who are just trying to reform Iraq in the smallest ways. A group of armed me with bags over their faces make the people plead for their life before they chant things that are inaudible and sever the head off these people. In all, people who ca not handle CSI or House or any of those shows with blood should not watch this movie. It is still a good insight into what is actually going on that the news doesn't tell you about.