Product description

Bravo Two Zero [DVD] [1999] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Price: £3.36
Average customer rating: 4.0

Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780788831355
ISBN : 0788831356
Label : Dimension
Manufacturer : Dimension
Publisher : Dimension
Release date : 2001-12-18
Title : Bravo Two Zero [DVD] [1999] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
Actor : Array
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 1999-01-01
Region code : 1
Running time : 115
Studio : Dimension
Theatrical releaseDate : 1999
MPN : 786936164763

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
A made-for-TV adaptation of Andy McNab's best-selling IBravo Two Zero/I--his account of a covert SAS mission in the Gulf War gone wrong. Sean Bean plays McNab, part of an eight-man team dropped behind enemy lines to sever communications lines. Things inevitably go wrong, however, and the team are captured and tortured, before making a variety of daring and amazing escapes. The story on which this film is based is certainly stirring, but it suffers from being generically at odds with the production values of a TV adaptation. The acting is wooden and the budget cannot provide the pyrotechnics or thrilling action sequences which action or war junkies may demand. At some points there are even unsuccessful attempts to blend parts of the staged drama with real documentary news footage. One might argue that the presentation of the SAS team as everyday, emotionally stunted lads, and their mission as gritty, downbeat and devoid of glamour is perhaps quite true to real-life events. It is also a huge novelty to see cinematic acknowledgement of British forces' participation in Iany/I conflict occurring in the last century. On the other hand, IBravo Two Zero/I undoubtedly appears quite dour when placed alongside a more flashy, Hollywood offering such as IThree Kings/I. Nevertheless, SAS aficionados and fans of the novel will enjoy it immensely, if only to look at the way in which McNab's account presents Chris Ryan--author of a drastically different film and novel version of this incident, IThe One That Got Away/I--as a posturing, image-conscious coward. The video also includes an exclusive 22-minute interview with the author, Andy McNab. --IPaul Philpott/I

Customer reviews

review by: evilsheriff date: 2006-02-24 rating:

Sharpe goes to Iraq!
The Amazon review does not do this drama service at all and it's a shame they couldn't be more forthright in other reviews. Saying the acting is wooden and then comparing it with Three Kings is quite contradictory given that the performances in that movie had enough wood in it to out-stock Ikea. *Drama* is the key word here because Bravo 2 Zero was shown as a two-parter on BBC1; it was *never* meant to be a movie and, of course, it cannot compete in the special effects department with your usual Hollywood war film. It is more like another one of Sean Bean's roles 'Sharpe': you never watched it for its rather low-budget battles but for the characters and plot, which Bravo 2 Zero has in abundance. pBravo 2 Zero is telling a story about a group of SAS men trapped behind enemy lines and their eventual capture and torture. It's not about great panoramas filled with digital special effects and CGI battle scenes. If you want that you probably won't like this drama.pThe characters in Bravo 2 Zero are done extremely well and the banter between the SAS men is very funny and you feel for them when they eventually get captured. It is close to the book (McNab's version) and the soldiers' torture at the hands of the Iraqi secret police is both harrowing and inhuman, a fact only touched on briefly by ITV's The One That Got Away. For example, one of the most stomach wrenching scenes in the drama is when Sean has to lick human faeces off his hands to satisfy the sadistic pleasure of his jailer. He also had to prove to his captors that he wasn't a Jew in the only way he knew how... We also see one of the group taking care to empty his bowels in a bag and stuffing it in his burgen because just doing it on the ground can give the Iraqis clues that Europeans are in the area and could give the game away. You don't get any of that in your typical Hollywood blockboster!

review by: tommy1138 date: 2006-01-28 rating:

Great movie (and one of the few) about the Gulf War....
I really enjoyed this film overall. Sean Bean is such an appealing actor that he truly elevates this tv production into theatrical territory. The action is hard and heavy as are the torture scenes later in the movie. In the states, this movie was released with a cover that makes it look like a mindless action film. That's ashame, as I almost passed over it at first. My only problem is with the insertion of the team into Iraq. It's painfully obvious that the actors are in a helicopter that is never off the ground. The "missile" that chases the chopper is also poorly done (stock footage?). Once the guys get on the ground, the movie takes off. It loses 1 star for the horrible helicopter scenes. The One That Got Away did a much better job showing the team's insertion. Overall, great movie about my favorite topic...Special Forces soldiers.

review by: date: 2005-09-28 rating:

Rubbish
Watched the film as had read both Andy Mcnab and Chris Ryans books, film was not very accurate to the book castting bad special effects not special acting worst i have seen must have been one of the lowest bugget bbc films made. Read the book don't bother with the film!

review by: date: 2005-01-11 rating:

Disappointed
After reading Andy McNab's fantastic book 'Bravo Two Zero', I couldn't wait to see this film. But the film was no where near as gripping as the book. The BBC budget really lets the story down. The whole story felt rushed, and the acting was pretty bad, I actually felt uncomfortable watching it.brThe characters are not as strong as they are in the book, and I found myself not caring whether or not they survived. brI would recommend the book to anyone who loves an unpredictable gripping read, but this film does not do the story any justice.

review by: date: 2003-10-09 rating:

disappointing
bad movie. only telling the story of te sas bud hardly any images.

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