Product description

Battle For Haditha [2007] (2 Disc Special Edition)

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Average customer rating: 4.5

Binding : DVD
EAN : 5030305512071
Label : Contender Home Entertainment Group
Manufacturer : Contender Home Entertainment Group
Publisher : Contender Home Entertainment Group
Release date : 2008-03-17
Title : Battle For Haditha [2007] (2 Disc Special Edition)
Audience rating : Suitable for 15 years and over
Format : PAL
Languages : Array
Number of items : 2
Original release date : 2007-01-01
Region code : 2
Running time : 93
Studio : Contender Home Entertainment Group
Theatrical releaseDate : 2007

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-11-15 rating:

Not a bad film but a film bad
This film is a good film: tense, concise, show "accurately" a tragic event, the killing of innocent civils in Irak war by american troops. But the Marines are showed like a bunch of young hooligans, between jokes and heavy metal music, ready to shot to everyone, women and childs, like an SS firing squad. This film is bad because depicted for the western distracted eye the "tipical" (or, perhaps, the "abitual, like TV shows") situation in Irak. Like a movie depicting german childs burned by RAF or USAAF bombers during IIWW. A war is a war. No beau geste, only bad guy (the ours) or worst guys (the others). But in the liberal and free society, sometimes we prefer to see (or show in a movie) ONLY our sins ...

review by: date: 2008-10-30 rating:

A powerful film with mixed results
Before I begin my review I'm going to give you all my biases up front - I'm an American, I'm a Marine, and I served one tour in Anbar Province in 2007 with a rifle company. Many of my seniors served in the Haditha area and told many-a-tale about that awful place. Having gotten that out of the way, I really wanted to like this movie from the get-go. It obviously draws its inspiration from one of my favorite films, the Gillo Pontecorvo classic "The Battle For Algiers", where many of the characters (including the screenwriter) were insurgents in the conflict rather than professional actors. I've been pretty disgusted with the Iraq films and TV shows that have come out over the past few years. Shooting in the California desert with a bunch of Mexicans dressed up like Arabs is never going to cut the mustard. Iraq has its own look and feel, and the Iraqis have their own style, even compared to the rest of the Arab world.

So I was really excited when I read that "The Battle of Haditha" was shot in Jordan, which is about as close to Anbar as you can get without crossing the border, and used real Iraqis and former-US military personnel. I also liked that Broomfield let them ad-lib most of their lines, giving them a feel of authenticity that no scriptwriter ever can. Broomfield definitely sets standards that every subsequent Iraq film is going to have to live up to. I also liked the controversial topic - there's a reason counterinsurgencies are called "dirty wars" and the Iraqis definitely do an amazing job portraying the mixed loyalties and emotions of many Iraqis as they seek to make some sense out of what was - for many Sunnis - an occupation.

Unfortunately, the movie's portrayal of the Marine Corps runs into a brick wall that nearly sinks the whole picture. While I enjoyed Elliot Ruiz's haunted squad leader, none of the other characters looked or sounded like real Marines. In fact, many of them seemed to be acting out popular stereotypes of Marines based on recruiting commercials and "Full Metal Jacket" or "Jarhead", which is almost nothing like what they really are. With the exception of Ruiz, there was almost no character development among the Marines, no explanation of how an infantry unit operates (which is crucial to understanding why the Haditha killings played out the way they did). Broomfield also falls into the trap of using actors in their mid-to-late twenties to portray a bunch of kids fresh out of high school. One of the guys I went to Iraq with was born in 1989 and was 12 years old when 9/11 happened.

Speaking from my experience, the Marines in "The Battle of Haditha" look like a third-rate Iraqi Army unit fresh out of boot camp. They do not know how to: hold their weapons, conduct mounted or dismounted patrols, clear a room, tactically question Iraqis, maintain cover and concealment, return fire, or conduct a squad attack on the enemy. If such things don't concern you, then disregard what I've said, but this is a point of professional pride for me and I really wish Broomfield had been able to get a bunch of real grunts for his actors. When I tried to get my company to watch this as a training film, the other Marines honed right in on this problem and were worried that some of our new-joins would get the wrong impression of how to behave in a combat zone.

Maybe I'm the last person who should be reviewing this - maybe this film was made to explain what Iraq is like to people who have never been there. If that's your opinion, go see it. But it was not made for Iraq veterans. If that's what you want to see, I recommend the HBO "Generation Kill" series, which gets more of the technical details right.

review by: Chris date: 2008-06-19 rating:

Not Hard to Believe
Some people may find it hard to believe the US forces do not behave in the way this film shows, I am not one of those people. This film shows the reality of what happens when proffesional judgement is clouded by emotion and the negativity of war itself. The film is a balanced account of an event in Haditha. People of the world took to the streets in protest against at the war led by the US and UK in Iraq and still they went in bombing a country back to the middle ages - shame on them. Not light entertainment.

review by: date: 2008-04-30 rating:

Loser All Round!!
Firstly,how anyone can say this is a realistic movie showing the true horroRs of war is disturbing in itself!. Ok,so its from an american view of how their UNITED STATES MARINES (elite/proffesionals?) conduct themselves?. If this is true and these soldiers reflect the cream of the american forces..well..god help every one,it shows how gung hoo,no repect/animals they are. So i find this hard to believe. I cannot see any good or purpose to this movie and it does not show the true side to how soldiers(Proffesionals) have to deal with situations on tour.This is a sooped up drama to get shock and ratings. I FULLY RECOMMEND "HOME OF THE BRAVE",A BETTER VIEW OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS AND IRAQ,WHILST NOT PRO WAR EITHER. REGARDS TO ALL.

review by: Books, films, games, you name it - I love it! date: 2008-04-24 rating:

A difficult, but necessary watch
Based on true events, the Battle for Haditha brings to the screen the slaying of 24 Iraqi civilians (allegedly murdered) by US Marines in Iraq a few years ago.

The film shows the build-up to the main event from both sides, but for me has a predominantly Iraqi angle. The marines are shown to be generally pumped up on adrenaline and therefore predisposed to aggression, which is what you would expect in a combat zone, but it does appear to limit the control they have over their actions.

The terrorists are thinly sketched (al-Qaeda is behind it all, that's about all you get), but the civilians caught in the middle are given enough character that you care for them, making the impending tragedy all the worse.

Ultimately, an American vehicle is destroyed by a roadside bomb, and the marines go on the rampage. The lack of command and control is frightening as generally anybody in the area not wearing a US uniform is gunned down. It's an uncomfortable and frightening thing to watch as the terrorists escape unscathed whilst the Iraqis living in the area have a terrible American revenge exacted upon them.

This is a movie that offers little hope. In one telling scene the terrorists are spotted by the locals burying the bomb in the road. They remark that if they tell the Americans, al-Qaeda will kill them. If they don't tell the Americans, the bomb will go off and the Americans will blame and punish them. Either way, they lose.

Whilst this is going on in the city, the local US general is sat in his air-conditioned bunker ordering air and artillery strikes on insurgent targets. At one point a man is blown to pieces because he is carrying a shovel as he walks along the road. It may be a scene purely intended for dramatic effect, but it is all too believable.

The film is well made, shot in a documentary style which is very effective. Performances are generally excellent by unknown actors (or ex-soldiers) and the whole is good to watch, however uncomfortable the subject matter may be. Perhaps Broomfield goes a little too far with the portrayal of the marines - the officers appear to be far too isolated to command effectively and a number of the soldiers come across as little more than animals. But I haven't been to Iraq, maybe it's realistic. I hope not, but I guess it's up to the viewer to decide.

By the end of Battle for Haditha, I could not sympathise with the Americans or the terrorists. The innocent people caught in the middle are those paying the price day in day out for the invasion and it's aftermath. This movie is only based on events and has undoubtedly taken a broad licence with the truth, but what is here is convincing enough to be a believable take on the day-to-day life in Iraq since the coalition saved the country from Saddam.

It's hard to watch, but if you have any interest in the ongoing conflict in Iraq, this is a must-see.

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