Live from Baghdad
by Mick Jackson
List Price:
Our Price: $1.79
You Save: $8.18 (82%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.50 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Helena Bonham Carter, Lili Taylor, Michael KeatonDirector: Mick Jackson
Brand: HBO Home Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-06-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: HBO Video
Product features:
- DVD Details: Actors: Michael Keaton, Helena Bonham Carter, Joshua Leonard, Lili Taylor, David Suchet
- Directors: Mick Jackson
- Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC. Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1; Number of discs: 1; Studio: HBO Video
- DVD Release Date: June 24, 2003 ; Run Time: 108 minutes
Movie Reviews of Live from Baghdad
Movie Review: HBO Does it Again! Their Best Work Yet!
Summary: 5 Stars
Who would have thought that one of the best producers of quality films these days is a premium, cable television channel? It's one thing to have terrific shows like THE SOPRANOS & CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, but to consistently put out films that are, in most cases, better than what gets released to local movie theatres is no small feat.With "Live From Baghdad," HBO has outdone themselves, once again. Based on a true story and a book by Robert Wiener, this film tells the story of how the 1991 Gulf War put a fledgling news network, CNN, on the map.
Wiener (played by the always excellent and underrated Michael Keaton) and his crew set up shop in Baghdad on the eve of the war and, while all the other major networks bail as the Americans eventually strike Baghdad, they make the bold decision to stay and report.
I remember, clear as day, sitting in my living room, with my father, watching the coverage of CNN that night America first attacked. I was amazed at how daring and amazing the three reporters (John Holliman, Peter Arnett & Bernard Shaw) were at that time, as they remained in their room of the Al-Rashid hotel in downtown Baghdad with a microphone put up right by the window so that viewers could hear all the bombing. Director Mick Johnson perfectly recreates this scene and keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat.
Keaton receives excellent support from the likes of Helena Bonham Carter (wonderful and sexy, as always), Lili Taylor and, especially, David Suchet, who plays Naji, an Iraqi gentleman from the Ministry of Information who assists Wiener and, eventually, befriends him.
Perhaps what's most effective with LIVE FROM BAGHDAD is that it doesn't take the easy way out and tell a one-sided view of the Gulf War. Nor does it let the viewer off the hook with a typical, triumphant, Hollywood ending.
While it's obvious that Wiener and crew are thrilled with what their bravery and courage has earned them, they are clearly conflicted and saddened that it took such utter death and destruction to get them such accolades.
I highly recommend listening to Mick Johnson's commentary. It's quite fascinating and engrossing and puts things in a much different perspective by reminding us that this thrilling and action-packed story is based almost entirely on fact!
Kudos again to HBO for producing quality material like LIVE FROM BAGHDAD. As usual, they have impeccable timing, for, as the film was about to premiere, America was on the verge of invading Iraq yet again. This is all the more reason to view LIVE FROM BAGHDAD, for it serves as a reminder of just how daring Wiener and his crew were.
With America's current occupation of Iraq, the television coverage is constant from the likes of the three major networks, BBC, FOXNEWS, etc. But, back in 1991, as one character in the film puts it, CNN "owned the war."
Summary of Live from Baghdad
LIVE FROM BAGHDAD - DVD MovieSimilar DVD Movies
The Heart of MeHart Sharp Video; Release date: 2005-04-01; DVD
Best price: $7.44
Price in other shops:
Shattered GlassLions Gate; Release date: 2004-03-23; DVD
Best price: $1.80
Price in other shops:
Mary Shelley's FrankensteinSony; Release date: 1998-07-28; DVD
Best price: $4.56
The Dream TeamUniversal; Release date: 2003-07-01; DVD
Best price: $7.20
Price in other shops:
NovocaineLions Gate; Release date: 2002-04-23; Published: 2002-04-01; DVD
Best price: $1.39
Price in other shops:
Game 6Hart Sharp Video; Release date: 2006-05-23; DVD
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
The Merry GentlemanGenius; Release date: 2009-11-10; DVD
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
The Last TimeVALLETTA,AMBER; Release date: 2007-07-10; Published: 2007-07-01; DVD
Best price: $1.47
Price in other shops:
SpeechlessKEATON,MICHAEL; Release date: 2001-12-26; DVD
Best price: $6.39
The PaperUniversal; Release date: 1994-11-19; Published: 1994-11-01; DVD
Best price: $2.75
Price in other shops: