Syriana [HD DVD]
![Syriana [HD DVD]](/images/Syriana-HD-DVD-B000E5KJFM-L.jpg)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Amr Waked, Christopher Plummer, George Clooney, Jeffrey Wright, Kayvan NovakBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Arabic (Original Language); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Persian (Original Language); Urdu (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 126 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-06-20
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Syriana [HD DVD]
Movie Review: No, I Am Not A Child, But I Have No Account.
Summary: 5 Stars
I normally do not post reviews, but I could not resist upon seeing the outright ignorance of a select few viewers stupid enough to think this is pro-Islamic material. You have completely missed the point this movie makes, which is that no one is right in the conflict, and both sides have blood on their hands.
This film is far from being an anti-American, pro-Islamic jihadist film as some head-in-the-sand demogagues would have you believe.
Simply, much like the film "Munich," "Syriana" attempts to show us that the people who blew up the Khobar towers, the USS Cole, the Lebanon Embassy, and those who flew planes into both the Trades and Pentagon are not simply "evil" caricatures cut out by some random cookie cutter and baked to rising mass and iced with hatred of the West. They have what they consider reasons to believe what they do, much as we feel justified in avenging the deaths of our own citizens.
Simply, "Syriana" is bold enough to say that they're human and bleed red like the rest of us, and takes the time to examine it from many differentiating points of view.
Personally, I do not think this film's Americans are representative of the majority of the American populace. The average citizen is not portrayed in this film, being that here we all tend to be uninvolved and amnesiatic, unaware in a lot of ways to the things being done in our names by corporations and politics. America itself is not evil, but the empire that is portrayed accurately herein is. For those who would dispute such a notion, I reccomend ordering William Blum's book "Killing Hope," and then taking the time to debunk all forty-five years of imperialistic bloodshed that are marked with the Stars and Stripes. I wish you luck with that venture. Therefore, it is not anti-America, but is definitely against the scourge of imperialism that benefits jihadists with both reasons to recruit new attackers and also serves as the moral justification for their crusade. Anti-USA? No. Anti-US foreign policy? You bet.
If anything is the real enemy in this movie, it is hatred. Not just the exploitative contempt of the powers who oppress nations for crude oil, but the denizens of those said areas who resort to violence to protest such things. Much like "Munich," Gaghan and company are trying to get across that things need to be changed for the sake of preservation of life for ALL of us worldwide.
Moreover, the film also addresses the reasons for the brutal politics: Oil is running out, and the age of energy wars are upon us, an age where wars are fought not for justice but for survival of the way of life industrialization has made possible. This is reflective of what numerous writers have been saying for years, made abundantly clear by US claims being staked in Eurasia and by the rising gas prices & catastrophic shortages brought about by Hurricane Katrina (See these books: James Kunstler's "Long Emergency," Rick Heinberg's "The Party's Over," and Mike Klare's "Resource Wars").
I think the film is highly effective, showing not only the moral repercussions of the oil business, but also the political, economic, and social symptoms brewed up by the drills as well. It is a film rife with corruption and meanness, and there are no true heroes within. Everyone and everything is grey, nothing is definitive, and alliances shift with ease. Like Robert Baer (the ex-CIA agent who inspired Clooney's Bob Barnes) put it: This is the evil side of it all. He goes on to say that "they got it right." And this is coming from a twenty-one year veteran of the Agency, a patriot who served to protect the nation in places not many dare to travel to: Iraq, Tajikistan, Lebanon, et al.
A highly effective film, one that does not support terrorism but rather shows it's root causes, an important message for the United States of Amnesia (as Vidal put it so eloquently). It is 2006, and people have not changed as they should have from 9/11/01. The vast majortity still bite down on the partisan line, and do not think outside of the box, instead relying on the mass media conglomerate to do the research for them and settling for the answers the very corporations that cause these problems provide (Yes, oil companies help to finance media networks--thus the propaganda).
All editorializing aside, this film is simply one of the best of 2005. It's got it all: powerful acting, great camera-work, brilliant dialogue, a complex story that requires thought, and a great score to boot. Do not miss out on this. It is a message no one should miss out.
Go in with an open mind and knowledge, and you will enjoy this one. Even if you disagree with its assertions, you cannot deny how well thought out this film is.
So no, this is not anti-American drivel. It is pro-peace, pro-humanity, pro-survival, pro-harmony. It is genuine. It is the truth.
To those who cannot face the reality cinematically portrayed: Enjoy your slumber.
Summary of Syriana [HD DVD]
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 06/20/2006 Run time: 103 minutes Rating: RSyriana is an oil-based soap opera set against the world of global oil cartels. It is to the oil industry as Traffic was to the drug trade (no surprise, since writer/director Stephen Gaghan wrote the screenplay to Traffic): a sprawling attempt to portray the vast political, business, social, and personal implications of a societal addiction, in this case, oil. A major merger between two of the world?s largest oil companies reveals ethical dilemmas for the lawyer charged with making the deal (Jeffrey Wright), and major global implications beyond the obvious; a CIA operative (George Clooney) discovers the truth about his work, and the people he works for; a young oil broker (Matt Damon) encounters personal tragedy, then partners with an idealistic Gulf prince (Alexander Siddig) attempting to build a new economy for his people, only to find he?s opposed by powers far beyond his control. Meanwhile, disenfranchised Pakistani youths are lured into terrorism by a radical Islamic cleric. And that?s just the start. As in Traffic, in one way or another all of the characters? fates are tied to each other, whether they realize it or not, though the connections are sometimes tenuous. While Syriana is basically a good film with timely resonance, it can?t quite seem to measure up to Gaghan?s ambitious vision and it very nearly collapses under the weight of its many storylines. Fortunately they are resolved skillfully enough to keep the film from going under in the end. To some viewers, Syriana will seem like an unfocused and over-loaded film that goes, all at once, everywhere and nowhere. Others will find it to be an important work earnestly exploring major issues. In either case, it?s a film that deserves to be taken seriously, and it?s likely to be one that will be talked about for a long time to come. --Dan Vancini
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