The War Tapes
by Deborah Scranton
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ben Flanders, Brandon Wilkins, Mike Moriarity, Steve Pink (II), Zack BazziDirector: Deborah Scranton
Brand: NEW VIDEO GROUP INC
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Arabic (Original Language); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-05-15
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Docurama
Movie Reviews of The War Tapes
Movie Review: An amazing feat of truth- and story-telling
Summary: 5 Stars
The idea behind The War Tapes is simple enough: give video recorders to a handful of NH National Guardsmen on their way to Iraq, then edit the results into something worth viewing. The project could have been a disaster, yielding nothing but prosaic (or worse) self-congratulatory nonsense that would have been hell to watch. Instead, the men whose footage made it into the film provided insights far deeper than many of are accustomed to watching. The men show themselves and their comrade posturing nervously as they prepare for battle. Once in Iraq, they begin to realize just how the war is being waged. They experience the ever-present threat of IEDs, the plight of civilians caught between sides. Tellingly, they experience the absurdities of war -- a night spent guarding a shipment of cheesecakes, offers of homegrown cigarettes and pornography from the locals, a graveyard of trucks and equipment blown apart by explosives, each wreck telling a story.
The home front is shown as well. The men's wives, mothers and children must deal with the prolonged absence of the men from home, and hope they will come back alive and reasonably sane. When the men do return, they face the complexities of reintegrating with their old lives. What do you say when one day you are dodging enemy bullets and the next you are sitting on your Mom's living room? What's it like to commute to work when the roadside has held such horrors?
The War Tapes is a masterful piece of editing. To craft unplanned footage from several uncoordinated cameras into a coherent tale -- avoiding glamorizing the war or becoming a polemic against it -- shows remarkable trust in the soldier's experiences. The soldiers need to be commended as well for allowing themselves to be filmed expressing every emotion from loyalty to disgust to bravado to self-doubt. The War Tapes is an incredible accounting of the realities of the experience of fighting in Iraq. A masterpiece of reporting that far outstrips any of the embedded "reporting" done by the networks or cable channels.
Summary of The War Tapes
Straight from the front lines in Iraq THE WAR TAPES: DIRECTOR'S EDITION is the first war movie filmed by soldiers themselves.Directed by Deborah Scranton and produced by Robert May (The Fog of War) and Steve James (Hoop Dreams) THE WAR TAPES: DIRECTOR'S EDITION is Operation Iraqi Freedom as filmed by Sergeant Steve Pink Sergeant Zack Bazzi and Specialist Mike Moriarty. Steve is a wisecracking carpenter who aspires to be a writer. Zack is a Lebanese-American university student who loves to travel and is fluent in Arabic. Mike is a father and resolute patriot who rejoined the Army after 9/11.These soldiers captured over 800 hours of footage providing a glimpse of their lives in the midst of war. The result is a raw portrait of three men and their families as they face and struggle to understand their duty.DVD Features:Additional interviews; Extended combat footage and updates; Theatrical Trailer; Filmmaker biosRun Time: 97 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 767685988336 Manufacturer No: NVG-9883Reduced from some 800 hours of raw footage to one compelling, 96-minute film, The War Tapes, while not the first documentary about U.S. soldiers deployed in Iraq (cf. 2006's Off to War, which covers similar ground), is unusual insofar as it was shot entirely by men on active duty in Iraq--specifically three National Guardsmen (or "citizen soldiers," as they call themselves) from New Hampshire who served in that benighted country in 2004. The three are by no means alike. Spc. Mike Moriarty is a patriot who, much to the dismay of his family, re-enlisted after 9/11 and frankly hopes to be "someone's hero." Sgt. Steve Pink is motor-mouthed wiseacre who grows increasingly cynical as his tour plays out. Sgt. Zack Bazzi, a Lebanese-American who speaks fluent Arabic, reads The Nation and doesn't much care for George W. Bush, but is nonetheless ready to fight. Yet despite their differences, their experiences are similarly grim. After some training at home, we see them arrive in the Mideast, where the first words they hear are, "Welcome to Iraq. Only one year to go," followed shortly by a mortar explosion near Camp Anaconda, their base. Thereafter, we see them in a variety of settings: in Baghdad and Fallujah, on the road (their duties include escorting truck convoys), fighting insurgents (several of the battle scenes are very intense and fairly graphic), in the camp cafeteria (where one of them excoriates Halliburton, who seems to have a hand in every aspect of the war effort, for charging the government $28 for a single styrofoam plate), in their quarters (their idea of recreation is staging a death match between a scorpion and a spider), and so on; we also visit their families back in New Hampshire. What emerges from all of this is a striking portrait of bitterness, resignation, and outright hostility, especially towards Iraqis on both sides. Moriarty perhaps sums it up most succinctly when they return to the States: "I'm so glad I went. I hated it with a god-awful passion, and I will not go back... I've done my part... It's someone else's turn." Nearly two hours of bonus material includes extended outtakes and extra footage, follow-up interviews with the three soldiers, and more. --Sam Graham
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