BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001): Starring Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Ewen Bremner, Orlando Bloom and Sam Shepard. Based on the book by Mark Bowden. Screenplay by Ken Nolan. Directed by Ridley Scott
BLACK HAWK DOWN (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment): Military and history buffs especially will find hours of entertainment as well as education, in this three-disc deluxe edition of Black Hawk Down.
This harrowing and brutal examination of heroism and brotherhood, based on the infamous battle in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 in which Army Rangers and members of Delta Force had to fight their way out of the city against overwhelming odds, is filled with enough extras to fill up a day's worth of viewing.
The widescreen transfer to DVD is so top notch, the sound so realistic, that you will think you are in the middle of a firefight.
But the movie is only a part of this A-1 package. Also included are two documentaries, a History Channel presentation, `The True Story of Black Hawk Down,' in which some of the participants in the battle, as well as author Mark Bowden, are interviewed, and a PBS Frontline examination entitled `Ambush in Mogadishu,' which details what went wrong with U.S. policy in Somalia that led to the botched operation.
The film itself includes three commentaries; one features director Ridley Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer; the second is by Bowden and screenwriter Ken Nolan; and the third is by Task Force Army veterans who participated in the operation.
The film won two Academy Awards, best film editing and best sound, so it is apropos that one of the other features is an interview with film editor Pietro Scalia.
The Black Hawk Down deluxe edition is a worthy edition to anyone's DVD library.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bbloom@journalandcourier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on movies. Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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