Kurtlar vadisi - Irak (2006)

Directors:

Serdar Akar
Sadullah Sentürk (co-director)

Writers:

Ömer Lütfi Mete (scenario supervisor)
Raci Sasmaz (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 February 2006 (Syria)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

Some Men Are Born to be Heroes

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Artificiality | Turkey | Wedding | Racist

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Necati Sasmaz	...	Polat Alemdar
Billy Zane	...	Sam William Marshall
Ghassan Massoud	...	Abdurrahman Halis Karuki (sheikh)
Gürkan Uygun	...	Memati Bas
Bergüzar Korel	...	Leyla
Kenan Çoban	...	Abdülhey Çoban
Erhan Ufak	...	Erhan Ufak
Diego Serrano	...	Dante, Sam's assistant
Gary Busey	...	Doctor
Spencer Garrett	...	George Baltimore, journalist
Tito Ortiz	...	American Major Commander 2
Nusret Senay	...	Turkish Commander
Tayfun Eraslan	...	SÜLEYMAN ASLAN
Ismet Hürmüzlü	...	Abu Tarik, arab leader
Jihad Abdou	...	KURDISH LEADER

Also Known As:

Valley of the Wolves: Iraq (International: English title)

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

Turkey

Language:

Arabic | English | Turkish | Kurdish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Germany:16 (original rating) | Germany:18 (re-rating) | Australia:MA | France:-16 | Finland:K-15 | Japan:PG-12 | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

Gaziantep, Turkey

Company:

Pana Film

Trivia:

This film was the the subject of heated discussions in Germany. Originally it was rated "Not under 18" by the FSK, but distributor Maxximum appealed this decision which resulted in a "Not under 16" rating. Then the film became a success, especially amongst turkish teenagers. The success resulted in massive media coverage. This in turn resulted in broad discussions from politicians (especially from the Bavarian conservative CSU party), youth organisations etc. about the films "Anti-American statements" and their influence on youngsters. After another appeal (from the minister for family and integration from Northrhine Westphalia) the FSK raised the rating back to the original "Not under 18".

Goofs:

Factual errors: The supposed Humvees seen being driven by the U.S. Soldiers are obvious souped-up civilian models with V-8 engine exhaust ports, most likely the Turkish equivalent of the American model. The U.S. military standard Humvee does not have V-8 engines and are much smaller than depicted in this film.

Movie Connections:

Follows "Kurtlar vadisi" (2003)

Seen from another perspective

I am currently posted in Turkey and as TEXAN I had to watch this movie!! Not being Liberal-Pinkie I kept an open mind and I would recommend YOU watch this movie when it is released on DVD. It is easy to BLOG from where you sit and not realise that Turkey is in the "Valley of Wolves". 30,000 people have died due to terror and the 91 Gulf war nearly bankrupted the Turkish Economy. So it is unfair to put any blame on Turkey or the Turkish people for their sentiment.

Keep in mind that Turkey and Israel conduct joint military operations, assist each other with regards to armaments upgrades. No need to explain that the biggest threat to Turkey comes from religious and Kurdish terrorists. Please note that I said religious fanatics and not Muslim -Islamic fanatics.

In fact the movie stresses this difference. The movie repeatedly shows near "news release" events over the past 3 yrs ..., arrest of Turkish Allies, Abu Ghraib, the "Wedding Incident" etc. None seemed fictional to me (yes the movie is shockingly brutal) No true friend or Ally can be expected to back the other 100%. This is ever more true when one has been brutalised. The Turkish proverb " A frank ( blunt speaking) friend is better than a flattering fool" comes to mind.

A Democratic- Secular Turkey is the LAST BEST hope for US (aka Western World). You can be assured that behind the scenes Turkey has logistically supported US troops far more than anyone cares to admit. Well maybe the 2004 bombings in Istanbul showed that Al Qaida felt that the Turks had to punished.