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BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001) |
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MORGAN'S RATING |
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| This is the true story of the Battle of Mogadishu, the longest sustained ground battle involving American soldiers since the Vietnam War. An elite force of 120 American Delta units and Ranger infantry were dropped into Mogadishu on October 3rd, 1993, to abduct two of Somalian warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid's lieutenants. Instead, two UH-60 Blackhawk helocopters were shot down and what was to take an hour lasted fifteen, resulting in the deaths of 18 Americans, 73 wounded, and hundreds of Somalians dead. |
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| Josh Hartnett (Matt Eversmann), Ewan McGregor (John Grimes), Tom Sizemore (Danny McKnight), Eric Bana (Norm "Hoot" Hooten), William Fichtner (Paul Howe), Ewen Bremner (Shawn Nelson), Sam Shepard (General William Garrison), Gabriel Casseus (Mike Kurth), Kim Coates (Private Wex), Hugh Dancy (Kurt Schmid), Ron Eldard (Mike Durant), Ioan Gruffudd (Sgt. Beales), Tom Guiry (Ed Yurek), Charlie Hofheimer (Jamie Smith), Danny Hoch (Dominic Pilla), Jason Issacs (Capt. Mike Steele), Zeliko Ivanek (Gary Harrell), Glenn Morshower (Tom Matthews), Jeremy Piven (Cliff Wolcott), Brendan Sexton III (Richard Kowalewski), Johnny Strong (Randy Shugart), Richard Tyson (Daniel Busch), Brian Van Holt (Jeff Struecker), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Gary Gordon), Steven Ford (Cribbs), Ian Virgo (John Waddell), Tom Hardy (Lance Twombly), Gregory Sporleder (Scott Galentine), Carmine Giovinazzo (Mike Goodale), Chris Beetem (Casey Joyce), Tac Fitzgerald (Keni Thomas), Matthew Marsden (Dale Sizemore), Orlando Bloom (Todd Blackburn), Kent Linville (Clay "Little Hunter" Othic), Enrique Murciano (Lorenzo Ruiz), Michael Roof (Private Maddox), George Harris (Osman Atto). |
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LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND. |
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PRODUCTION INFORMATION |
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DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott.
WRITERS: Ken Nolan, and based on the novel "Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War" by Mark Bowden.
PRODUCERS: Ridley Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: Harry Humphries, Terry Needham and Pat Sandston.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Branko Lustig, Chad Oman, Mike Stenson and Simon West.
ORIGINAL MUSIC: Hans Zimmer (score), Mel Wesson (ambient music), Jeff Rona (additional music).
DISTRIBUTOR: Columbia Pictures. |
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FACTS |
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RELEASE DATE: December 28th, 2001 (USA)
DVD RELEASE DATE: June 11th, 2002 (USA)
BOX OFFICE OPENING: $28.6 million (USA)
BOX OFFICE RESULT: $108.6 million (USA)
BUDGET: $95 million (USA)
SHOOTING DATES: March 2001 -- July 2001
- All Black Hawks and Little Birds used during the filming were from the 160th SOAR, (Special Operations Aviation Regiment) and most of the pilots were involved in the actual battle on 3/4 October '93. A lot of the extra Rangers in the film were current Rangers, serving with the 3/75 Ranger Regiment.
- The photo of a wife and child that one of the dying soldiers is looking at is actually a photo of Eric Bana's wife and child. The props department forget to take a photo of a wife and child with them, so they asked Bana's wife and child who were travelling with him if they could use a photo of them in the movie.
- Disney passed on distributing this film because of its violent R rating. Its eventual distributor, Revolution, is run by ex-Disney studio's chairman Joe Roth.
- This project was originally the idea of director Simon West who urged producer Jerry Bruckheimer to obtain the rights of the book with a view to directing it himself. However, West abandoned the project to direct Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001).
- Army pilot Keith Jones reenacted his real-life rescue of Delta operator Daniel Busch (Richard Tyson) for this film.
- Winner of two 2002 Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best Editing.
- Nominated for two 2002 Academy Awards for: Best Director (Ridley Scott) and Best Cinematography. |
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CRITICAL COMMENTS |
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"A lean, mean war movie will astonish you with its stark realism and exhaust you with its intensity." -- Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle |
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"One hell of a ride. For better or for worse, it will leave you stunned and reeling." -- James Berardinelli, Reel Views |
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"Despite all the hard work by an army of craftsmen working on location in Morocco, the film takes the easy way out, subsiding into a thing of technical challenges met rather than attempting to probe the events at a deeper level." -- Jay Carr, Boston Globe |
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"No war movie I have ever seen so vividly shows battle from differing perspectives." -- Mike Clark, USA Today |
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"Films like this are more useful than gung ho-capers like Behind Enemy Lines. They help audiences understand and sympathize with the actual experiences of combat troops, instead of trivializing them into entertainments." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times |
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"Compelling account of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu." -- Desson Howe, Washington Post |
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"The next worst thing to being there. That's how real it feels." -- Stephen Hunter, Washington Post |
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"A beautifully filmed, scrupulously authentic but strangely evasive exercise in combat ultra-realism." -- Jonathan Foreman, New York Post |
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"I can think of no other instance when a country at war has presented on its movie theater screen suchs an excruciating account of battle, or such a sobering one." -- Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle |
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"A studied composition in flying debris, fleeing crowds, and detatched limbs." -- J. Hoberman, Village Voice |
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