Action/war drama based on the best-selling book detailing a near-disastrous mission in Somalia on October 3, 1993. On this date nearly 100 U.S. Army Rangers, commanded by Capt. Mike Steele, were dropped by helicopter deep into the capital city of Mogadishu to capture two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord. This led to a large and drawn-out firefight between the Army Ranges, US Special Forces, and hundreds of Somali gunmen; resulting in the destruction of two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters.
The film focuses on the heroic efforts of various Rangers to get to the downed black hawks, centering on SSG Eversmann, leading the Ranger unit Chalk Four to the first black hawk crash site, Chief Warrant Officer Durant who was captured after being the only survivor of the second black hawk crash, as well as many others who were involved.
Black Hawk Down is a 2001 war film co-produced and directed by Ridley Scott, from a screenplay by Ken Nolan. It is based on the 1999 non-fiction book of the same name by Mark Bowden, which in turn is based on the 29-part series of articles published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, chronicling the events of a 1993 raid in Mogadishu by the U.S. military aimed at capturing faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid, and the ensuing firefight, known as the Battle of Mogadishu. The film features a large ensemble cast, including Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Jason Isaacs, Tom Hardy in his feature film debut, and Sam Shepard.
Black Hawk Down won two Academy Awards for Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing at the 74th Academy Awards. Although it was received positively by critics, the film was strongly criticized by a number of groups and military officials. In 2009, an extended cut of the film was released on DVD. The cut contained an additional 8 minutes of footage increasing the running time to 152 minutes. This extended cut has yet to be released on Blu-Ray.
Black Hawk Down (2002)
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Josh Harnett, Eric Bana, Ewen Bremner, Tom Sizemore, Sam Shepard, Ewan McGregor, William Fichnter, Charlie Hofheimer, Jason Isaacs, Johnny Strong
Screenplay by: Mark Bowden, Ken Nolan
Production Design by: Arthur Max
Cinematography by: Arthur Max
Film Editing by: Pietro Scalia
Costume Design by: Sammy Howarth
Set Decoration by: Elli Griff
Art Direction by Pier Luigi Basile, Gianni Giovagnoni
Music by: James Michael Dooley, Jeff Rona
MPAA Rating: R for intense, realistic, graphic war violence, and for language.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: January 18, 2002
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