Product Description

From the director of 'Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room' comes this in-depth look at the mistreatment prisoners of the US in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan, who was tortured and killed in 2002. The film uses never-before-seen footage, interviews with leading politicians and activists and comments from soldiers who were there. Taxi To The Dark Side is a unique ride into the murky world of terrorism and the US response post 9/11 to dealing with the threat

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4281 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-06-30
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Taxi To The Dark Side
Having been recommended this on BBC iPlayer a few weeks ago, I wasn't that optimistic about this, yet another 'war on terror' documentary. However, this film is superb, offering a diverse array of interviews and examples to illustrate how far we have descended from the moral high ground in the ongoing war on terrorism. As someone who is generally supportive of the ongoing military campaign in Afghanistan, I can say this film is no Michael Moore-style Bush-bash, but a rounded and thoroughly disturbing insight into the practical implications of assymetric warfare. Indeed, whilst it is easy to condemn torture under any circumstances, it is hard not to empathise with the lowly soldiers, deserted by their superiors, having followed ambiguous orders to get information from detainees. Thoroughly recommended.

A horrifying Oscar winning documentary
This is a brutal, agonizing and exhausting journey that doesn't pull any punches. No government double-speak to hide the unpleasant parts - just pure evil.

Starting with an innocent Afghan taxi driver tortured to death by American interrogators, the film shows the atrocities committed by the Bush administration in the name of American people and the ill-defined 'war on terror'. The film is a chronicle of how paranoia, self-serving deceit and mere stupidity can threaten the very values a great nation was built on.

Everyone that cares about freedom and the sanctity of the individual should see this film.

Difficult to Watch, Important Polemical Documentary Critical of Torture by American Soldiers
Having seen "Taxi to the Dark Side" nearly two months ago at a private screening in midtown Manhattan (New York, NY USA), my mind is still reeling from the harsh, brutal images of torture committed by United States soldiers against suspected terrorists and irregulars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This may be the most important documentary film on the "War on Terror", and while it is a liberal polemic film, it does an effective job of arguing its case by showing its graphic images, instead of having someone like filmmaker Michael Moore seen onscreen ranting and raving. The central saga which runs through the nearly two-hour long film is the last taxi ride of a young Afghan taxi driver, Dilawar, an innocent bystander who was picked up by American troops, tortured, and died from his severe injuries at the American detention center in Bagram, Afghanistan.

"Taxi to the Dark Side" deserves the ample recognition it has earned, and may be remembered as a superb documentary film in the tradition of Edward R. Murrow's "Harvest of Shame". But it isn't perfect for the following reasons. First it accepts as gospel truth, the fact that most of those being held by American soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq and Cuba are as innocent as Dilawar was. Second it lacks more insightful analysis from the likes of noted military defense attorney Eugene Fidell, who represented my cousin, former U. S. Army chaplain James Yee (Much to my amazement, Yee's filmed testimony was not included at all in the final cut of this film.). Will "Taxi to the Dark Side" change the opinions of many? Hopefully it will force those who've seen it to ask serious, probing questions about inhumane treatment of prisoners by some American soldiers, and perhaps persuade them to convince the Federal political leadership in Washington, D. C. to act more aggressively to avert similar instances of prisoner mistreatment in the future.