Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12305 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-07-21
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 87 minutes

Synopsis
Director Brian De Palma, whose CASUALTIES OF WAR addressed a horrific tragedy that occurred during the Vietnam war, turns his attention to Iraq with an unfortunately similar tale. Inspired by true events, REDACTED follows a group of soldiers who are stationed at a checkpoint in Iraq. Angel Salazar (Izzy Diaz) is an aspiring filmmaker who is intent on capturing his experience on videotape. His fellow soldiers--Reno Flake (Patrick Carroll), Lawyer McCoy (Rob Devaney), and Gabe Blix (Kel O’Neill)--seem to be surprisingly well-adjusted at first, but it isn't long before their true colours come through. When Reno decides to get drunk and harass an Iraqi family, the situation devolves into rape and murder, putting an incredible strain on Lawyer, who wants to expose Reno but doesn’t want to rat out a fellow soldier.


In making REDACTED, De Palma embraced the various forms of technology that have allowed soldiers to connect with Americans back home: video cameras, blogs, YouTube, etc. The result is a fictional documentary that feels immediate and experimental, incorporating first-person video perspectives, security cameras, and a variety of other techniques to tell its tragic tale. De Palma is clearly unhappy with the developments in Iraq, and he wants the world to know that he doesn't support the war. REDACTED will certainly never be misconstrued as a pro-war film. This is a challenging work that attacks the very nature of the American presence in Iraq.

Customer Reviews

Gritty film confronting the reality that is Iraq.
Redacted [2007]

Redaction means a form of editing in which multiple sources are combined (sorry if you already knew) and that is what this very authentic and gritty exploration of an American army unit bored out of their minds patrolling a permanent road block in Samarra is all about.

I found the rather primitive acting added to the realism, and de Palma's direction in the first section of the film portrays the bored and dispirited soldiers so well it is just that - great direction but inevitably a bit boring.

So how accurate is this film, I would refer you to the moving and balanced review in the Internet Movie Database by - "An Iraqi's Comment (Who witnessed the war)" - I cannot add to that.

A great film for that confronts uncomfortable reality.

A great chance, unfortunately squandered.
I'm sorry to say that this film was an utter disappointment. I'm saying this calmly, as I really want you (the potential viewer) to read and consider what I'm saying before thinking "He's being negative, I'll click the 'not helpful' button."
I bought Redacted when it was full price £15.99 - I teach at university level and, having read the reviews (and knowing Brian De Palma's usually high level of ability) I thought this would be a perfect example to show my class and ask them about the *way* in which the Media (in this case a film-dramatisation inspired by actual events) represents American forces in Iraq. I'm sorry to say I was appalled - not at what happens in the film (though I was appalled by that) - but by the incredibly low level of acting ability and, hence, very poor direction given by one of my favorite directors. I'm stunned! Truly. Don't get me wrong, the way in which De Palma chooses to represent the story is interesting with an clever mix of Cloverfield-esqe handycam shots, traditional film and, at times, different angles (representing different spatial and ideological points of view) of the same scenes using different filming media, Webcam conversations, security camera/CCTV footage, You Tube clips, etc... It's a style which is innovative, attractive and, itself, a real metaphor for the way in which information on events is only ever going to be partially presented and individually spun and understood (Hence the title: "Redacted"). However the acting is just so stunningly appalling it's cringeworthy. I cannot show this to my students or anyone else, the appalling acting would get in the way of any appreciation of the film's style or an analysis of the representations made. This was, I feel, a great chance for De Palma to make a (meta-)movie about Soldiers' lives in Iraq AND make a solid and valuable critique about the way in which the media represents them. This he tried to do but the acting and direction of the actors (not the scenes) is terrible. And it's not even so terrible as to be 'cult'. It's just bad....stunningly bad. I'm sorry, I really like De Palma but this is inexcusable. Please hire or borrow a copy before deciding, for yourself, whether to buy. If (and I really mean *IF*) you can sit through the end scenes (where the "Whistleblower" is in a bar with his friends back in the US and he 'cracks' and spills all that he saw) without cringing in embarrasment for wasting 90 minutes of your, and your friends' / partner's lives for inviting them to watch it with you, then this film is for you (email me and you can have my copy, cheap). If not, don't waste your money. Please.

tough
This is definitely a must see movie. I have never felt so utterly moved, horrified and helpless by watching a war movie before.

Brian De Palma does a fantastic job in filming this and there were times when I felt I was actually watching a real life broadcast from Iraq. He uses different mediums brilliantly to tell the story in a manner I've never come across before. You get the 'home made' video footage of one of the soldiers in Iraq who's documenting his time there. Other bits of the story come via insurgent videos, security tapes of the soldiers conversations on base, youtube posts etc. It sounds very bitty but it comes together perfectly.

One of the many things I liked about the movie was the realism. It demonstrates the mundane car and body searches at checkpoints and the hours soldiers have to kill on base. However, it isn't all easy going as we know and that aspect is also covered.

At the end of the day though the movie focuses on one thing - the loss of innocent lives in Iraq at the hands of the (US) military. It gives you facts and figures with images which make you question 'why?' A movie that moves you to that point can't possibly be bad. (although I doubt any pro-war people will support it....esp those with friends/family in the armed forces. All I can ask is you keep an open mind)