Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2169 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-05-05
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 102 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Overlooked in the end at the Academy Awards, and not ratcheting up the box office you'd perhaps expect of a Tom Hanks movie, Charlie Wilson's War is nonetheless a challenging, entertaining and underappreciated film, that deserves to find a bigger audience on DVD.

Starring Hanks in the title role, the strength of Charlie Wilson's War is in some talented people doing what they do best. Hanks eases into his part, as the Texas congressman who uses his extensive contacts book and unorthodox nature (which is putting it mildly) to initiate and wage a secret war. Alongside him is Julia Roberts on fine form in a small part, and the excellent Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who is at the heart of the film's best, and funniest, moments.

Gluing Charlie Wilson's War together is an assured turn behind the camera from veteran director Mike Nichols. Nichols, still best known for The Graduate, is confident enough to let the comedy in a deathly serious story play out, while not shirking the drama either. It's a tender balancing act, that only flusters a little near the end.

It's not a perfect film, and the tone may be a little uneasy for some. But Charlie Wilson's War is, nonetheless, a very strong piece of American cinema, that has questions to ask, and manages to entertain at the same time. Well worth discovering. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
The first time the audience sees Texas congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) in the early 1980s, he seems far from a model politician. Surrounded by strippers, a Playboy Playmate, and cocaine, the naked congressman lies in a hot tub at a party. Despite the distractions, the TV news catches Charlie's attention as Dan Rather reports from a war-torn Afghanistan. As Soviets invade the country, the Afghans lack the money and technology to defend themselves. Enter Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), a wealthy Texan who champions the cause of Afghanistan and, by extension in the Cold War, America. Together with CIA Agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Charlie begins a secret war where he must unite Israel, Pakistan, Egypt, and America to defeat the Soviets.
Just as director Mike Nichols brought a sense of fun to what should have been dour proceedings in films such as The Graduate and Closer, this comedy about the largest covert war to date never feels like a history lesson. Writer Aaron Sorkin's dialogue is sharp and it's delivered with impressive verve from the film's trio of Oscar winners. Hoffman is famous for transforming into various characters, and he's remarkable, but it's Hanks's turn that's the most surprising. Outwardly, Charlie could resemble many of Hanks's previous roles, but the actor adds layers to the character and changes without the aid of makeup or prosthetics.

Customer Reviews

The Cold War, now available in Primary colours...
So what do you know - it's possible to make a cheerful movie about the war...
Actually, the reason this movie feels so light and cheerful is that it is really about Charlie Wilson the man rather than the war. The movie tells the (based on true) story of the Texas Congressman who played a pivotal role in getting substantial funding to the Mujahedin in Afghanistan, eventually leading to the forced withdrawal of the Russians, thereby paving the way for the downfall of the Soviet Empire - as told by this movie at least. The interesting part is that Charlie Wilson was a womanizing party animal who was the last person many would have thought would tackle this issue.
The cast fit the bill perfectly - Tom Hanks surprises as the drinking Congressman, sharing a hot tub with strippers doing coke.. but retains the naivete that seems to have allowed him to say `why not' when faced with the question of increasing funds to Afghan freedom fighters. The woman asking the questions is a rich, headstrong Texan woman played by Julia Roberts, and the man in the CIA actually getting the job done and providing the technical explanations, is played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.
It's shot well, in bright colours and plenty of lighting so we never have a dark moment, and acting is perfectly fine throughout. There is even just a touch of acknowledgement at the end that things were not so straightforward, and a warning that with the Russians gone, and without funding rebuilding infrastructure and schools, the `crazies' would inevitably take the leading role. As of course they did.
On the downside, this is really a very superficial look at the issues, and a rather one-sided look at events in history. On the plus side, it's a fun and entertaining introduction to the man and the history, that at 1hr 38 min never outlasts its welcome.

Great film - bad DVD
OK let's get it straight I really enjoyed the film. The start of the film was a bit slow and confused (I really wasn't that interested to explore Charlie's predilections for nudes in spar tubs) but once the reason for the story is made known it is gripping and moves at a pace that keeps you interested and ultimately moved until the end. The great thing was showing what a few individuals can achieve in the face of international lethargy and disinterest.

It was good to meet the real Charlie in the extras but why did that have to effectively have a 'Making Of ...' and then a shorter 'Meet Charlie Wilson' that has identical footage of Charlie and nothing new?

So a good film so why only 2 stars. As other people have pointed out I absolutely hate this DVD - you have to sit through nearly 4 minutes of a UNICEF campaign for Aids in Africa. There is no option to skip or fast forward through it. Then you get nearly a minute of loud noise about video piracy (which I object to as I just bought the damn thing - why treat ME as a pirate when pirates can easily strip the crap) and then to add insult to injury there is a further copyright notice. OK we finally get to the film but for heaven's sake don't press the menu button on your handset during the film or you have to endure the whole lot again - it doesn't even go straight to the menu.

What is the net effect of all this - people will copy the DVD just to remove the crap so they can watch the film in peace. This totally negates the charity appeal stuff and the copyright notices and turns users in to copyright infringers because of the publishers own stupidity!

Don't get me wrong I thing publicising the work of UNICEF in Africa is laudable and I wouldn't mind it being on the disc (even though the disc has nothing to do with UNICEF or Africa or Aids) provided it is in the extras section and is optional.

Surprisingly good ...
I saw this film advertised, immediately thought 'Tom Hanks? Nah ...', and let it slip through the cinema releases without seeing it. It was certainly an error of judgement because Charlie Wilson's War is a great movie.

The plot is based on the true story of Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), a coke-snorting, hard drinkin', womanising Texas senator who teams up with CIA operative Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and sixth-wealthiest- woman-in-Texas Joanne Herring (played beautifully by Julia Roberts). They subsequently engineer the largest covert operation in US history, supplying freedom fighters with the weaponry they need to fight the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

'Charlie Wilson's War' is a mix of charismatic charactors, cynical humour and drama, with some fine acting by Hanks and Hoffman and a wider chemistry evident across the entire cast; CWW is the type of film you watch and just know the actors are relishing their roles and having a great time. It's funny and cerebral, while also showing us the murky side of how the world really works behind the scenes. It's an entertaining and accomplished piece of film making, but not without its problems.

Director Mike Nichols seems comfortable sitting in his 'Catch-22' war-comedy roots, and never really tackles head on the issues the film raises. In particular, the ending (where we, the audience, can retrospectively look back at the historical events and know the direction it goes) seems tacked on, as if to temper the somewhat jingoistic slant the film has for much of its length.

The film also falls into the Sorkin-esque trap where, although the dialogue is great, it's sputtered out at a Kalashnikov rate ... the old US tact of conveying the intelligence of characters by making them speak incredibly quickly. In parts, as with the West Wing, you'll have to rewind to catch what they said and when you do you'll find a reference to US politics that most non-US citizens won't quite understand.

Generally though, an excellent film that is bound to surprise you if you haven't seen it. Not one for the kids or the instant gratification brigade ... but a few movies like this are always a good thing to break up the summer blockblusters.