Black Hawk Down: The Movie

[Doctor Freeze]

Anybody else dying to see this movie?

I encourage everyone who wants to get a glimpse of the courage and bravery of our special forces abroad to see this movie when it comes out on 1/18/02. The intensity of the firefight between the Army Rangers/Delta Force and the Somalians was incredible.

Here is a link to check out the movie trailer:

Black Hawk Down Trailer Link

[Doctor Freeze]

I recommend reading the book first.

[bribriagain]

My gosh: Ridley Scott, director, soundtrack by Moby. This has all the makings of a Blockbuster. They even got the cooperation of the Special Forces. What's not to like?

[bribriagain]

shameless bump

[pray4liberty]

I hope they show Clinton to be the putz he is. If he's even in the movie.

[TAP ONLINE]

My wife and I saw a trailer last weekend at the movies. It made us both burst into tears. My anger For the Late Great Les Aspen and his President has never diminished. Mr Clinton's legacy is only now being revealed. Someday the masses will discover how incompetent and insignifiacant his adminisration was

[bribriagain]

I'll do that.

[rmlew]

I agree, I will read the book.
I'm not sure I like Josh something-or-other, the Third-wheel guy from Pearl Harbor .
Does this movie include the story of the 2 snipers who volunteered to go cover the helicopters, and where beaten to death when their ammo ran out? They are the only scout-snipers to get the Medal of Honor, so it would be nice to include them.

[Pompah]

I read the book a couple of months back.
Tough,tough story to finish.Brought tears.
Never again. Can't support the troops. Don't send them.

[Skywalk]

Yeah it does. In the trailers, the person that plays Durant asks "Where's the rescue squad?" and a guy(hidden in the shadows) says "we're it!"

I assume that's Shughart and Gordon.

This movie is going to rock. It and LOTR are the only movies I MUST see in the theater as soon as they are released.

[nvcdl]

A recently retired ranger (who servered in Somalia) told me that he has been advised that the trailer is the only good part of the movie.

[colorado tanker]

The book is riveting. Extremely well researched and sourced.

This is where the Clinton legacy started. Bin Laden operatives infiltrated Mog and planned and trained this attack.

When Clinton failed to avenge dead Americans in the streets, but cut and run, Bin Laden took the measure of his opponent and started his career. Mog, Khobar Towers, WTCI, Africa Embassies (also planned out of Somalia), the Cole and WTCII/Pentagon.

Quite a legacy. In time, even impeachment will pale by comparison.

[kezekiel]

I hope they name names on political decisions not to send armor to Somalia. Our boys ended up having to wait under fire overnight for some Pakistanis or Bangladeshis to bring in their armored vehicles to evacuate them.

One of the most stunning vignettes to come out of that tragic story was the description of a Ranger who witnessed a Somali woman hold her baby in front of her while she hid an AK-47 from U.S. troops as she moved in to take a shot at them.

Another amazing story was of an elderly Somali man who kept firing at Rangers while taking round after round from an M-60 machine gun.

Militant Islam is capable of a mind-numbing hatred that we in the West will never truly comprehend. Fortunately, we can, are, and will continue to blister their butts whenever we choose to fight them.

[John H K]

It's been made fairly clear that the movie focuses entirely on the action itself. I doubt whether Clinton or anyone in Washington is even mentioned in the movie, much less played by a character.

But people need to learn how not to have a cow when a movie isn't what they want it to be. FR's fantasy is that Blackhawk Down is going to be an anti-Clinton documentary. It's not going to be. It's an artistic choice to focus on the men and the battle in Somalia.

I don't believe "Platoon" or "Full Metal Jacket" mentioned Nixon or LBJ...if they did (I haven't seen either in a while) it was a minor part of the movie. If you want an anti-Clinton documentary made, do it yourself. Don't be like the nitwit Brits all in a dither because "Saving Private Ryan" didn't have any British troops in it.

[Skywalk]

I don't expect the naming of names, either. In fact, the author comes to different conclusions than most FReepers. I blame Clinton, not for the events of The Battle of Mogadishu, but for ending the mission the day after. Don't forget, Republicans were all over him after we lost those men. Perhaps if they had remembered the humiliation of Vietnam we would have finished kicking some behind, THEN left. Clinton is more to blame on an overarching level, not the specific encounter on Oct 3rd-4th.

[Poohbah]

We Were Soldiers comes out in March, 2002...the First Cav in the Ia Drang, with Mel Gibson and a script by Randall Wallace. Another "must-see," probably.

[Skywalk]

Definitely. My father was in Pleiku and Tuy Hoa in 70-71.

[Poohbah]

Well, now I'm checking out Hal Moore's book from the library...

[katze]

Almost an oops. Was going to ask if you were a pilot in VN, but then noted you said your father was in Pleiku and Tuy Hoa. Big difference, huh? ;-)

[Skywalk]

LOL.

Well, my father seemed to be a multi-tasker, as fewer men were on the ground by the time he got there. I wish he was still alive, so I could ask for specific details. I know he had something to do with sensors(i read about this in Sorley's book too) that were listening devices, placed at certain coordinates, so that artillery would strike precisely on troops on the move. I know he saw combat, but am sure most of his time was spent on the base, or riding in a jeep(one of his listed skills)

He was attached to artillery. I need someone to help me read these damn records to make some sense of what he might have done there, besides a few stories.

[COL. FLAGG]

A recently retired ranger (who served in Somalia) told me that he has been advised that the trailer is the only good part of the movie.

Really? Who advised him of that? Did that person actually see the finished film?

Unfortunately, a good trailer does not mean the film itself will be good, but I am still hopeful that this will be a superior film, based on the quality of Ridley Scott's previous films.

OTHO, films based on great books often fall short of the book (A good recent example: A Perfect Storm).

However, a hopeful sign for BHD is that the studio decided to release the film in NY and LA on Dec 28 in order to make it eligible for the 2001 Academy Awards, a move they probably wouldn't make if the film was perceived to be a dud.