(Liberty Film Festival) MOVIE REVIEW - WMD: THE MURDEROUS REIGN OF SADDAM HUSSEIN

Doug from Upland, FreeRepublic | 10-7-04 | Doug from Upland

[doug from upland]

MOVIE REVIEW

WMD: THE MURDEROUS REIGN OF SADDAM HUSSEIN

Brad Maaske/Jano Rosebiani

Perhaps the most powerful and emotional film at the recent Liberty Film Festival in West Hollywood, California was WMD: THE MURDEROUS REIGN OF SADDAM HUSSEIN.

Filmmakers Brad Maaske and Kurdish/American Jano Rosebiani have provided the world with long overdue heart-wrenching visual evidence that millions of human beings were living a literal hell on earth. How ironic. Hell in the Cradle of Civilization.

Men, women, and children were beaten, tortured, gassed, imprisoned, and murdered in unspeakable ways. Tens of thousands simply disappeared and were never seen by their families again. Those who survived live with incomprehensible physical and/or mental anguish.

The death of innocents may total as high 1.3 million. While the United Nations supervised the notorious “Oil for Food” program, criminals and thugs made millions of dollars. As many as 3 million children died because of lack of food, medicine, and medical care. The world did not do that. The United States did not do that. Saddam Hussein did that. He kept perhaps $10 billion dollars for himself while letting the children die.

Rosebiani provided footage from Iraq possessed by no other filmmaker in the world. The voiceovers were not even necessary. We could look into people’s eyes and souls and feel what they were saying.

Let the sanctions work? Let the sanctions work? Are you kidding? No one who watches this film will again tolerate those who tell them that the sanctions were working. Sorry, that is ludicrous and disgusting.

God bless America and its allies. They are not the coerced or bribed as a particular disingenuous presidential candidate calls them. God bless those dedicated brave men and women who continue to confront evil in Iraq. Bribed and coerced? Not on your life. They are heroes.

There are no finer heroes in the world than the Americans who volunteered, left comfort at home, and risk their lives everyday so that others may enjoy the freedom that too many of us take for granted. They are in both military gear and civilian clothing.

After 12 years and 17 resolutions, Hussein was still playing games with the world. Victor Davis Hanson provided remarkable insight about the United Nations and why it is incapable of solving any of the world’s problems. Their goal appears to be little more than trying to attack, embarrass, and humiliate the United States. China is on the Security Council. Syria and Libya are on particular human rights committees. There is something very wrong with that picture.

Operation Iraqi Freedom indeed shocked and awed the world. In less than three weeks, Baghdad was taken. It was the greatest modern military marvel.

WMD contains a great deal of powerful footage from September 11, 2001. Only a short three years later, far too many Americans seem to have forgotten. They seem not to realize that we are in a world war that will likely continue for a very long time. It is almost painful to watch some of the man on the street interviews in which those who loathe our president are staggeringly ignorant of history and world affairs. For those who refer to our president as a Nazi, I ask you, what word is left for Hitler? What word do you use for the real Nazis?

If anyone did not shed a tear at the end of the film when the story of a soldier named Daniel Unger was told, they are without feelings. Unger was from Maaske’s hometown of Exeter, California. His heroic actions saved Iraqi lives but cost him his own. Unger’s parents are devastated but spoke on camera and exhibited a rare courage and pride for what their son had done. Knowing their son, they would have been shocked if he had been anything other than a hero.

WMD: THE MURDEROUS REIGN OF SADDAM HUSSEIN must be seen by those who question why we went to war in Iraq. It might not change the minds of the most rabid Bush haters who are filled with hate because of their political agenda, but it will change the hearts and minds of those who have hearts and minds.

[doug from upland]

Ping.

[apackof2]

bump

[JulieRNR21]

Thanks for your excellent review, Doug.
I am eager to see this film.

Will it be distributed through any major movie chains?

I do hope this important film can be seen by a huge audience ASAP.

[JulieRNR21]

FYI........PING

[doug from upland]

I think there are 3 showings in the Visalia area tonight. They are working on Orange and L.A. Counties. They hope to be in hundreds of theatres just before the election.

WMD MOVIE

[JulieRNR21]

What about people who are not in CA?

When will it be available in other states?

[doug from upland]

They are working on it furiously. In about a week there will be a press event and release in D.C.

[doug from upland]

Expecting NY and Chicago very soon.

[RonDog]

See also THIS thread:

WMD – The Murderous Reign of Saddam Hussein
(New Documentary film by Fresno Area Realtor!)
Documentary Film: "WMD – The Murderous Reign of Saddam Hussein" ^ | 10/4/2004 | BRAD L. MAASKE, Victor Davis Hanson
Posted on 10/05/2004 2:00:40 PM PDT by Drago

The liberal bias toward the war in Iraq was one thing. Then came a propaganda piece that did more to line the pockets of a radical filmmaker than to tell the truth. That’s when Brad Maaske, a conservative businessman from the agricultural heart of California, decided enough was enough.

It was time for a documentary that told the truth about the human toll and terror under the personally guided regime of Saddam Hussein. WMD: The Murderous Reign of Saddam Hussein offers a balanced view of the real Iraq, before, during and following the military involvement of the United States and its allies. WMD provides an objective report for Americans to consider prior to going to the polls in November.

Co-producer of WMD is Iraqi film director Jano Rosebiani, known most recently for the documentaries, “Mass Graves of Saddam Hussein” and “Chemical Ali.” Never before seen footage of the atrocities perpetrated in Iraq, the chemical attacks and interviews with survivors provide a riveting testimony for the justification of war and military support during reconstruction.

Exclusive interviews and expert analysis of the current geopolitical situation are provided, including an in-depth interview by Victor David Hanson, author of eleven books, including “The Western Way of War”, “An Autumn of War” and “ Between War & Peace.”

Theatrical exhibition in all major markets and a massive DVD release will follow.

CLICK HERE for the rest of that thread

And, check out THIS wonderful new poster, from www.iraqitruthproject.com:

[Smartass]

THANKS FOR THE PING

Proud To Be Part Of The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

[RonDog]

And, from:

Dr. Hfuhruhurr On The LIBERTY FILM FESTIVAL In LA And Being A Republican In Hollywood!!
www.aintitcoolnews.com ^ | October 7, 2004 | Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr [and "Moriarty"]
Posted on 10/07/2004 2:24:35 PM PDT by RonDog

Dr. Hfuhruhurr On The LIBERTY FILM FESTIVAL In LA And Being A Republican In Hollywood!!

Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...

I love this article. I love this article as much as I love any article I’ve ever published on AICN. To me, this is the whole point of running a website. Publishing reactions from film fans that aren’t the same as my own, and giving someone a chance to make their case. Dr. Hfuhruhurr is one of my favorite guys in LA, and this article took guts to write. I’m pleased to present it, and I hope the Republicans who always claim to feel so unwelcome here at AICN enjoy this one, just as much as I hope the Democrats who read the site are able to read it with open minds. Check this out:

Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr, reporting for duty.

There’s something I have to get off my chest. Something I have known about myself since I was a very young boy and that only a few very close friends know about me now. It’s time for the lies and the secrets to come to an end. I am tired of my disguise, I’m tired of being too intimidated to expose my true self, and I’m tired of going to parties and doing that little “is he or isn’t he?” dance hoping that maybe, just maybe, I’ve found a kindred spirit.

So let me step out of the closet and shout it from the rooftop of my cranial lab:

I’m a Hollywood Republican, goddamit!

And it turns out that I’m not the only one. This weekend, at the first annual LIBERTY FILM FESTIVAL in Los Angeles, I discovered a sold-out theater full or non-liberal film geeks, studio execs, actors, writers, directors, agents, and cute Bushies...

-- snip --

From www.libertyfilmfestival.com:

america's first conservative Film festival right before the election right in the heart of hollywood & there's nothing michael moore can do about it.

-- snip --

This EXTRAORDINARILY SUCCESSFUL Liberty Film Festival was created by...

...the AMAZING husband/wife team of Jason Apuzzo and Govindini Murty:

Jason Apuzzo Festival Co-Director Writer-Director Jason Apuzzo recently finished his debut feature, the film noir thriller Terminal Island . Jason was mentored in this project by Irvin Kershner (dir., Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back ). Jason graduated from the USC School of Cinema-TV in 2001 with an MFA in Production. Jason's USC thesis short, “San Pedro,” is the most watched student short on the internet over the last three years. Jason's mentor at USC was ©Academy Award winning sound engineer Tom Holman, inventor of the THX sound system. Prior to USC, Jason received his Ph.D. in Germanic Literature from Stanford University , and a BA in Philosophy from Yale University . While at Yale, Jason founded The Yale Free Press , one of the nation's first conservative college newspapers, and was elected Speaker of the Yale Political Union.
Govindini Murty Festival Co-Director Actress/Writer Govindini Murty came to the US to attend Yale University , where she received a BA in East Asian Studies. While at Yale, Govindini served as Chair of the Women's Caucus of the Yale Political Union, Vice-Chair of the Independent Party, and columnist for the Yale Daily News . Govindini recently acted in, co-wrote and executive produced the independent feature Terminal Island with her husband, Jason Apuzzo. She's also a film columnist for HollywoodRepublicans.com, and will be featured as a guest critic on AMC's “The Movie Club” (pilot). Govindini has been mentored in her film criticism career by Michael Medved. She's otherwise worked in film, TV, commercials and theater in Vancouver and Los Angeles . She played numerous roles as a member of the Long Beach Shakespeare Company, won a Best Actress Award for her role as Margot in “Dial M for Murder,” and has written eight screenplays.

Contact Festival Co-Directors Jason Apuzzo or Govindini Murty at:
alexandrianfilms@cox.net

CLICK HERE for the rest of that thread

[RonDog]

From the recent Liberty Film Festival

WMD: The Murderous Reign of Saddam Hussein
Documentary Screening
Explosive, never-before-seen footage of Saddam's atrocities - and interviews with survivors - provide a riveting testimony for the justification of war and the need for continued US support during reconstruction.
From famed Kurdish/Iraqi director Jano Rosebiani.

Watch the trailer here.

[RonDog]

See also THIS thread:

Fresno FReepers!
"WMD: The Murderous Reign of Saddam Hussein" movie in VISALIA on THURSDAY (10/7)
www.FOXvisalia.org ^ | October 6, 2004 | RonDog [and FRiends]
Posted on 10/06/2004 4:41:35 PM PDT by RonDog

Atention FRESNO-area FReepers!.

Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 6:00PM

Two showings--6 & 8 p.m.
Weapon of Mass Destruction:
The Murderous Reign of Saddam Hussein

Local realtor Brad Maaske has created this documentary in response to Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11." The 90-minute documentary contains nearly 40 minutes of interviews with Iraqis who lived under the reign of Saddam Hussein.

Ticket Information:
$10 at the door

Contact the Fox, 625-1369


at the historic Fox Theatre, in Downtown Visalia.
308 W. Main Street
Visalia, California 93291

-- snip --

WMD

The liberal bias toward the war in Iraq was one thing. Then came a propaganda piece that did more to line the pockets of a radical filmmaker than to tell the truth. That’s when Brad Maaske, a conservative businessman from the agricultural heart of California, decided enough was enough.

It was time for a documentary that told the truth about the human toll and terror under the personally guided regime of Saddam Hussein. WMD: The Murderous Reign of Saddam Hussein offers a balanced view of the real Iraq, before, during and following the military involvement of the United States and its allies. WMD provides an objective report for Americans to consider prior to going to the polls in November.

View the trailer
click on the image!

www.wmd-themovie.com

CLICK HERE for the rest of that thread

[RonDog]

The liberal bias toward the war in Iraq was one thing. Then came a propaganda piece that did more to line the pockets of a radical filmmaker than to tell the truth.

That’s when Brad Maaske, a conservative businessman from the agricultural heart of California, decided enough was enough...

See also, from www.iraqitruthproject.com:

FACTS ABOUT BRAD L. MAASKE

• born in Colorado, life-long resident of Central California (Exeter, Visalia, Fresno area)
• husband of Brenda, dad of several
• licensed real estate broker and general contractor, property manager
• past member of local civic and governmental boards
• teacher/trainer for licensed and prospective real estate agents
• educated at College of the Sequoias
• athlete with special interests in fitness and skiing
• unlikely filmmaker

In 1979, the year Saddam Hussein bullied his way into the presidency of Iraq, Brad Maaske was half a world way in body and mind from the torment rising out of the palaces of Baghdad. Supervising a ski patrol by day and partying by night were the norm for Brad who, by his own admission, had a lot of growing up to do. Global issues rarely had a place in the thoughts of this bright young man. The extermination of human masses was something discussed in history classrooms, not over a bowl of the breakfast of champions.

But Brad wasn’t alone.

Under the lenses of hindsight nearly all of America now laments a self-absorbed perspective on the world and an apathy we paid dearly for in September of 2001. In the months that followed, Brad recalls, America was united in its resolve to confront terror anywhere it was being inflicted on human security and freedom. Today, after yanking a world tyrant and enemy of the United States from his rat hole, Americans are curiously divided over American foreign policy and, in particular, the war in Iraq.

Are you ready for the truth? Brad Maaske is asking if Americans today can stand to know what’s really going on. Estimates of the number of victims from Saddam Hussein’s campaigns of genocide now top 1.3 million. In one particular action against Kurdish Iraqis, 182,000 men, women and children were systematically murdered or imprisoned – only to be unearthed now from their mass graves. Tortures, relentless beatings, rapes, decapitations, attacks by chemical air strikes on villages that now can no longer be found – these are just some of the atrocities America has been slow to know about and acknowledge. And, when the incumbent administration took military action to end this reign of terror, voices of detractors screamed from the streets of protest, the halls of Congress, and the red carpets of Hollywood. Another film made the scene portraying rosy living in the hamlets of Iraq and a bumbling chief executive in Washington’s Oval Office.

Brad Maaske had had enough. The picture of true evil was being hidden from the eyes of America. It was time for a truth-telling counter-offensive. Brad dropped everything he was doing – leaving his lucrative real estate interests for a season – to tell the story of “WMD – The Murderous Reign of Saddam Hussein.” That he has no experience in the arts, particularly filmmaking, is a distinctive of Brad’s story. The learning curve was steep, but Brad approached the project with the same passion he approaches living. This all-or-nothing conviction resulted in building a feature-length documentary film in a matter of weeks, instead of months or years.

“WMD – The Murderous Reign of Saddam Hussein,” a film by Brad Maaske, opens in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles on October 8, with other major market exhibition and broad DVD distribution to follow.

###

[valleygal]

BTT

Will go to see it if it comes to a theatre near me, take family and friends, and get a copy of the DVD.

[RonDog]

In case you MISS this "advance" showing in Visalia on THURSDAY...

...there will be OTHERS - soon...

...from www.iraqitruthproject.com/theaterlocations.html:

CALIFORNIA

Porterville
Galaxy 9
Starts Friday, October 8th
1:00pm, 3:00pm, 5:00pm, 7:00pm, 9:00pm

Visalia
Regal 10 Theaters (former Signature Theaters)
Starts Friday, October 8th
1130am, 1:50pm, 4:10pm, 6:40pm, 9:00pm

Hanford
Metro 4
1:00pm, 3:00pm, 5:00pm, 7:00pm, 9:00pm

[RonDog]

If anyone did not shed a tear at the end of the film when the story of a soldier named Daniel Unger was told, they are without feelings.

Unger was from Maaske’s hometown of Exeter, California. His heroic actions saved Iraqi lives but cost him his own. Unger’s parents are devastated but spoke on camera and exhibited a rare courage and pride for what their son had done. Knowing their son, they would have been shocked if he had been anything other than a hero.

See also, from Daniel Unger - The Iraqi Page:

Daniel Unger
Friday, May 28 2004 @ 08:03 AM EST Contributed by: tomw TulareAdvanceRegister -- An Army National Guardsman from Exeter was killed in Iraq. Pfc. Daniel Unger, 19, was killed at an Army base south of Baghdad. His mother, Linda, said the family was informed of his death Wed-nesday morning. "I want people to know he loved being in the Army," Linda Unger said. "He loved doing what he was doing and serving his country." Exeter police Lt. Cliff Bush said he knew Unger and his family. Bush said Unger was always polite and friendly. "There should be more young people like [Daniel] so that police officers like me would be out of a job," Bush said. Linda Unger said her son had spoken to his father Sunday morning. "He said, 'I'm in God's hands, dad, don't worry. Whichever way it goes, I'm OK,' " she said. "We believe that." Daniel Unger turned 19 on March 21, the same day he arrived in Kuwait. He was born in Mesquite, Texas. When he was 3, his family moved to California. Daniel Unger graduated from Exeter Union High School in 2003. Two days after his graduation, he was sent to the U.S. Army In-fantry School in Fort Benning, Ga., for basic military training. Linda Unger said her son graduated from boot camp Oct. 10. "He was really proud of what he did," Linda Unger said. "He believed he was protecting us in America, and we agreed with him. He'd still be doing it if he could." Linda Unger said her son and his girlfriend, Elli Peterson, had talked about getting engaged after he returned from the war. Linda Unger said her son participated with the Bill Glass prison ministries and was a valued center fielder for Exeter High's baseball team. "He had a good arm on him," Linda Unger said. "He even considered playing baseball for COS." Steve Garver, Exeter High's baseball coach, said Daniel Unger had a mature view of life. Garver also was his senior-year English teacher. "Daniel was very focused about what he wanted in his life," Garver said. "Even as a player, he knew he was going into the military. I saw him after boot camp ... and he was very confident in the fact that his God wanted him to be there, and that this was what he wanted to do for his country and fellow man. "It wasn't a rah-rah kind of belief." Daniel Unger's father, Marc, is pastor at Exeter Baptist Church. The Unger family also owns a karate studio in Exeter. Linda Unger said her son had become a fourth-degree black belt before leaving for boot camp. Marc Unger said his son was active in the church and was a licensed minister. "Daniel preached an average of once a month for two years before he left for Fort Benning," Marc Unger said. "Daniel was a man of God. He loved Jesus and told everybody he loved Jesus. "There was a consistency between his profession of faith and the way he lived his life. Everybody knew it." Marc Unger said he and his wife supported their son's decision to enter the military. "I think our country is a safer place because of guys like him," Marc Unger said.
[ Views: 445 ]

[MeekOneGOP]

The only bribery going on was by Saddam Insane with France (and Germany?).

Thanks for the review, Doug!!

Registered Pic: Saddam's Day in Court

---

[Mudboy Slim]

"The death of innocents may total as high 1.3 million. While the United Nations supervised the notorious “Oil for Food” program, criminals and thugs made millions of dollars. As many as 3 million children died because of lack of food, medicine, and medical care. The world did not do that. The United States did not do that. Saddam Hussein did that. He kept perhaps $10 billion dollars for himself while letting the children die."

Spread the Word...the Liberation of Iraq has been America at her finest, not a "mistake"...I can't wait until this DVD is available for mass-consumption!!

FReegards...MUD