Redacted (2007)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writer:

Brian De Palma (written by)

Release Date:

16 November 2007 (Spain)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | War

Tagline:

Truth is the first casualty of war.

Plot:

A montage of stories about U.S. soldiers fighting in the Iraq conflict, focusing on the modern forms of media covering the war.

Plot Keywords:

Iraq | Soldier | Controversy | Bare Chested Male | News Report

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Izzy Diaz	...	Angel Salazar
Rob Devaney	...	Lawyer McCoy
Ty Jones	...	Master Sergeant Sweet
Anas Wellman	...	Soldier (as Anas 'Tipsy' Wellman)
Mike Figueroa	...	Sergeant Jim Vasquez
Yanal Kassay	...	Soldier
Dhiaa Khalil	...	Soldier
Kel O'Neill	...	Gabe Blix / al Investigation Agent #2
Daniel Stewart Sherman	...	B.B. Rush
Patrick Carroll	...	Reno Flake
Qazi Freihat	...	Hadi
Adel Odai	...	Interpreter
Helen Zamel	...	Date Girl
Hiyam Abdel Karim	...	Pregnant Woman
Issam Shamary	...	Pregnant Woman's Brother

Also Known As:

Örtülü gerçek (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Censurado (Portugal) (DVD title) [pt]
En psyhro (Greece) [el]
Guerra Sem Cortes (Brazil) [pt]
Redacted (Denmark) [da]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong disturbing violent content including a rape, pervasive language and some sexual references/images.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English | French | Arabic | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Ireland:16 | Sweden:15 | Ireland:15 (video rating) | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | Japan:R-15 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA (2008) | Germany:18 | New Zealand:R16 | France:-12

Filming Locations:

Amman, Jordan

Company:

Film Farm, The

Trivia:

The genesis of the film began when HDNet Films approached Brian De Palma in 2006 to make a film with only two strings attached: it had to be shot for $5 million and on HD.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Angel Salazar's video camera, as shown in the opening scene, is a small, cheap camcorder. However, during the scene where Master Sergeant Sweet is introduced, the camera's shadow suggests a much larger high-end HD camera with wide lens and external microphone is being used.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-04-04)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Voice of a Gun

An IRAQI's Comment (Who witnessed the war)

I would give this movie 10 stars for the courage that the producers had shown to reveal the truth about was going on there in Iraq.

First of all I am an Iraqi who witnessed everything that happened since the first moment the war took place. I am not an American who is in favour of certain political wing or party. And it is really frustrating to hear those voices picking holes in De Palma's movie and accusing him of being biased or not knowing how the army operates or..or ..or ..etc. You don't need to know anything to be human!! and to stop killing, supporting, or covering for the killing of the innocents.

It is not about elections and politics!! it is about hundreds of people getting killed daily by different groups whether Al-Qaeda, the militias, death squads, or the coalition forces themselves!! The movie was so touching in every single aspect for an Iraqi who had lived there and witnessed the war. The combination of bad and good soldiers is so true. And choosing Sammara rather than any other province or city was so wise since the pressure and threat that the soldiers are under there is not the same for soldiers who are in rather safer areas like the Northern part of Iraq. Also the psychological pressure that most of those soldiers are under has been made clear in this movie; as well as, the negativity, hostility and racism of some soldiers..If you are an Iraqi who understands English, you can understand what the American soldiers mumble or yell about every time an Iraqi approaches them. You can tell from the look whether that soldier is a good or a bad one. Something that has been successfully shown and well presented in that movie.

Like most of the people who support the American army there and consider every Iraqi or Muslim a terrorist or "desert nig**r" or "rag head", most of the Iraqis and Muslims consider every troop a thief, raper, and occupier who is after money, oil and damaging or destroying Islam. But does that mean that they are right? they are both wrong!! All the movie did is that it put the reality of what is going on in Iraq in to cinema cause not all people follow the news or know which media to be trusted; moreover, it didn't say that those stories or characters are true or ever existed. And you don't need De Palma or the Fox news to tell you that!! May be it is true that they might not know a lot about Iraq, but what makes you think that you know better than them about Iraq??!!..

Another true and clever thing about the movie were the videos posted on the internet whether for the insurgents, soldiers' wives, or the people who oppose such disgraceful crimes. Also how, in the end, the innocent soldiers were the ones who pay for the crimes that their teammates commit whether physically (Salazar) or psychologically (McCoy).