
Dirty Wars
★★★☆☆


Directed by
Rick Rowley
Produced by Anthony Arnove, Brenda Coughlin, and Jeremy Scahill
Screenplay by Jeremy Scahill and David Riker
Based on the book Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield by Jeremy Scahill
With: Jeremy Scahill
Editing: Rick Rowley and David Riker
Music: David Harrington
Runtime: 90 min
Release Date: 18 January 2013
Aspect Ratio: 1.78 : 1
Color
Produced by Anthony Arnove, Brenda Coughlin, and Jeremy Scahill
Screenplay by Jeremy Scahill and David Riker
Based on the book Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield by Jeremy Scahill
With: Jeremy Scahill
Runtime:
90 min
Release Date: 18 January 2013
Color/Aspect: Color / 1.78 : 1
Cinematography:
Rick RowleyRelease Date: 18 January 2013
Color/Aspect: Color / 1.78 : 1
Editing: Rick Rowley and David Riker
Music: David Harrington
Runtime: 90 min
Release Date: 18 January 2013
Aspect Ratio: 1.78 : 1
Color

Dirty Wars
★★★☆☆

Dirty Wars is a first person documentary about
investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill and his
extensive, boots-on-the-ground research on America’s covert wars and secret
military actions across, what has become, a global battlefield. It is import journalistic
work to be sure; we don’t get many films like this now that George W. Bush is
out of office, despite the fact that the violence and damage done by the US in
the name of the War On Terror has only increased under the Obama
administration. However, like last year’s Chasing Ice, the
film is too focused on the storyteller and not enough on the story. The camera
lingers on close-ups of Scahill as he interviews key figures,
listens to eye-witness accounts, and works at his computer. Coupled with his steely voiceover, this
keeps the viewer at a distance from the facts Scahill is trying to bring to
light, which undercuts the film’s primary goal of bringing the audience closer
to the realities he is reporting on. The approach director
Richard Rowley has taken would work far better as a fictionalized narrative
film about Scahill and the events he is uncovering, rather than an up-close and
personal documentary about him.
Directed by
Rick Rowley
Produced by Anthony Arnove, Brenda Coughlin, and Jeremy Scahill
Screenplay by Jeremy Scahill and David Riker
Based on the book Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield by Jeremy Scahill
With: Jeremy Scahill
Editing: Rick Rowley and David Riker
Music: David Harrington
Runtime: 90 min
Release Date: 18 January 2013
Aspect Ratio: 1.78 : 1
Color
Produced by Anthony Arnove, Brenda Coughlin, and Jeremy Scahill
Screenplay by Jeremy Scahill and David Riker
Based on the book Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield by Jeremy Scahill
With: Jeremy Scahill
Runtime:
90 min
Release Date: 18 January 2013
Color/Aspect: Color / 1.78 : 1
Cinematography:
Rick RowleyRelease Date: 18 January 2013
Color/Aspect: Color / 1.78 : 1
Editing: Rick Rowley and David Riker
Music: David Harrington
Runtime: 90 min
Release Date: 18 January 2013
Aspect Ratio: 1.78 : 1
Color
How I Rate Films
★★★★★
One of the 5000 greatest films. Usually only awarded after repeat viewings, so there are more five-star films from decades past than recent years.
★★★★☆
An excellent film. Possibly one of the 5000 and certainly worthy of repeated viewing.
★★★☆☆
A good film well worth seeing. Films listed at the top of this ranking could end up one of the 5000.
★★☆☆☆
A disappointment, an interesting failure, or just a bad movie. Still, maybe worth seeing: I often enjoy the top two-star films in a given list more than the bottom three-star films.
★☆☆☆☆
A bad, rant-worthy film. Should be avoided regardless of hype or talent involved.
☆☆☆☆☆
One of the worst films.
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