A hybrid, containing both fictional and real elements. As often happens with such efforts, the movie doesn't fully succeed in meeting the demands of either side of a complex equation.
Comment
09/24/04
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September Tapes (2004)
21
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:7
Rotten:27
Average Rating:3.8/10
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release:Sep 24, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: An incredible achievement, SEPTEMBER TAPES chronicles one man's attempt to find notorious terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. Don Larsen is the man responsible for the filming; an intrepid... [More]
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Reviews for September Tapes
Top CriticPainfully lacking in both emotional impact and insight into the country's tragic recent history.
09/23/04
Maybe Mr. Johnston ... intended this to be a guessing game. But the method robs the real encounters of their power and, even more important, trivializes the subject.
09/23/04
The movie's heart is in the right place, but it looks and sounds regrettably bogus.
09/23/04
Herky-jerky ripsnorter.
09/23/04
Top CriticWhile the documentary footage ... is powerful, it's often undermined by the fact that you know there is deep contrivance at work.
09/22/04
The film is a vile, thick reduction, making a 9/11 victim's last cries the catalyst for a dimwitted first-person shooter.
09/21/04
Pic's ace in the hole is its extremely authentic feel when it comes to the landscape of Afghanistan and the people and perils one might encounter there.
09/21/04
a sad case of indie filmmakers who want to do something vital and lasting, but execute so poorly as to make their work merely forgettable
09/16/04
Others pay the price for a macho man's posturing in this unflattering picture of American arrogance and lust for revenge.
09/13/04
There's something deeply unseemly about this picture even though, within the limitations of the method, it's well executed.
09/12/04
There is a reason everyone is calling this The Osama Witch Project - it's pretty hard to swallow this one - no matter how 'true'.
09/10/04
Little more than war porn.
09/09/04
Top CriticA true original: a hybrid documentary-staged drama putting an American actor in war-torn Afghanistan.
08/26/04
Just when you think you have the "fiction game" figured out, the bullets start flying and the walls explode.
08/26/04
Tapes boasts some of the best filming seen in today’s so-called 'dramatic documentaries,' but an unrefined script and frankly unbelievable ending keep it from becoming something better.
06/12/04
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