Whatever your opinion of the Iraq war, Deborah Scranton's documentary is sure to challenge your thinking and disturb your composure.
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06/01/06
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The War Tapes (2006)
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Reviews Counted:64
Fresh:63
Rotten:1
Average Rating:7.9/10
Consensus: Candid, eye-opening footage gives viewers a close-up -- and educational -- look at the experiences of American soldiers in Iraq, a viewpoint not normally seen.
Theatrical Release:Jun 2, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Straight from the front lines in Iraq, THE WAR TAPES is the first war movie filmed by soldiers themselves. Funnier, spicier, and more gut wrenching than news reports, this is Operation Iraqi... [More]
Director: Deborah Scranton
Reviews for The War Tapes
Top CriticNo matter what you think of the U.S. presence in Iraq, the film will disturb or startle or dismay you.
09/15/06
They expected tension; what they didn't expect was to serve out their year-long deployment as, essentially, the world's most targeted grocery store security.
07/02/09
...it would make a great double bill with the recent My Country, My Country, which looks at things from the other side.
10/12/06
What it does do, with grim and often gruesome honesty, is show the realities of war to a public that has been largely shielded from its cost.
06/29/06
Moriarty, Pink and Bazzi sent back tape loaded with visual and audio detail, but the most moving moments of The War Tapes are their attempts to make sense of Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
07/07/06
Informative as most of the partisan-produced, anti-war documentaries that we've seen in the last several years have been, none match this one for its wide-ranging scope and lived-it-at-ground-zero truth.
10/13/06
These men have a point of view, plenty of them in fact, they just may not make sense to mere civilians. And that's as it should be.
06/01/06
In its portrait of the conflicted men who served their country, it honors the complexity and challenges of the battle that continues overseas.
09/14/06
A riveting firsthand look at the conflict on the battlefield, in the barracks, and on the home front, unfiltered by any partisan prejudice.
09/14/06
See The War Tapes. Maybe this picture can be worth a thousand lives.
05/30/06
Top CriticIf you are seriously considering a move to the National Guard, you might want to check out this movie first.
07/11/06
The apolitical film serves us well for its candor.
09/21/06
Nowhere is 'The War Tapes' preachy, nor does it attempt an easy political assessment although it cannot be termed apolitical.
06/01/06
A painfully intimate snapshot of who they are, the damage they inflict on an unseen enemy and what they endure while doing so, in all its absurd, dehumanizing and ennobling contradictions.
10/05/06
More powerful and effective than any Hollywood war movie could ever hope to be.
06/02/06
A remarkable film, a you-are-there document that allows us to worry about the soldier who's risking his life even as we ponder the rights and wrongs of this military engagement.
08/31/06
Top CriticThe film is a revelation.
06/09/06
While the bulk of The War Tapes takes place on the front lines, Scranton also conducted insightful interviews with her subjects' friends and family back home.
07/06/06
Intentionally or not, the movie locates a strain of ignorance to go along with the bravery
08/30/09
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