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Charlie Wilson's War [Blu-ray]
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Additional Multi-Format options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
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January 25, 2011 "Please retry" | — | 1 |
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Genre | Drama, Comedy |
Format | Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, DTS Surround Sound, Dolby, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Color |
Contributor | Amy Adams, Denis O'Hare, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emily Blunt, Mike Nichols, Gary Goetzman, Om Puri, Ken Stott, Tom Hanks, Ned Beatty, John Slattery, Julia Roberts, Aaron Sorkin, Jud Tylor See more |
Initial release date | 2015-01-06 |
Language | English |
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Universal Pictures is an American film studio, owned by Comcast through its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal, and is one of Hollywood's "Big Six" film studios. Its production studios are at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California. Distribution and other corporate offices are in New York City. Universal Studios is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Universal was founded in 1912 by the German Carl Laemmle (pronounced "LEM-lee"), Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour.
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Product Description
Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this compelling and witty film from Oscar®-winning director Mike Nichols and Primetime Emmy®-winning writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing). Based on the outrageous true story, Charlie Wilson's War shows how one congressman who loved a good time, one Houston socialite who loved a good cause and one renegade CIA agent who loved a good fight, conspired to bring about the largest covert operation in history.
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Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.85:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.19 ounces
- Item model number : 30604357
- Director : Mike Nichols
- Media Format : Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, DTS Surround Sound, Dolby, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Color
- Run time : 1 hour and 42 minutes
- Release date : January 6, 2015
- Actors : Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Ned Beatty
- Producers : Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman
- Language : English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), French (DTS 5.1)
- Studio : Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
- ASIN : B00OHFZCKM
- Writers : Aaron Sorkin
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #28,144 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #1,854 in Comedy (Movies & TV)
- #2,601 in Drama Blu-ray Discs
- Customer Reviews:
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Let me first caution everyone to apply just a tiny grain of salt when viewing any Hollywood movie based on true events. However, this one does a pretty good job. It depicts the true life involvement of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson in expanding the US budget for support of Afghan rebels during the Soviet involvement. This was a critical and dramatic chapter in the Cold War that affects the later history of the 20th century and beyond. That may not sound interesting to some viewers, but let me tell you, this movie has moxy and mirth at every turn. The characters have such natural wit that it can entertain even non history buffs.
THE PLOT (no spoilers): Texas Congressman and notorious playboy Charlie Wilson (a liberal Democrat but hawkish on foreign policy) becomes interested in the Afghan plight after seeing a news report. He sits on the house appropriations committee with the ability to affect flow of funds to entities like the CIA in order to supply better weapons and training to fight the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. The movie depicts his endeavor working with a CIA case officer, weapons specialists, a wealthy female right wing advocate and other members of congress. All are united in their fervent hate of communism. Charlie will need his exceptional skills in "horse trading", as well as his personal charm, to win others to his side and cause something truly momentous. His charm is matched with the surly disposition of CIA Case Officer Avrakotos. Both have a biting wit. Though some accents are a little exaggerated, generic southern (not Texan), and some scenes are a little melodramatic (particularly the combat involving attack helicopters), the spirit of Charlie's personality is quite faithful. Tom Hanks is more than token star power. He actually looks a bit like Wilson at that age. Hanks' accent was only a little exaggerated, Julia Roberts a little more so. She does make a very interesting character though. The verbal tête à tête between Wilson and almost every other character is hilarious! It's all done with a straight face. This is not a comedy. It's just that good! Verbal fencing occurs in almost every scene and the visit to Pakistan was a highlight for me as he spars with Pakistani officials.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT: (no political statements, just information)
.....DID AFGANISTAN WIN THE COLD WAR?: That statement by itself is way too simplified. It is a critical chapter in a much bigger story. There were independence movements going on in Soviet States before Afghanistan, an untenable arms race against the west that outspent them, over half century of crushing economic policy, and a new generation of leaders embodied by Gorbachev that wanted to end the cold war. However, it is fair to say that Afghanistan is that proverbial "straw" on a very overburdened back. For those labeling the Soviets "occupiers", it's important to remember that the Taraki led government had a treaty with the USSR for protection and actually called on them for support. Initially that support was begrudging. After the coup led by Hafizullah Amin which deposed Taraki, they still called on the USSR for help in the north, though the new regime was somewhat anti Soviet. Russia had military involvement in Afghanistan going back to Tsarist times and the "Great Game" against Britain. The problem is that the actual people of Afghanistan were overwhelmingly against the atheist ideology and a brutal suppression was underway by the Afghan government against it's own people to curtail some religious practices and political opposition. So much of the populace would consider them occupiers.
.....DID U.S. CREATE BIN LADEN AND THUS RESULTING TERROR ATTACKS?: Another huge topic, but here's what to consider - The repression in Afghanistan already had a religious context. The foreign fighters from Saudi Arabia and other places were also drawn specifically by the idea of religious jehad. There was an idea of "America next someday" that already existed. So much money and arms were poured into the region that it isn't as relevant whether Bin Laden was supported directly or indirectly. Most opposition groups, including his, would get resources one way or another. How we interacted with Afghans afterward might have influenced history. But that history is written now and it's hard to speculate if it could have gone differently. The fact is, we were there so we get some ownership of the problem. A weak government was left after Soviet withdrawal, allowing the Taliban to take power. Whether we could avoid the terrorist attacks later is a question history is still exploring. As someone with experience in that region, I am not convinced we could have avoided them by avoiding the Soviet Afghan conflict. We didn't create the genesis of that extremism. But certainly they fixated on us later and our actions create a certain variable.
MOVIE ACCURACY: I already mentioned the faithfulness to at least the spirit of Charlie Wilson's personality. The accusations of cocaine use, investigations by Juliani, the hot tub scene in Vegas (minus the TV news report I believe), all happened. Charlie's alcohol use was more detrimental to his personal life and those around him than the movie depicts. But he deserves the place in history the movie and book suggest. It is also interesting that he openly acknowledged his foibles, rather than pretending to be a family man in public and then playing differently in his personal life. I don't know if you can call that admirable, but it's a trait that many hypocritical politicians on either side could never claim.
Let's start with the actual events, which I lived through. When Reagan took office in 1981, our Cold War policy--such as it was--came down to "don't try too hard to win it, just stay in the game." We were still in the grip of George Kennan's Era of Containment we entered into shortly after the end of WW2. There were a few cracks in the walls starting to show, but they were entirely undiscovered by our ever-so-clever intelligence services.
In one of his first national security briefings, Reagan told the briefer who was pushing this unimaginative strategy, "How about a new strategy? 'We win, they lose.'" And so it was from that point forward. I played a (very small) role in one (very small) aspect of this policy, an aspect of weapons systems development we referred to as "competitive strategies."
But much of the Reagan Administration's effort was dedicated to capitalizing on opposition to the Soviet Union within its own sphere of influence, and of course pushing back hard when it tried to expand beyond it. Thus we came to support the Afghan Mujaheddin.
But until Congressman Charlie Wilson of Texas decided to take an interest, Afghanistan occupied a decidedly subsidiary role in our hierarchy to places like Poland and Nicaragua. So his efforts count for something. How much? Unknown. As Jack Kennedy famously observed after the Bay of Pigs, success has many fathers, failure is an orphan. In the winning of the Cold War, Congressman Wilson was one of those fathers.
Did we screw up the endgame, as the movie suggests? Could be. Or maybe not. Given our complete failure in bringing liberal democracy to most of the places we've been involved in lately--Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria...the list goes on--I find it hard to believe that a million dollars to rebuild the Afghan schools would have averted 9/11. The Taliban would have seen to that!
So...on to the movie. Does the movie romanticize, simplify and clean up a messy, complicated situation involving flawed human beings? Duh. If it hadn't, it would be the first time a Hollywood movie "based on actual events" had NOT done so. Is the movie faithful in its larger contours to the situation and its participants? Speaking only from my own worm's-eye perspective from within Reagan's Navy Department, I would say so.
Tom Hanks--one of my favorite actors, who is in my opinion one of the greatest if not THE greatest of his generation, does a magnificent job in his portrayal of Congressman Wilson...warts and all. It is in some ways astonishing to see how a deeply flawed, obscure, near-joke of a congressman can rise to the occasion and truly make a difference.
Julia Roberts, at this point perhaps a trifle past the white-hot apogee of her career, does a great job as well, as does Philip Seymour Hoffman, a truly underrated actor whose career was tragically cut short. And then there are the cameos: the late, great Om Puri doing a turn as President Zia Ul-Haq of Pakistan, a pre-Mad Men John Slattery as an arrogant, old-school preppie CIA officer, and many others.
The dialogue is crisp, yet never seems contrived. Every line is delivered with conviction without slowing things down. And even the small details seem to be gotten right.
I agree with some of the critics that the combat sequences seem amateurish, though the cockpit chatter of the Soviet pilots--chilling in its dehumanization--rings very true. In the words of the song, "...He just flies the bomber, he never sees their eyes when the Hell comes down..." But if anything the attacks are too epicene and do not convey the horrors of the war.
Conclusion: if you want two hours of great acting and great dialogue, involving a plot that would be regarded as implausible if it were fiction...you should definitely see this movie. Strongly recommended!
Top reviews from other countries
Mais c'était sans compter sur le tempérament fort et fier du peuple Afghan qui entra en résistance et malmena assez rapidement l'occupant avec une efficacité redoutable, démontrant que, malgré les nombreux moyens déployés par l'URSS en matière de matériel "high-tech" et de contingents humains, l'armée rouge était incapable de contrôle l'ensemble du territoire composé de nombreuses terres hostiles et qu'elle ne pouvait s'imposer que dans les zones urbaines.
Ce conflit, qui durera 10 ans, sera considéré comme une des dernières grandes péripétie de la "guerre froide" entre l'URSS et les USA. Son issue incroyable sera la défaite de la puissante union soviétique, événement qui fera grand bruit dans les médias de l'époque. Le peuple russe ne voulant plus de cette guerre très meurtrière et inutile obtiendra le retrait sans gloire de l'armée rouge de l'Afghanistan dès 1988, auprès d'un Mikhaïl Gorbatchev très impliqué dans la fameuse pérestroïka qui bouleversa le cours de l'histoire du monde et mettra fin à la guerre froide. La fin des hostilités sera concrétisée en 1989 par le retrait des dernières troupes d'occupation.
Concomitant à de nombreux bouleversements géopolitiques qui vont ébranler l'URSS de cette époque (en fait, on découvrira qu'il s'agissait d'un géant au pied d'argile) avec en point d'orgue la chute du mur de Berlin la même année, cette guerre perdue constitue un des facteurs clés qui provoqua la chute de l'empire soviétique.
Mais je reconnais que pour moi, une question restait en suspens. Comment ces guerriers Afghans (les Moudjahidines), certes considérés comme les plus courageux voire les meilleurs au monde, ont pu vaincre la grande armée rouge, elle-même également considérée comme la plus puissante du monde de l'époque ?
C'est un peu par hasard que j'ai découvert ce film en achetant ce DVD à 9 € pour meubler une morne soirée TV. ET c'est ainsi, que j'ai compris qu'il existait une explication tangible mais méconnue voire confidentielle à cette issue surprenante de cette guerre fatale à l'URSS. Il s'agit de l'existence d'une incroyable opération secrète, qui a permis de fournir un armement ultra-modernes aux combattants Afghans dit "de la liberté" via une extraordinaire collaboration entre les ennemis de toujours : Israël et le Pakistan avec le concours des Pays du Golfe. Cette opération, pilotée en sous-marin par un petit groupe d'américains qui, en dehors des circuits "classiques" des opérations spéciales (notamment de la CIA pas très participative au départ), vont mener une lutte clandestine et acharnée pour donner les moyens aux combattants Afghans de se battre à armes égales avec l'envahisseur.
Et ce qui est le plus surprenant, c'est que tout sera possible grâce à l'engagement formidable et singulier d'un "modeste député de la 2ème circonscription du Texas" (Charlie Wilson) qui va s'avérer devenir le catalyseur de tout ce qui va être entrepris pour faire de cette opération secrète, un véritable succès. Après avoir été aiguillonné par une riche amie de son Texas natal (Joanne Herring, milliardaire et anti communiste patentée) et après avoir découvert sur le terrain les atrocités provoqués par les armes modernes auprès de la population afghane sans défense, notamment avec les mines antipersonnel larguées partout par les hélicoptères de l'armée rouge et qui feront des ravages chez les enfants, cet homme politique peu méconnu du grand public (sauf pour ses frasques et son habilité politique à être bien avec tout le monde et de posséder de nombreux réseaux) fera de cette lutte contre "l'empire du mal" le combat de sa vie, obtenant très habilement un accroissement quasi exponentiel de budget alloué à cette opération. Un obscure collaborateur de la CIA (Gust Avrakotos), un peu sur le déclin en terme de carrière, sera le fer de lance qui le guidera dans les méandres du monde des affaires clandestines qu'il ne connait pas du tout. Charlie, Joanne et Gust formeront le trio de choc qui feront que tout est devenu possible, même ce qui semblait être inimaginable. L'extrême volonté de cette homme très original arrivera à faire basculer le cours de l'histoire. Même si à terme, désabusé devant le désintérêt des USA pour aider l'Afghanistan à reconstruire les écoles du pays, il dira : "On change le monde, ensuite on fiche le camp et on fout en l'air la fin de partie"...
Avec des acteurs remarquables comme Tom Hanks (en député Charlie Wilson très convaincant), Julia Roberts (magnifique Joanne Herring), Philip Seymour Hoffman (qui joue superbement Gust Avrakotos, le gars de la CIA un peu en perdition au sein de la compagnie et qui va se révéler comme le parfait maître d'œuvre de l'opération), Amy Adams (Bonnie Bach, l'imperturbable assistante de Charlie), et bien d'autres, j'ai savouré ce film de bout en bout, un peu comme un polar.
Ce qui est incroyable, c'est qu'il est reconnu que cette fiction est assez proche de la réalité. J'ai trouvé ça passionnant et instructif, car j'aime bien l'histoire, et ce film permet de découvrir une facette incroyable de cette horrible guerre.
J'invite à regarder également les bonus et notamment l'histoire du vrai Charlie Wilson, où l'on a la démonstration que de nombreuses séquences du film sont le reflet de ce qui s'est passé en réalité.
Très bon film, que j'ai découvert hélas très tardivement. +++++
Set during the 80s, we see the rise of a very unlikely individual, senator Charlie Wilson, who was almost the single cog around which the biggest covert military operation in history would revolve. Charlie, on hearing that the strategically important Afghanistan was being invaded by America's Communist enemies, uses all his contacts and all his favours in Congress to bring about the funding of Afghans in order to repel the Soviet invaders. Afghanistan in the 80s turned into Russia's Vietnam, and Afghanistan would claim yet another Empire. Afghanistan being known as the land 'where empires go to die...'
This is a dialogue based film, and the pacing is quick. There is much information flying by, but it is often witty which bars it from becoming too 'heavy.' The scenes with Charlie visiting the refugee camp in Pakistan cannot fail to rally you to the Afghanis cause. But I defy other reviewers who think they're above this film, simply because they've read a book or two about it and know more than is contained in this film. Personally, it is always nice to see history-based films tie up everything into entertaining little packages. It is slightly bemusing to see people disparage a film, because it wouldn't qualify as a definitive source of information for a university essay...?
The first time I watched this film was when I borrowed it from a friend. It was so engaging I watched it one evening after the next before handing it back. A short while later I bought the film and have watched it quite a few times since, and each time something new emerges.
As an introduction to the end of the Cold War, and the beginning of a new phase in history - the rise of radical Islam - I can think of no introduction more intriguing.
As a footnote: In political discussions this event in history is an important one. Many Useful Idiots claim that because the CIA funded the Afghanis, America is responsible for creating al-Qaida. Even though there is a lot that is excluded from the film, it is still mentioned that the Saudis matched any figure the Americans put up to buy weapons. The funds were given to the Pakistani's to channel covertly to the Afghanis. What is not mentioned is Zia ul-Haq's role in deciding which Afghanis received the arms; namely the Taliban and those who were eventually to become al-Qaida . Nor does the film mention that oil-rich Saudi Arabia continued to fund the Taliban and al-Qaida, fuelling civil war there which tore the country apart, long after the CIA left.
Il se trouve à devoir « défendre » les Afghans contre les communistes grâce à une veuve milliardaire et bien informée. Entre politique et humanisme, l’histoire d’un homme qui tente de faire du mieux qu’il peut selon ses convictions....et c’est loin d’Être simple car la misère va plus vite que l’aide....fut-elle américaine. Un film à voir sans conteste !