Black Hawk Down (2001)

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FILM REVIEW

FILM REVIEW; Mission Of Mercy Goes Bad In Africa

By Elvis Mitchell

  • Dec. 28, 2001

''BLACK HAWK DOWN'' has such distinctive visual aplomb that its jingoism starts to feel like part of its atmosphere. Establishing mood through pictorial means is the director Ridley Scott's most notable talent. There may be no working director more accomplished at wringing texture out of the color blue than the prodigious and now prolific Mr. Scott; you'd swear that with his dazzling washes of blues and sand tones, he was inventing additional hues on the spot. Because Mr. Scott's eye delivers so much information, he then is at a loss to give the material a proper emotional grounding. ''Black Hawk Down'' is like Mr. Scott's ''G.I. Jane'' but this time with an all-boy cast.

Sam Shepard, as Major General Garrison, seems to be smoking a Montecristo No. 2 primarily so that billowing clouds of Cuban smoke can register in the war room; it doesn't help that the cigar has been given as much characterization as anyone in the movie. There are plot flags visible beside Old Glory. As in ''Pearl Harbor,'' the battle in ''Black Hawk Down'' is an eye-catching misfire, color-coordinated down to the tracer rounds.

The film, whose title refers to downed military helicopters, dramatizes the failed United States mission to help relieve famine in Mogadishu, Somalia, late in 1992 by securing supply routes against Somali militias. Several hundred Somalis and 18 American soldiers lost their lives the next year in what was called the Battle of the Black Sea. The film was adapted from the best-selling account by Mark Bowden, which stacked up detail; Mr. Scott's slathering of visual elements is the pictorial correlative of the author's work.

The producer Jerry Bruckheimer seems to have been making Ridley Scott movies his entire career, but this is the first time he and Mr. Scott have collaborated. Tony Scott, Mr. Ridley's twin brother, teamed with Mr. Bruckheimer on movies like ''Top Gun,'' the gold -- or rather gold-filled -- standard for incoherent militaristic propaganda. ''Black Hawk Down'' is ''Top Gun'' on an all-protein diet. The soldiers, mostly ground troops, are much leaner than Tom Cruise was in that 1986 film, though they grin just as righteously.

The movie quickly sketches the broad parameters for the story: American troops, in Mogadishu as part of a United Nations peacekeeping effort, plan to kidnap members of the inner circle of Gen. Muhammad Farah Aidid, the Somali warlord. Lean, lissome white soldiers with teeth pearlier than their eyes prowl the streets looking to do damage -- all except sad-eyed Sergeant Eversmann (Josh Hartnett), who smiles shyly and says he wants to make a difference. The vibrating melancholy of Hans Zimmer's score communicates the futility of Eversmann's proclamation. And when two helicopters are brought down and the mission is converted into a rescue, things get worse than anyone could have imagined.

''Black Hawk Down'' wants to be about something, and in the midst of the meticulously staged gunfire, the picture seems to choose futility arbitrarily. The handsomely staged gunplay and explosions, rigorously matched to exacting Dolby Digital in selected theaters, abound, while a cast of non-American actors like Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom try out their Yankee soldier accents, with vowels so oddly enunciated that you expect them to be singled out as foreign spies. Again, Mr. Scott spot-welds his extraordinary painterly application of talent to video game detachment; his ''Gladiator'' looked like a Play station 2 product designed by Bruegel. But the mercilessness here is gruesome.

In ''Black Hawk Down,'' the lack of characterization converts the Somalis into a pack of snarling dark-skinned beasts, gleefully pulling the Americans from their downed aircraft and stripping them. Intended or not, it reeks of glumly staged racism. The only African-American with lines, Specialist Kurth (Gabriel Casseus), is one of the American soldiers who want to get into the middle of the action; his lines communicate his simplistic gung-ho spirit. His presence in this military action raises questions of racial imbalance that ''Black Hawk Down'' couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge, let alone answer.

To make some obvious points about Western interests in oil, this picture imitates a few scenes in David O. Russell's remarkable 1999 war picture ''Three Kings,'' where the context was not sacrificed to politics. In ''Black Hawk Down,'' though, the backhanded attempt to provide the most minimal of contexts seems glib, as does Mr. Scott's skillful and facile handling of the action sequences, which supply an undeniably visceral excitement.

The actors are mostly called upon for the kind of ''it's a man's man's man's man's world'' sloganeering before heading off to fight that characterizes most Bruckheimer films: dated martial wisecracks of the ''Let's rock 'n' roll'' variety. (When Sean Connery coughed, ''Good to go'' in ''The Rock,'' it was the death knell of hip-hop as we know it.)

It's tiring to watch the actors, many of whom have appeared spouting these lines in previous Bruckheimer productions, doing the same thing; they're like rowdy guys who were left behind in Movie Star High School. This unintentional repetition fits, since sitting through the accomplished but meaningless ''Black Hawk Down'' is like being trapped in an action film version of ''Groundhog Day,'' condemned to sit through the same carnage over and over.

''Black Hawk Down'' is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) for a barrage of violence, dismemberment and mayhem, and the usual accompanying panicked strong language.

BLACK HAWK DOWN

Directed by Ridley Scott; written by Ken Nolan, based on the book with that title by Mark Bowden; director of photography, Slawomir Idziak; edited by Pietro Scalia; music by Hans Zimmer; production designer, Arthur Max; produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Mr. Scott; released by Columbia Pictures. Running time: 143 minutes. This film is rated R.

WITH: Josh Hartnett (Eversmann), Ewan McGregor (Grimes), Tom Sizemore (McKnight), Eric Bana (Hoot), William Fichtner (Sanderson), Ewen Bremner (Nelson), Sam Shepard (Garrison), Gabriel Casseus (Kurth), Kim Coates (Wex), Hugh Dancy (Schmid), Ron Eldard (Durant), Ioan Gruffudd (Beales), Thomas Guiry (Yurek), Charlie Hofheimer (Smith), Danny Hoch (Pilla), Jason Isaacs (Steele), Zeljko Ivanek (Harrell), Glenn Morshower (Matthews), Jeremy Piven (Wolcott), Brendan Sexton III (Kowalewski), Johnny Strong (Shughart), Richard Tyson (Busch) and Orlando Bloom (Blackburn).

A film review of Ridley Scott's ''Black Hawk Down'' in Weekend on Dec. 28 misstated the director's relationship to another director, Tony Scott. They are brothers but not twins.

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Black Hawk Down

2001, War/Drama, 2h 24m

What to know

Critics Consensus

Though it's light on character development and cultural empathy, Black Hawk Down is a visceral, pulse-pounding portrait of war, elevated by Ridley Scott's superb technical skill. Read critic reviews

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The film takes place in 1993 when the U.S. sent special forces into Somalia to destabilize the government and bring food and humanitarian aid to the starving population. Using Black Hawk helicopters to lower the soldiers onto the ground, an unexpected attack by Somalian forces brings two of the helicopters down immediately. From there, the U.S. soldiers must struggle to regain their balance while enduring heavy gunfire.

Rating: R (Intense Realistic War Violence|Intense Graphic War Violence|Language)

Genre: War, Drama

Original Language: English

Director: Ridley Scott

Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer , Ridley Scott

Writer: Mark Bowden , Ken Nolan

Release Date (Theaters): Jan 18, 2002  wide

Release Date (Streaming): Mar 10, 2016

Box Office (Gross USA): $108.6M

Runtime: 2h 24m

Distributor: Columbia TriStar Home Video, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Tristar, Cascade Film, Svensk Filmindustri (SF) AB, Revolution Studios

Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Revolution Studios, Scott Free Productions

Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Cast & Crew

Josh Hartnett

Ewan McGregor

Tom Sizemore

William Fichtner

Ewen Bremner

Sam Shepard

Gabriel Casseus

Ioan Gruffudd

Sgt. Ed Yurek

Charlie Hofheimer

Željko Ivanek

Glenn Morshower

Jeremy Piven

Brendan Sexton III

Pfc. Richard 'Aphabet' Kowalewski

Johnny Strong

SSfc. Randy Shughart

Ridley Scott

Mark Bowden

Screenwriter

Jerry Bruckheimer

Branko Lustig

Executive Producer

Mike Stenson

Slawomir Idziak

Cinematographer

Pietro Scalia

Film Editing

Hans Zimmer

Original Music

Production Design

Pier Luigi Basile

Art Director

Gianni Giovagnoni

Cliff Robinson

Ivica Husnjak

Set Decoration

David Murphy

Costume Design

News & Interviews for Black Hawk Down

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Critic Reviews for Black Hawk Down

Audience reviews for black hawk down.

Black Hawk Down is a competent, confident and chaotic war film. It tells the true story of a raid in Mogadishu that lead to the first battle between the Somalian Militia and American Rangers. As the title suggests, a Black Hawk does indeed go down. This is a mighty difficult flick to rate. As a representation of modern warfare, it succeeds substantially and sits in the elite group of visceral war films. But as a complete movie? Questionable. Firstly Ridley Scott is such a consistent director in terms of tackling a genre and producing a film that defines that genre. Black Hawk Down is no different, his eye for technical technique and production is second to none. A war torn Mogadishu, practical explosions and effects, utilisation of real Black Hawks and army equipment. It's authentic, and that is a real important factor for a war film. The narrative subtly explores the cost of war on both sides. The US army losing valuable soldiers and equipment (which financially would set them back quite largely) and the Somalian families who are living in ruins. There will always be one view point that towers over the other, but there is the gritty imagery of war and the aftermath that it leaves behind which proves to be effective. This has a massive ensemble cast, with Josh Hartnett being the lead I guess (he is on the cover, sooooo technically...he is the lead). He doesn't deliver, in fact many of the actors don't. That's not their fault though. Scott purposefully chose to focus on the aspects of war rather than glorified American heroes. Even so, there is such limited characterisation that any loss of life delivers no emotional impact for the audience. It's no spoiler that many succumb to their wounds, and yet we're supposed to feel saddened. I physically cannot feel emotive towards someone who I can't relate to, or even care for. That is what prevents this from being an outstanding war film like many classics before. Jason Isaacs was probably the stand out performance for me. Still a decent war flick, it's powerful imagery just about saves it from being lifeless.

tom cruise black hawk down

Based on the true story of U.S. soldiers on a mission to capture lieutenants of a drug lord in Somalia when a black hawk helicopter is shot down and they must battle a large Somali militia. Great screenplay and excellent direction in this film. The casting director assembled a great cast of characters to tell this story. The action is incredibly realistic and as the drama unfolds you really are on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen. Great film overall and another outstanding performance by Ewan McGregor.

The first act of this movie is not that good at all. However the second and third act are amazing. Pulse pounding action and tense moments make this movie worth watching.

Jeez, 2001 wasn't even over yet, and Jerry Bruckheimer and Josh Hartnett were already getting back together for a military film to make up for "Pearl Harbor", which I, well, actually liked quite a bit, but then again, I'm the only one, and even then, I think that it had some major, so I am glad to see compelling subject matter of this type in the hands of a brilliant storyteller like Ridl-I'm sorry, but I just can't finish jokingly typing that, because Ridley Scott really isn't all that great of a storyteller, even though he knows his technicality well enough to make quite a few films that are still pretty good. If nothing else, the man knows how to put on a good show, though he does have his flukes of strong storytelling, such as this film, so he's certainly further back on the overrating scale than Eric Bana (Come on, Rick, even Ewen Bremner, one of the most Scottish men alive, did a more convincing American accent). So yeah, I Scott had his heart in this project, or at least about as much as he can put his heart into non-mediocre storytelling, either because he's such a proud American wannabe, or because he's hoping to make up for not getting Best Director for "Gladiator", which won Russell Crowe Best Actor, for doing only so much, over Tom Hanks in "Cast Away". Well, I guess Scott's efforts paid off, or at least to a certain extent, because although he got that second Best Director nod, he still lost to ol' Opie, whose film starred - you guessed it - Russell Crowe, continuing to steal Scott's glory, even though he didn't win the Best Actor award he should have gotten. Yup, they gave Crowe the Oscar when he didn't deserve it, and when he deserved the heck out of it the following year, he didn't get it, so I guess Ridley Scott's getting two nominations for Best Director isn't the questionable decision by the Oscars. Seriously though, this film is pretty much a make-up effort for most everyone, including Ewan McGregor, who was really good and all in something as fluffy as "Moulin Rouge!", but still needed this film to show that he can sure pick some cool films, which makes it all the more unfortunate that his next project was another "Star Wars" prequel. Well, at least that was the mentality of a lot of people, because I actually also liked "Attack of the Clones", yet another testament to how I'm not exactly the most agreeable critic out there, which isn't to say that you be discouraged about seeing this film, as most people agree with my deeming this film a good one, even though they might not be so agreeable with my statement that this film still falls a bit short of full potential, and for a couple of reasons. Again, Ridley Scott's usual storytelling sloppiness is at a relative minimum, being not necessarily absent, but thinned out enough for you to claim a stronger grip on substance value than usual, so you can see the irony in the fact that, this time, it's the actual concept and structuring of worthy subject matter that fails to be quite as meaty as it probably should be, because although this film compels as both visceral entertainment and as a decent drama, substance faces its share of structural issues, especially when the development segment concludes with the initiation of the notorious Battle of Mogadishu, whose essentially taking up most of the body of the film is good and realistic and all, as well as made a touch less problematic by action's being strong, yet gets to be much too exhaustingly excessive, tainting the film with a kind of freneticism that, after a while, leaves you to not simply all but lose investment in the substance behind the action, but lose attention more than you would expect when looking at darn good action. There's plenty of kick to substance outside and even during the action, with the latter also keeping you going with style at its sharpest, so it's not like the film ever slips into underwhelmingness, no matter how much it slips into overstylized excessiveness, and yet, whether it be because of Scott's being able to handle only so much when it comes to redeeming flawed material, or simply because of Scott's own limitations as a flawed storyteller, things get to be excessive, thus sparking repetition that does a number on emotional resonance, much like a certain other flaw that pertains to familiarity: conventions. The film turns plenty of conventions on their heads, and even established many worthy conventions that have since been done to death, yet for every bypass or supplementation of conventions, this film plummets into a trope that was already done half-dead by 2001 and spawns a degree of predictablity that slows down the momentum of investment in story and characters, both of which are, in all fairness, flawed from the get-go in their crafting, or lack there of. No, this film isn't completely cleansed of exposition, having enough range and depth to development to keep substance alive, yet not enough to keep you thoroughly engaged, as story and character development is undeniably a bit light, facing flesh-out limitings that call more to attention most everything from the distancing gratuitousness of extremely violent images, to more natural shortcomings in story. This film follows subject matter that is indeed compelling, though not quite as sweeping as the final product thinks it is, boasting a story concept that isn't necessarily minimalist, yet overblown a bit in execution by a hefty scope that doesn't do too much more than spark subtlety lapses and an emphasis on how the final product outstays its welcome. Now, this film's runtime of nearly, or in the case of the extended cut, over two-and-a-half hours is generally tight, yet things do still get to be overlong, exposing the natural limitations in this film's still worthy subject matter, while other, more consequential shortcomings, combined with a degree of overambition, leave the final product to fall short of its still pretty high potential. Still, for every shortcoming, the film accels, not to where it ultimately stands as the truly upstanding film that it could have been, but certainly to where it rewards more often than not, even as far as musicality is concerned, though not quite as much as you would expect, considering who's tackling said musicality. I'm perfectly comfortable with saying that Hans Zimmer might very well be the greatest living film score composer, yet his level of excellence, while certainly consistent is considerable height, relies heavily on the subject matter of the project that will go supplemented by Zimmer's typically upstanding musical tastes, whose opportunity for deliverance isn't entirely as potent as you would expect it to be when it is attached to the subject matter of something as typically music-driven as a Ridley Scott film, particularly this one, as this film's tone has an of almost alternative rock kind of overstylizing intensity to it, broken up by the perhaps too boastful, sharp and, well, somewhat generic sensibilities of classic Middle-Eastern chants, that Zimmer has no choice but to stay faithful to, thus making for one of Zimmer's less impressive scores, which is hardly saying anything, as Zimmer can do no wrong, and does not do just that with this project (What?), cutting through many of natural shortcomings with enough range and musical sharpness to supplement both substance and stylish artistry. This artistry goes further brought to life by Sławomir Idziak's cinematography, which is all too often presented with environments that don't add too much opportunity for visual style, but, on the whole, excellent, with consistently strikingly crisp definition, yet still plenty of fitting and ruggedly handsome grit, broken up by quite a few magic moments of photography - from scenes graced by something of a palette-heavy kind of magic hour, to such sequences as a meeting scene early on that is primarily illuminated by sparce natural lights creeping into a dark setting - that are, well, to put it simply, breathtaking. Idziak's photographic efforts face natural limitations, but are strong at their worst and most often excellent, with quite a few exceptional moments, yet the technical remarkability doesn't end there, as this is a film that is powered even by some of its most practical forms of technicality, such as editing, which isn't all that deliciously stylish, but handled with expertly nifty tightness by Pietro Scalia, while Michael Minkler, Myron Nettinga and Chris Munro deliver on thumpingly immersive sound design. Technical sharpness can be found throughout this film, yet is, as you would expect, at its sharpest and perhaps most realized when action comes into play and delivers, because as excessive in presence and frenetic in intensity as much of the action is, every battle is, at the very least, viscerally thrilling, with grand and dynamic staging, complimented by effective special effects and the aforementioned proficiency in practical technical design. At the very least, this film accels technicality to a near-phenomenal level, as I would expect a Ridley Scott film to do, as sure as I would expect a Ridley Scott film to boast a story that is strong than the directorial storyteller and can, of course, be found in this film, up to a point, as this film's story concept has about as many natural shortcomings as its execution has its own shortcomings, though not so many that the value of this subject matter can be easily ignored, being high enough to give this film both immediate intrigue and potential that doesn't go explored as much as it should in Ken Nolan's script, but still goes well-explored enough by Nolan to find itself executed with a generally tight structure, complimented by good dialogue and strength in what extensive charaterization there is, which is itself complimented by the performances behind the characters, because outside of Eric Bana's typical bland, one-note and questionably-accented mediocrity, most every talented member of this ensemble cast bring well-written characters to life with charisma and even a degree of depth, if not sharp emotional range, that graces this film's crucial character department with additional compelling color. The onscreen performances carry substance a long way, going matched in effectiveness by a certain offscreen performance whose excellence is all too rarely seen in a Ridley Scott film, because although Ridley Scott's direction can only go so far before plummeting into its usual subtlety lapses, excessiveness and other flaws, it surprisingly does a lot to make this film as rewarding as it is, being not only technically competent, but effective enough with genuine storytelling to bypass many of the exposition issues and draw genuine engagement value, broken up by emotional resonance that defines the depth and range to this film's substance, and punctuates this Scott's relatively high inspiration in storytelling. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not like Scott is exceptional as director or anything, but he does more than usual, and the film's quality reflects that, going diluted by shortcomings, but still having enough kick to compel as both entertainment value and as an engrossing war drama. At the end of the battle, the final product is left beaten by the exhausting excessiveness of action that punctuates a consistent freneticism that dilutes subtlety, and with it, the obscurity of story conventions, story structuring flaws and natural story limitations, whose being layered with a not-too-fitting grand doesn't do too much more than drag things out and intensify the emphasis on other substance issues that hold the film back, though not too far, as the final product delivers on good score work, as well as remarkable photography and technicality that compliment strong action that breaks up, if not occasionally livens up a generally strong story concept's execution's compellingness, brought to life by Ken Nolan's mostly strong script, a strong cast and an unexpectedly strong directorial performance by Ridley Scott that helps in making "Black Hawk Down" an entertaining and more often than not engrossing dramatisation of the events of the brutal Battle of Mogadishu. 3/5 - Good

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Everything Black Hawk Down Doesn't Tell You About The True Story

Hooten stares ahead

It's hard to put together a list of the  greatest war movies without including Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down." The 2002 drama, released just after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, details the 1993 American military operation in Mogadishu, Somalia with stunning realism. Scott's technical prowess is on full display and the iconic director of classics such as "Alien," "Blade Runner," and "Thelma and Louise" paints an honest depiction of combat that impacts the viewer on an emotional and visceral level. 

Featuring a strong cast consisting of Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Sam Shepard, Orlando Bloom, and many others, the war drama grossed $172 million worldwide upon its release and scored positive scores from critics, including Roger Ebert , who praised the film for focusing on the actual experiences of combat troops and avoiding "speechmaking and sloganeering." 

Still, as with most Hollywood depictions of fact-based stories, while "Black Hawk Down" stays mostly true to the events that inspired it, a lot of important details were omitted from the film in favor of a more streamlined experience. Here's a list of everything "Black Hawk Down" doesn't tell you about the true story.

Grimes' name changed to avoid controversy

"Black Hawk Down" stars Ewan McGregor as Ranger John Grimes, a desk clerk who desires to see real combat and spends most of his days grumbling about his position as a coffee grinder. When the time comes to suit up, however, Grimes' cavalier spirit is replaced by fear and uncertainty. Digging deep, Grimes discovers courage he never knew he possessed. This newfound power aids in his quest to do his duty and capably fight alongside his fellow serviceman during the arduous, relentlessly grisly battle .

The trouble is, Grimes is based on Ranger John "Stebby" Stebbins, a man who was court-martialed in 2000 and thrown in jail for 30 years after he was convicted of raping and sexually abusing his six-year-old daughter. "Black Hawk Down" author Mark Bowden kept Stebbs' real name in his book, but gave the character a new identity in the film's screenplay at the insistence of the Pentagon.

That drew outrage from the former Ranger's ex-wife, Nora Stebbins, who penned a letter to the New York Post in which she said, "[Producers] are going to make millions off this film, in which my ex-husband is portrayed as an all-American hero, when the truth is he is not."

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Atto abduction was more intense

Early in "Black Hawk Down," the U.S. special operators forcefully stop a convoy and apprehend Osman Ali Atto (George Harris), the warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid's top lieutenant and financier. The sequence is brief. Sniper Gary Gordon (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) shoots the hood of the vehicle transporting Atto, forcing the car to break down. A number of Delta Force soldiers acquire the target and haul him away on a helicopter back to base, where he is later interrogated by General William F. Garrison ( Sam Shepard ).

According to the real Atto, his abduction wasn't as civil as depicted in the film. "First of all when I was caught on 21 September, I was only traveling with one Fiat 124, not three vehicles as it shows in the film," Atto told the BBC's Hassan Barise in 2002. "And when the helicopter attacked, people were hurt, people were killed."

Atto alleged that his vehicle was hit at least 50 times and that his colleague Ahmed Ali was injured during the operation. Atto also didn't approve of his depiction in "Black Hawk Down," nor Somali society in general. "I am not smoking cigars, I have no earring on my ears," he said in the same interview. Indeed, an image embedded in the article displays Atto as a clean cut, suit-wearing businessman — a far cry from his overtly theatrical appearance in Ridley Scott's film.

Hoot became a doctor

The character of "Hoot" is one of the more memorable aspects of Ridley Scott's war drama. As portrayed by Eric Bana , Delta Force operator Master Sergeant Norman Hooten is a battle-hardened soldier whose views on war come down to one simple statement: "It's about the man next to you." He says as much in the film's closing moments, after participating in the Battle of Mogadishu from the air and, later, on foot. The character puts his life on the line to save his fellow comrades and even manages to break through enemy lines covertly to help Sergeant Eversmann's crew escape during the intense closing hours of the conflict. 

Offscreen, the real Norman Hooten traded his weapons for a stethoscope and eventually went to work at the Orlando VA Medical Center as a clinical pharmacist, according to VA News . His new mission has kept him off the front lines, but he still aids the military effort and spends much of his time assisting soldiers struggling with substance abuse.

"I've lost almost as many friends to substance abuse in the form of overdose deaths or death by suicide coupled with substance abuse disorders than those lost in war," Hooten told the Army Times , noting that a number of veterans survive the horrors of war only to take their lives after returning home. As such, he started the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Clinic at the Orlando VA in 2017 and has been doing his part to help his brethren ever since.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Daniel Busch defended Super 61

Staff Sergeant Daniel Busch was one of the soldiers who went down with Super 61 — i.e. the first Black Hawk helicopter shot down during the Battle of Mogadishu. The crash killed both pilots, Cliff "Elvis" Wolcott and Donovan "Bull" Briley, and left two of the crew chiefs severely wounded. In the film, Busch (played by Richard Tyson) stumbles out of the wrecked aircraft and holds off the advancing army alone for a time before an AH6 Little Bird arrives and carries him back to base. We don't see the character again, though he is referenced among the fallen soldiers in the film's closing credits. 

Much of this is true. In fact, you can watch actual footage of Busch (on his feet) firing gunshots into the oncoming Somalia militiamen in a video aired by "60 Minutes."  However, he wasn't alone at the time and was aided by fellow Delta Sniper and crash survivor Jim Smith, among others. Unfortunately, Busch died of wounds sustained that day, but did enough to help Smith and his crew come home alive. 

"Without his fast actions we would have all been surely killed," Smith told WKOW.com in 2019, noting that he was the one who carried Busch to the medical tent where he would spend his final moments. "I did all I could do to protect Dan and safeguard his life. A great man was lost that day."

Aidid may have planned the whole thing

In October of 1993, Task Force Ranger moved into Mogadishu to capture Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The unit, led by Major General Garrison, had received information about the warlord's position via a source within his network. Said source was given the codename "Lincoln" (presumably because he looked like Abraham Lincoln), according to former U.S. Army Ranger Jason Moore, a Radio Telephone Operator for Chalk IV helicopter Super 67, in an interview with PBS .

But much of the intel Lincoln provided was inaccurate, leaving many of the men to question whether they could trust him. The Rangers never captured Aidid (dubbed "Elvis") in any of their missions, including the one that took place on October 3.

Following the tragic events of Mogadishu, some speculated that Lincoln may have been a double agent who lured Americans into a trap set by Aidid. Initially, Moore didn't consider the possibility, but explained how his views changed after the events depicted in "Black Hawk Down," mostly because of how quickly the massive force they encountered was able to assemble. "It definitely crossed your mind that maybe he was a double agent or at least led us into the lions' den," Moore said.

Moore noted that his chopper took missile fire from the moment it arrived, almost like "they were waiting for us to come to that location that day, at that time."

Aidid purposefully targeted helicopters

The turning point in the Battle of Mogadishu arrived when a Black Hawk helicopter with the call sign Super 61 was struck by a missile and sent spinning out of control. The vehicle crashed and injured or killed many of the crew, including the aforementioned Daniel Busch.

"It took a direct hit to the tail boom and started a slow rotation," Delta Force operator Norm Hooten told CBS News in his first public comments on the incident. "It was a catastrophic impact. That's the only way I can describe it."

Later, another Black Hawk chopper, dubbed Super 64, was likewise shot out of the sky, creating even more pandemonium.  

As it turns out, Mohammed Farrah Aidid purposefully targeted the helicopters. He felt that doing so would allow his men to gain a tactical advantage. "He made the determination that the helicopters were the vulnerability, or the center of gravity," explained General Anthony Zinni in the "Frontline" documentary "Ambush in Mogadishu." Aidid ordered his men to stand on rooftops with machine guns and rocket launchers, where they were to concentrate their fire on the helicopters. "He really believed that if he shot a helicopter down, that would cause [the U.S. soldiers] to gather around the helicopters," Zinni said. "They could fix them and pin them in one area."

A daytime raid was highly unusual

If you want to hear an interesting perspective from one of the soldiers involved in the Battle of Mogadishu, listen to the in-depth interview by the American Veterans Center with  Major Jeff Struecker . The former U.S. Ranger, now an author and pastor, drops some fascinating nuggets about the conflict, including his thoughts on the decision to execute the operation in broad daylight.

For those unaware, Struecker is the Humvee driver in "Black Hawk Down" who tells a frightened solider, "Everyone feels the same way you do, it's what you do right now that makes a difference..." — which actually happened , by the way.

In the interview, the real Struecker admits he was weary of attacking in the middle of the day. "I want to stress ... this is what's called sometimes a daring daylight raid . This was really, really unusual for special operations." Struecker goes on to explain that special operators typically train to work under cover of darkness and utilize technology and equipment that allows them to do so. "They're most capable and lethal on the battlefield at night," he says. Struecker also reveals that the hasty decision to fly into combat in broad daylight was due to intense pressure from the Clinton administration, which needed to see something from Task Force Ranger to justify the unit's continued operation in Somalia.

Khat played a big role in the battle

Another interesting tidbit revealed by Major Jeff Struecker was that a majority of the Somali militiamen were driven in large part by drugs. He told his men as much during a pre-mission meeting. While Struecker warned that the people of Mogadishu weren't going to roll over without a fight and would die for their cause, others were simply fueled by an African drug called Khat.

"The distribution of drugs made guys willing to go do something that's really illogical. It doesn't make sense, because they were all hopped up on this African drug called Khat. But they were willing to fight for more drugs and willing to kill or die for more drugs," he says in the interview.

For those unaware, Khat is, according to an article on MSNBC (via WISTV.com ), "a plant grown in the Horn of Africa and chewed like tobacco for its stimulant buzz." The same article also notes that there is much debate over how strong an effect the juicy Khat leaves have on an individual, with some likening it more to a super-caffeinated cup of coffee than any illegal substances. 

Interestingly, Ridley Scott's film makes a brief reference to the drug when one of the soldiers notes that the local militiamen will be "all f***** up on Khat," although it's a minor (albeit important) bit of dialogue that's easy to miss.

A Black Hawk was shot down a week earlier

Tensions between the U.S. troops and the Somalis was already tense before the Battle of Mogadishu, due in large part to an eerily similar event that occurred in the city one week earlier. According to news reports, a Black Hawk helicopter sustained a missile strike on September 25 and crashed in Mogadishu. The chopper was on patrol when it was shot down near an deserted presidential palace. Three U.S. crewmen were killed in the attack, per the Washington Post , while three other Americans and three Pakistanis sustained injuries. 

According to Army Times , the event played out like a miniature "Black Hawk Down" as the Pakistani soldiers incurred their wounds while attempting to secure the crash site, but were ultimately overwhelmed by hostile fire. 

The Washington Post reported that no one claimed credit for the attack, but wrote: "U.S. military officials blamed militiamen loyal to fugitive warlord Mohamed Farah [Aidid], who is accused of staging bloody ambushes and mortar bombardments against U.S. troops and other U.N. peace keepers." The article also claimed that Somalis paraded around the burnt helicopter, displayed body parts of the slain soldiers and "carried around a decapitated corpse in a food sack." 

If anything, the event increased debate in the U.S. about the deployment of troops to Somalia, which many claimed had turned into a military quagmire. 

Fallout from the battle

"Black Hawk Down" largely ignores the politics behind the event and focuses instead on the camaraderie between the soldiers who do whatever it takes to bring each other home. A card at the end of the film tell us that President Clinton withdrew Delta Force and The Rangers from Somalia two weeks later, but we don't learn anything more about the fallout — political or otherwise — of Operation Gothic Serpent.  

In reality, the event drew political backlash in the United States, which was the main reason President Clinton pulled the men out on March 31, 1994. What's more, the Battle of Mogadishu had a drastic impact on U.S. foreign intervention. As "Black Hawk Down" author Mark Bowden wrote in an article published in Smithsonian magazine in 2019, "After Mogadishu, the United Stated became wary of deploying ground forces anywhere." He added that such weariness kept the U.S. from intervening in the Rwandan genocide and the Bosnian Serbs' violent campaign against Muslim and Croatian civilians in 1995. 

Such reluctance ended after September 11, 2001, when President George W. Bush — and later, President Barack Obama — sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan in retaliation for terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. But even then, Bowden explained, "they kept their distance from the Islamic insurgents in Somalia." In recent years, American aggression towards Somalia has kicked up a notch. The military conducted 63 airstrikes in the region from 2017-2019 and more than doubled its military force there, leading to the deaths of a number of American servicemen.   

The Somali perspective was much different

A main criticism of Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down" is that we don't see the conflict from Somalia's point of view, leading critics such as Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly to label the film racist, according to  The Guardian . 

As a result, per The Nation , Somali community leaders based in Minneapolis, fearing that the film would lead to a backlash against Somali refugees living in America, launched a campaign to boycott "Black Hawk Down" the day before its premiere on January 18, 2002. The protestors believed the film omitted a lot of important details. From 1982 to 1990, for example, "the U.S. viewed Somalia as a partner in defense, training officers of the country's National Armed Forces in US military schools and providing them with weapons." 

At least one member of the "Black Hawk Down" cast spoke out against the film for this reason, as detailed in the same article. Brendan Sexton III, who portrays "Alphabet" Kowalewski, appeared before students at Columbia University in February of 2002 and explained how he felt "the film oversimplifies and inaccurately portrays Somalis as 'savages without any reason to oppose the U.S. military presence in Somalia.'"

In reality, according to Yusuf Hassan of BBC's Somali service , many of the Somalis who fought in the battle "were just people in the neighborhood who got caught up in this fire and were trying to defend their homes, as they thought they were under attack."

‘Black Hawk Down’ Ending Explained: Who Makes It Out Alive?

Who lives and who dies during the tragic Somalian military operation?

The Big Picture

  • Black Hawk Down is a harrowing and tragic retelling of the United States' involvement in the civil war-torn Somalia in the early to mid-'90s.
  • The film showcases the perspectives of the troops on the ground, the Black Hawk helicopter pilots, and the higher-ranking brass making difficult decisions.
  • The final scenes depict the intense firefight and rescue attempts, highlighting the sacrifices made by the soldiers and the devastating impact of the botched extraction attempt.

Ridley Scott is perhaps best known for his work within the science fiction genre . His work on the Alien franchise, along with Blade Runner and HBO-MAX shows like Raised By Wolves have rightfully made him one of the most celebrated directors of all time. However, he has frequently branched out and explored other types of movies that are about as far away from tail-whipping xenomorphs and killer replicants as possible. One of those triumphant efforts was the harrowing and tragic retelling of Black Hawk Down in 2001. The comprehensive account of the United States' involvement in the civil war-torn Somalia in the early to mid-'90s is both viscerally stunning and emotionally touching on a very personal level.

The film boasts close to a dozen known stars but Black Hawk Down is largely focused on the characters played by Josh Hartnett , Tom Sizemore , Ron Eldard , and Sam Shepherd . The film also has an enormous ensemble cast of notable stars including Tom Hardy in his first movie role, Orlando Bloom , Ewan McGregor , Eric Bana , Jason Isaacs , and Jeremy Piven. With all the harried action and gunfights that go on all the way up until the end of the movie, the final scenes can get a little confusing, so we are going to slow things down and take a closer look at how the tragedy concludes.

What is 'Black Hawk Down' About?

In April 1993, a Somalian warlord named General Mohamed Farrah Aidid took control of the country and began to use starvation as a weapon in the civil war-torn African country. He is believed to have starved over 300,000 Somali citizens to death by intercepting food supplies and supplements to the desperate population. Later that year, Aidid ambushed and killed 24 Pakistani troops and began targeting Americans in the area. That is when President Bill Clinton decided it was time to get involved. The United States sent 20,000 Marines to the region and targeted Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia, with an elite Delta Force unit of Army Rangers to find and neutralize Aidid. The operation was called Gothic Serpent, and was intended to last only three weeks. After six weeks of inaction, the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. were growing impatient and sent the Delta Force into Mogadishu looking for results. In early October, the Battle of Mogadishu became one of the most disastrous and calamitous operations in the history of American warfare . Scott brilliantly captures the nightmare that these severely outnumbered troops must have gone through in Black Hawk Down .

RELATED : How 'Saving Private Ryan' Has Influenced War Movies Since Its Release

'Black Hawk Down' Is Told From Three Perspectives

The story is told from three distinct perspectives: the troops on the ground, the pilots of the Black Hawk helicopters that deliver the troops and provide air support, and the higher-ranking brass back at base camp making the very difficult decisions. Sergeant Matt Eversmann (Hartnett) and Lieutenant Danny McKnight (Sizemore) are the face and heartbeat of the troops in the firefight on the streets of Mogadishu near the Bakara Market region of the city. Eldard stars as Black Hawk pilot Michael Durant. When his Black Hawk is the second chopper to go down outside the designated perimeter of Operation Gothic Serpent, that's when the shit really hits the fan for all the troops that are on the ground inside Mogadishu. Durant is captured by Somali soldiers and citizens behind enemy lines. The operation is spread too thin almost immediately as Major General William F. Garrison (Shepherd) is the man back at base camp having to make the decisions to rescue individual pilots and risk all the lives of these young men after he issues a decree that, "No man will be left behind."

'Black Hawk Down's Delta Force Gets Pinned Down in a Gutted Building

All of Black Hawk Down happens close to real-time as the conflict lasted less than a day. The decision is made to take Marines from the Bakara market district to other places to save the pilots of the downed helicopters. The elite Ranger team gets holed up in a crumbling city building with the enemy using the higher ground to keep them pinned down. The Rangers are severely outmanned and outgunned by a Somali force that is made up of both soldiers and regular citizens (including women and children) who realize they have an opportunity to defeat the invading U.S. forces. Major General Garrison decides to send his point man, Lt. McKnight, back into Mogadishu in an effort to rescue the trapped Delta Force from the gutted city that is blazing with gunfire from all directions.

The Final Scenes of 'Black Hawk Down' Explained

In an epic war movie like Black Hawk Down , the final scenes begin with about 26 minutes left in the over 140-minute runtime. When Eversmann and the Delta Force finally get air support from another Black Hawk helicopter, the tide begins to turn. Lt. McKnight rolls in with a convoy of armored personnel carriers (APC) once the airstrike has subdued the gunfire from atop the buildings at the intersection of the city. Eversmann and his remaining troops shoot their way out of the compromised position and use the moving APCs as cover as they run out of town. Meanwhile, other troops are making sure that even the dead pilot's bodies are retrieved and extracted from the hot zone. By this time, night has fallen, and it becomes more difficult to locate their fallen brothers and make sure that no man is left behind. As dawn breaks on the next day, the APCs roll out of town, and troops that can't fit inside make their way on foot as the inner city is completely decimated by the nonstop almost 24-hour exchange of gunfire. Finally, what is left of the unit makes it out of the hot zone and back to base camp. They run alongside small Somali children, who are the real victims of the crisis. In all, 18 Americans were killed and 84 were injured . Astoundingly, over 1,000 Somalis lost their lives in the botched extraction attempt.

The final scenes are of McKnight, Eversmann, and the rest of the troops being treated in the triage set up in a nearby stadium. Most of them are in some form of shock if not dying. Eversmann and Sergeant Hoot Gibson (Bana) describe how no one will fully understand why they do what they do . Eversmann says in a letter to his wife as he's over the dead body of Private Jamie Smith ( Charlie Hofheimer ) that he will have a discussion with Smith's parents and tell them that their son died with honor, saying, "Nobody asks to be a hero, it sometimes turns out that way."

Black Hawk pilot Michael Durant was released after 112 days in custody. The Commander in Chief withdrew all U.S. forces two weeks later.

The true story behind that one scene from ‘Black Hawk Down’ that explains why soldiers go to war

"When you're in that critical moment the only thing you're thinking about is taking care of the people around you."

By James Clark | Updated Aug 26, 2021 12:36 PM EDT

  • Military Life

Military Deployment photo

Welcome to That One Scene , a semi-regular series in which Task & Purpose’s senior reporter, James Clark, waxes nostalgic about that one scene from a beloved military movie.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Aug. 21, 2020.

Ever since Ridley Scott’s military drama Black Hawk Down  premiered in 2002, it’s been a favorite among service members and military veterans, from comedian Rob Riggle  to UFC fighter and Green Beret Tim Kennedy .

Visually stunning, superbly acted, and poignantly scored, the film is an instant classic, as much for its authentic depiction of the deadly Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia on Oct. 3, 1993, as its thoughtful portrayal of the men who fought there.

But one scene in particular — a brief exchange between two of the film’s principal characters — explains not only why soldiers go to war in the first place, but why they return to the battlefield time and again:

After hours of brutal fighting through winding streets, the soldiers prepare to return to the city to pull out men still trapped within. Roughed up and physically exhausted, Staff Sgt. Eversmann (Josh Hartnett) sees ‘Hoot,’ a Delta Force soldier played by Eric Bana, reloading his magazines as he prepares to head back into the fray.

After an incredulous Eversmann asks Hoot if he’s going back out, the latter launches into his iconic monologue:

“When I go home people’ll ask me, ‘Hey Hoot, why do you do it, man? Why, you some kinda war junkie?’ I won’t say a god-damn word. Why? They won’t understand. They won’t understand why we do it. They won’t understand that it’s about the men next to you, and that’s it. That’s all it is.”

The speech is one of the most memorable scenes in the film and taps into a sentiment that’s been expressed — and more often silently felt — by men and women at war for, hell, probably as long as people have gone to war.

However, that iconic scene is not actually how it went down in real life.

“Actually, that did not happen at that time,” Norm Hooten, a former Delta Force soldier and the real-life basis for Bana’s character told Task & Purpose.

During the filming of  Black Hawk Down , Hooten said that the actors visited his team during Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Among the cast were Bana, and William Fichtner, who played Sergeant First Class Jeff Sanderson.

“They asked ‘hey, why do you do this job?'” said Hooten, adding that his answer formed the basis for the scene at the end of the film. “You know, a lot of people ask that, but the truth of the matter is you do it because you enjoy the people you do it with, and when you’re in combat it’s about the guys who are next to you — to your right and left.”

“It’s not about politics or anything else when you’re in combat,” he added. “You may sign up for that, but when you’re in that critical moment the only thing you’re thinking about is taking care of the people around you.”

“And so I think they interjected that into the movie for entertainment purposes, but that was really a discussion that we had at the MOUT site during training after the events of Oct. 3rd.”

Whether the monologue took place on a mock battlefield in North Carolina or a real-life one in Mogadishu, the spirit of it still rings true: at the end of the day, it’s about the men and women who are there with you.

Related: ‘What to remember in a firefight’ and other advice from a legendary Delta Force operator

James Clark

James Clark is the former Deputy Editor of Task & Purpose. He is an Afghanistan War veteran and served in the Marine Corps as a combat correspondent. Contact the author here.

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Black Hawk Down

Film details, brief synopsis, cast & crew, ridley scott, josh hartnett, ewan mcgregor, tom sizemore, william fichtner, technical specs.

tom cruise black hawk down

On Saturday, 2 Oct 1993, restless American soldiers stationed at the temporary U.S. base at Mogadishu airport in Somalia, learn of a mission set for the next day. They are to capture warlord Mohamed Farah Aidid and others who have been attempting to stop the distribution of food following a time of famine in which more than 300,000 Somalis have died. Under the command of Maj. Gen William F. Garrison, a down-to-earth career officer from Texas, the men prepare for a potentially dangerous mission, but one that should take no more than thirty minutes. Rangers and Delta Force members are to be dropped into Mogadishu by Black Hawk Helicopters, capture Aidid and a handful of others from the designated site, then leave the area in Humvees which will rendezvous with them on the ground. Most of the men are anxious for the chance to go on a real mission, and spend Saturday evening amusing themselves, watching a video of The Jerk , talking and playing chess. Some are afraid, but the idealistic Ranger Staff Sgt. Matt Eversmann thinks that their mission will help "The Skinnies" as they call the Somalis. A few soldiers write "death letters" to their families, which some think is unlucky. Shortly before 3:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, Ranger Spec. Grimes, who frequently complains about being forced to work behind a desk because of excellent typing skills and an ability to make the perfect cup of coffee, is apprehensive after being told that he will be coming on the mission because another soldier has broken his wrist playing Ping Pong. Sure that they will be back before nightfall, some of the men leave night gear and canteens at the base, and as they fly toward the city, chat about how beautiful the blue water and sandy beaches of Somalia are. Passing over one area, they wave to a young boy on the ground, not knowing that the boy is using a cellphone to relay information about the incoming helicopters to Aidid's soldiers. A few minutes later, as the American Black Hawk helicopters hover over the drop site, automatic weapons and mortars are fired at them, causing the first casualty, Ranger Pvt. First Class Todd Blackburn, who sustains a serious injury when he falls to the ground. While some of the men, led by Ranger Lt. Col. Danny McKnight and Delta Sgt. First Class "Hoot" Gibson find the men they have been sent to capture and start to load them on one of the Humvees, extensive sniper fire increases and a Black Hawk flown by Chief Warrant Officer Cliff "Elvis" Wolcott goes down. Via television monitors at the base, Garrison surveys the situation and orders the men to go to the crash site, secure a perimeter and pick up survivors. Garrison then bitterly comments "We just lost the initiative." As various groups approach the crash site, the assault from the Somalis becomes more intense and many of the Humvees are unable to get through. Ranger Sgt. Dominick Pilla, who mans a machine gun on top of one of the Humvees, is the first man killed by gunfire. Meanwhile, the rigid Capt. Mike Steele orders Eversmann to head a group and go to the crash site. Eversmann and several other soldiers reach the site, but are trapped and forced to take cover in an abandoned building. As many more men are killed or sustain multiple injuries, another helicopter, flown by Chief Warrant Officer Mike Durant, is hit and forced down. Durant survives the crash, despite a badly broken leg, but cannot leave the helicopter. Hordes of armed civilians now take to the streets and run towards the crash sites, making Garrison realize that all helicopters and Humvees must pull back and regroup. He then sends word to the Pakistani army that also occupies the city that they must assemble as many armored vehicles as possible at Pakistani Stadium, which is located in a safe area of Mogadishu. By the early evening, some of the men still trapped begin to despair that they have been abandoned, but Garrison repeatedly issues orders that no man, dead or alive, will be left behind. By late evening, many of the dead and wounded arrive back at the airport base as more troops prepare a rescue mission. Several men who have sustained injuries, including McKnight, are determined to go back and rejoin the others. In a helicopter over the city, two Delta snipers, Delta Sgt. First Class Randy Shughart and Delta Master Sgt. Gary Gordon, repeatedly request permission to rescue Durant. Garrison finally agrees, after which Shughart and Gordon are dropped near Durant's helicopter and pull him to a safe place. As an increasingly large and hostile group of Somalis draws near, Shughart and Gordon are both killed and their bodies are grabbed by the frenzied mob. After Durant runs out of ammunition, he tries to hold onto a photograph of his wife and young child as the mob attacks him. His life is spared when one of Aidid's men stops them, saying he is wanted as a live prisoner. By early Monday morning, the armored vehicles depart Pakistani Stadium and additional helicopters leave the base. The ground vehicles approach the crash sites and reach the buildings, where pockets of soldiers are holed up. When the convoy reaches Eversmann and his men, they quickly evacuate the wounded and the body of a Ranger Cpl. Jamie Smith, a friend of Eversmann who died from a massive leg wound. There is not enough room in the armored vehicles to hold all the men, though, and many, including Eversmann, must run alongside, using the vehicles as cover. To the cheers of friendly Somalis and their fellow soldiers, the men finally reach Pakistani Stadium at 6:30 on Monday morning, sixteen hours after the start of their mission. As they rest, drink glasses of water offered by Pakistani soldiers and have their wounds tended, several survivors reflect that they did not become soldiers to be heroes. Grimes, who proved his worthiness as a soldier and survived the mission, is handed a cup of tea, and Eversmann sits next Smith's body and explains why he does what he does.

tom cruise black hawk down

Ewen Bremner

tom cruise black hawk down

Sam Shepard

Gabriel casseus, ioan gruffudd, thomas guiry, charlie hofheimer, jason isaacs, zeljko ivanek, glenn morshower, jeremy piven, brendan sexton iii, johnny strong, richard tyson, brian van holt, nikolaj coster-waldau, steven ford, thomas hardy, gregory sporleder, carmine giovinazzo, chris beetem, tac fitzgerald, matthew marsden, orlando bloom, kent linville, enrique murciano, michael roof, george harris, razaaq adoti, treva etienne, abdibashir mohamed hersi, pavel vokoun, boyd kestner, jason hildebrandt, kofi amankwah, joshua quarcoo, johann myers, lee geohagen, mohamed essaghir aabach, rifki abdelghani, kirby adams, hatimi ahmed, said arif ahmed, blondel aidoo, mark allett, hani alyousif, damian anderson, abdellatif ansary, david appleby, laya armian, james ashwill, christopher assells, simon atherton, darryl athons, karen m. baker, sidney baldwin, orna banarie, murray barber, steven barnes, pier luigi basile, bernie baum, stefan baur, gavin baxter, david baynham, clive beard, rosie bedford-stradling, tarik ait ben ali, salah benchegra, vanessa bendetti, m. najib benfares, robert bennett, sara bennett, kimberley ann berdy, abdelaali berhich, pavel bezdek, hitesh bharadia, annick biltresse, valerio bonelli, michael bordin, roddy bottum, malika boukergane, samir bounit, mark bowden, dave bowman, phil brennan, david brighton, bela brojek, michael brook, andrea bruce, jerry bruckheimer, michal bukojemski, lindsay burnett, sandra butterworth, eddie bydalek, jose cabrera, john campbell, jerry cantrell, alex corven caronia, martin chamney, ali cherkaoui, houssna choukri, jamal chrourou, monica ciafardini, isabel cody, john collett, eugene collier, fionn comerford, grant connor, jim conrads, toby e. cook, ian john corbould, neil corbould, paul grant corbould, colin coull, john robert cox, stephen crawley, ana bulajic crcek, stuart cripps, gergely csolle, steve cummings, brian cuscino, merrilee dale, dean de leo, robert de leo, sandy decrescent, barbara deleonardis, giancarlo deleonardis, sylvain despretz, dino r. dimuro, william dodds, antoine l. douaihy, william f. dowd, mitch drain, robert drwila, clay duncan, michael dunleavy, tommy dunne, lester dunton, frederic durand, craig eastman, areito echevarria, karim elamri, andrea eliseyan, pierre ellul, ilan eshkeri, roberta federico, carla ferroni, greg fisher, mike fisher, john fitzgerald, stephanie flack, eric flickinger, bruce [l.] fowler, walt fowler, lilian gahlin, rachid gaidi, elton john garcia, francisco paco garcia, jose garretta, adam gascoyne, joseph geday, capt. nabil ghiadi, gianni giovagnoni, donna glasser, kevin globerman, tami r. goldman, laura graham, katherine granger, jerry grayson, gianni graziano, nicky gregory, andrew griffiths, basil grillo, michal grun, andrew haigh, gregory j. hainer, per hallberg, lahcen harouane, alan hausmann, dan hegeman, kieron helsdon, michael hemschoot, bart hendrickson, jimi hendrix, michael hertlein, steve hillage, pamela hochschartner, christopher hogan, roger holden, jan holicek, jonathan hook, tommy hooper, mark hopkins, emma horton, mark howard, sammy howarth-sheldon, robin huffer, laurent hugueniot, harry humphries, david hunter, karen hurley, best editing, award nominations, best cinematography, best director.

An opening title card on the film reads, "Only the dead know the end of war-Plato." According to a 17 December 2001 Time magazine article, the print shown at the film's press preview bore a different inscription, a quotation from T. S. Eliot that read: "All our ignorance brings us closer to death." Although there are no opening credits prior to the start of the story, several title cards are presented, with each offering information on the setting or historical background of the real life event on which the film is based. As noted in one title card, the film begins on 2 October 1993.        According to historical sources, the background to the incident, sometimes called "The Battle of Mogadishu," began in 1991, when a large-scale civil war erupted in Somalia following the ouster of long-time dictator Siad Barre. During the bloody civil war between the Somali National Movement and warlord Mohemed Farah Aidid, among others, and the simultaneous famine that took place over the next two years, it is estimated that more than 300,000 Somalis died. UN peacekeepers were brought into Somalia in late April 1992, following a ceasefire.        On June 5, 1993, after a massacre of twenty-four Pakistani troops, the UN issued a resolution to apprehend those responsible. On August 8, 1993, four American soldiers were killed by a Somali detonated land mine, and by late Aug, 440 American elite troops from Delta Force and the U.S. Rangers were sent to Somalia under Maj. Gen. William F. Garrison's command, with a mission to capture Aidid. As noted in the film, when the proposed three-week mission was still unresolved after six weeks, pressure was put on Garrison to complete the mission as soon as possible.        The mission that comprises the bulk of the film took place from mid-afternoon on Sunday, October 3, 1993 to early morning on Monday, 4 Oct, and lasted for approximately eighteen hours [sources variously list the duration as sixteen to twenty hours, but within the film it lasts sixteen hours]. Although the mission was to capture Aidid and top lieutenants, Aidid was not apprehended, and in the film, it is unclear whether Aidid himself or just his cohorts were the intended targets.        Eighteen Americans were killed and eighty-four were wounded during the operation. While most sources indicate that the exact number of Somalis who died during the incident cannot be confirmed, it has been variously reported that between 350 and 1,000 died. Although not explicitly shown in the film, the bodies of fallen American soldiers were carried by a mob through the streets of Mogadishu, after which photographs of their mutilated bodies were shown in news media throughout the world. Many news sources about the incident have indicated that, following the operation's failure, there was a greater reluctance during the late 1990s to have the U.S. become embroiled in other international peacekeeping and humanitarian operations.        According to a Hollywood Reporter news item on January 22, 1998, Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Touchstone Pictures had recently acquired screen rights to the as yet unpublished Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden. In addition to the rights to Bowden's non-fiction book, Bruckheimer and Touchstone also acquired the rights to a series of articles written by Bowden for The Philadelphia Inquirer . The news item noted that Bowden was signed to write the screenplay and Simon West was slated to direct. By September 8, 2000, as reported in a Hollywood Reporter news item, Ridley Scott was in negotiations to direct the film and Ken Nolan had been assigned to rework Bowden's first draft screenplay. After Bruckheimer moved his company to the Sony/Columbia Pictures lot, the $90,000,000 production was scheduled for filming in Morocco, where Scott had recently shot much of his 2000 release, Gladiator (see below).        Unlike the book, there are no back stories for the main characters and only allusions to decisions "in Washington" that May have hampered the mission. The film's cast was multinational, and all who portrayed Americans assumed appropriate accents for their roles. In most cases, the actual names of men involved in the mission were used. The onscreen credits list all of the Americans by one-word character names, usually the surname.        Within the film, as noted in reviews, clarity for the audience necessitated that names are displayed on each soldiers' helmet, although in reality, soldiers would not display their names thus. Within the film, dialogue and situations parallel portions of the U.S. Ranger's Code, especially in the recurring theme, used in the film's key art, "Leave no man behind," which in the code is stated as "I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy..."        The film's end titles state that it was made on location in Sale and Rabat, Morocco. Various trade paper news items and press releases in the AMPAS library production file for the film indicate that the U.S. Military Base in Mogadishu was created at a Royal Moroccan Air Force field at Kenitra, twenty miles north of Rabat. The closing titles also thank and acknowledge the contributions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, The Government of Morocco, The Governor and the People of Sale and the Centre Cinematographique Marocain. The producers also acknowledge the support and cooperation of the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Army in the making of the film. Footage from The Jerk (1979) and The Last of the Mohicans (1992), which was shown on television while the soldiers prepare for their mission is acknowledged in the end credits as being shown courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing, Inc. and Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. respectively.        The end titles include the following dedication: "For My Mum, Elizabeth Jean Scott, 1906-2001." Several additional end title cards briefly detail the results of the operation. Some of the title cards relate the following information: eighteen Americans (whose names are listed) lost their lives during the incident; as many as 1,000 Somalis died; Sgt. First Class Randy Shughart and Master Sgt. Gary Gordon, who attempted to rescue downed helicopter pilot Chief Warrant Officer Mike Durant, were posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the first soldiers to be so honored since the Vietnam War; Durant was released after eleven days in captivity; Garrison accepted full responsibility for the action; Aidid, who was not captured during the operation, died in 1995, after which Garrison retired from the Army. In March 2002, it was widely reported by source organizations that a GPS (global positioning satellite) device belonging to downed pilot Gordon was found in Afganistan, in a cave that had recently been cleared of Al Queda fighters; those reports, however, proved untrue.        A Los Angeles Times article of November 5, 2001, reported that several of the military personnel who appeared in the film were currently serving in Afghanistan. The article also revealed that, although filming was almost completed before the events of 11 Sep, an epilogue was being added to the film to discuss the Somalian incident and how it contributed to U.S. reluctance to become involved in later international conflicts. However, the Hollywood Reporter review of the film stated that "In order to address less-than-subtle suggestions made by the film that the country's involvement in the Somalia conflict May have been ill-advised and/or poorly planned, a number of corrective, post-Sept. 11 sentiments have been clumsily grafted onto the back end, with awkward results." This material was not included in the viewed print, however, and according to an article by Bowden in the December 28, 2001 Los Angeles Times , was cut just prior to the film's Los Angeles and New York limited release openings.        A documentary dealing with the historical incident, called "Ambush in Mogadishu," was broadcast on the PBS series Frontline in 1998. In addition to being nominated by AFI as the 2001 Movie of the Year, AFI nominations were also received by Scott as Director of the Year, Janusz Kaminski for Cinematography, Pietro Scalia for Editing and Arthur Max for Production Design. Black Hawk Down was also included in the Ten Best lists of Time , Rolling Stone , National Board of Review , Screen International , Los Angeles Times , Washington Post , New York Daily News and USA Today . The film received an Academy Award for Best Editing and was nominated for the following Academy Awards: Best Cinematography, Best Directot, Best Sound

Miscellaneous Notes

Nominated for the 2001 Award for Best Production Design in a Feature Film - Contemporary from the Society of Motion Picture & Television Art Directors/ Art Directors Guild (ADG).

Nominated for the 2001 award for Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published from the Writers Guild of America (WGA).

Nominated for the 2001 award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing - Feature from the Cinema Audio Society (CAS).

Nominated for the 2001 award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Feature Film from the Directors Guild of America (DGA).

Voted one of the 10 best films of 2001 by the American Film Institute (AFI).

Winner of the 2001 Eddie Award for Best Edited Feature - Drama, from the American Cinema Editors (ACE).

Winner of the 2001 Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing - Effects & Foley, Domestic Feature Film by the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE).

Released in United States Winter December 28, 2001

Wide Release in United States January 18, 2002

Project acquired in turnaround from Touchstone Pictures.

Feature screenwriting debut for Ken Nolan.

The reported budget for the film was $92 million, but documents made available to prospective buyers of the Revolution library revealed that the actual budget was $110.5 million.

Completed shooting June 29, 2001.

Began shooting March 8, 2001.

Nominated for five awards, including Movie of the Year, Director of the Year, Cinematographer of the Year, Editor of the Year and Production Designer of the Year, at the 2001 American Film Institute (AFI) Awards.

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From American Made to Black Hawk Down, 15 Movies to Stream After Top Gun: Maverick

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tom cruise black hawk down

If you’ve seen T op Gun: Maverick (2022) you likely have the need for more speed so SPYSCAPE has put together our top 15 seat-of-your-pants movies about pilots, dog fights, and secret missions. We’ve also included a few documentaries and series for adrenaline junkies.

15 Seat-of-Your-Pants Movies to Stream After Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun (1986)

You’ve probably seen Tom Cruise’s classic film and know all about Maverick’s 4G inverted dive with a MiG-28 - but that was more than 30 years ago . It’s time to reminisce with Maverick, Iceman, Goose, Viper, Charlie, and the original Top Guns. Cruise’s 1986 movie still takes our breath away. (YouTube, Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play)

Midway (2019)

The American fleet clashed with the Japanese in Midway, one of WWII’s most famous battles. The film tells the story of the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts and bravery to overcome the odds. Midway’s impressive ensemble cast includes Woody Harrelson, Denis Quaid, and Patrick Wilson. (YouTube, Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Roku) 

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Battle of Britain (1969)

Michael Caine stars in this WWII drama set in 1940. The British Royal Air Force are fighting to stop Hitler's feared Luftwaffe pilots from gaining air superiority over the English Channel and Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding (Laurence Olivier) must rally his pilots. Caine and Christopher Plummer star as squadron leaders. (Apple TV+, Prime Video)

Flight Of The Intruder (1991) ‍

US Navy Pilot Lt. Jake Grafton (Brad Johnson) begins to question the bombing missions he undertakes during the Vietnam War after a friend is killed. He decides to take matters into his own hands with an explosive battle plan . The ensemble cast includes Willem Dafoe, Danny Glover, Rosanna Arquette, Tom Sizemore, and Ving Rhames. (YouTube, Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play)

Dunkirk (2017)

While not strictly about fighter pilots, Dunkirk is Christopher Nolan’s extraordinary film about the May 1940 evacuation of Allied troops on the beaches of Dunkirk under air and ground cover from British and French forces. Unmissable. (Netflix, Prime Video, HBO, Vudu, Google Play)

Behind Enemy Lines (2001)

Owen Wilson stars as a Navy pilot shot down while on a NATO surveillance mission. He must survive behind enemy lines while the commanding officer of the American battle group (Gene Hackman) tries to maintain peace. (Disney+, Apple TV, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Netflix)

American Made (2017) ‍

Tom Cruise is back behind the stick as Barry Seal, a TWA pilot recruited to work as a CIA drug runner in an operation involving Colombian narco-terrorist Pablo Escobar. Don’t expect jet combat in American Made , just a thrilling adventure that just might topple the Reagan White House. (YouTube, Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play)

Iron Eagle (1986)

Doug (Jason Gedrick) is determined to rescue his father, a US Air Force Colonel whose jet was shot down in the Middle East. The 18-year-old isn't a Top Gun though, so he convinces Col. Chappy (Louis Gossett Jr.) to borrow a couple of F-16 planes to help him mount the rescue mission. What could possibly go wrong? The critics may have panned it, but Iron Eagle led to three sequels. (Apple TV, Prime Video)

Firefox (1982) 

Gnarly veteran US pilot Mitchell Gant (Clint Eastwood) is on a top-secret mission to steal a high-tech MiG-31 Russian fighter jet known as Firefox . He’ll need help to covertly enter the Soviet Union and pull off the heist. Luckily, Gant is not worried about shaking off enemy pilots or a dogfight with Soviet jets. (YouTube, Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play)

Memphis Belle (1990) ‍

Like Top Gun, Memphis Belle focuses on the lives of young pilots trying to make their mark. Their final, dangerous operation involves a bombing mission over Germany in 1943. Starring Matthew Modine and Tate Donovan. (Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, Sky Store, Microsoft TV, Roku)

Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

True to his name, General Savage (Gregory Peck) takes over a B-17 bomber unit with a morale problem and whips them into fighting shape. Set in 1942, the plot involves an American Air Force unit stationed in England and includes a hotshot flying ace (Robert Patten). ( YouTube , Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play)

Black Hawk Down (2001)

Black Hawk Down (2001) is the story of elite US fighters - the flight crew of the 160th SOAR, the 3rd Battalion/75th Ranger Regiment, and Delta Force operators - who dropped into Mogadishu in 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord. Starring Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, and Ron Eldard as the pilot of Super 64. (Netflix, YouTube, Google Play, Prime Video)  ‍

Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

Air Staff Officer Minoru Genda (Tatsuya Mihashi) is planning a preemptive strike against the US in Pearl Harbor when American intelligence intercepts Japanese communications hinting at the offensive. Unfortunately, the spies are unwilling to believe a strike of such magnitude could occur on American soil. Tora! Tora! Tora! is an incredible historical movie that stands the test of time. (Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play)

Hot Shots! (1991)

Hot Shots! Is a Top Gun parody, a silly, outrageous, and highly entertaining comedy certain to amuse Cruise fans. Actor Charlie Sheen is perfectly cast as a talented but unstable fighter pilot. Lloyd Bridges plays Rear Admiral Thomas ‘Tug’ Benson. (Apple TV, Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play) 

Stealth (2005) 

Three hot-shot pilots in a top-secret military program struggle to bring an artificial intelligence-enabled fighter-bomber under control as they try to stop s nuclear war. Stealth can be a bit silly, but who can resist Jessica Biel and Jamie Foxx acting at warp speed? (YouTube, Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play) Honorable mention: The Dawn Patrol (1938) ; Flyboys (2006) ; and Brink of Hell (aka Toward the Unknown (1956). ‍

DOCUMENTARIES

Tomcat Tales (2020)  

A documentary about the F-14 Tomcat told by real-life Top Guns. The F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft developed for the US Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental Program. (Prime Video) ‍ ‍ ‍

Top Guns: The Documentary (1987) ‍

Top Guns: The Documentary combines rare footage of air-to-air combat with access to Navy fighter squadrons on deployment. The documentary promises a wild ride in the seat of an F-14 and delivers. (YouTube, Prime Video)

Pensacola: Wings of Gold

James Brolin is a hard-as-nails war veteran overseeing an elite group of Marines learning to fly FA-18 Hornets in Pensacola: Wings of Gold . Kenny Johnson is ‘Burner’ - a gifted pilot with a low emotional IQ - and Michael Trucco is ‘Spoon’, a rich kid determined to make his mark. (Prime Video) 

Airwolf (1984) ‍

Airwolf star Jan-Michael Vincent plays Stringfellow Hawke, an ex-test pilot brought in for a top-secret mission involving an undercover operation in Libya. Renegade pilot Dominic Santini is played by Ernest Borgnine. (Peacock, Roku)

Black Sheep Squadron, aka Baa Baa Black Sheep (1970s) ‍

Major Greg ‘Pappy’ Boyington is the commanding officer of VMF-214, a Marine squadron of misfit fighter pilots based in the South Pacific during WWII. The show is based on the experiences of real-life US Marine Corps aviator Greg Boyington and his ‘Black Sheep Squadron. (YouTube)

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Black Hawk Down & Band Of Brothers Were A Trial By Fire For Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy Band of Brothers

Tom Hardy spent almost a decade working under the radar in Hollywood before he had a breakout blockbuster role in Christopher Nolan's "Inception" and his career took off. It wasn't his first high-profile role in a science fiction film; that would be "Star Trek: Nemesis," where a young Hardy played the villain Shinzon, a clone of legendary Starfleet captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). However, "Nemesis" is the film that effectively killed any further movies featuring the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" cast, until they recently reemerged in the third season of "Star Trek: Picard."  And before he ever went sci-fi or flew a Spitfire in "Dunkirk," for his first TV and film roles respectively, Hardy appeared back-to-back in the HBO World War II miniseries "Band of Brothers" and the Ridley Scott war movie "Black Hawk Down."

Hardy costars in two episodes of "Band of Brothers" as John Janovec, the real-life Easy Company private who died in a jeep accident in 1945, months before World War II ended. In a 2002 interview with IGN to promote "Nemesis," Hardy discussed the challenge of taking on his first TV role and playing a real U.S. soldier:

"”Band of Brothers' was my first job so I was virtually out of the frying pan and into the fire, really. I'd not had previous experience with working in front of the camera, so there was dealing with that. Also, I had the research material — not that I'd need it. I mean, I was in two episodes and had twelve lines. That was the sum total of work [I] had to do. But nonetheless, I would work just as hard trying to portray someone whose relatives are still around. Obviously, nobody wants to go out there and say, 'This is my big moment.' And I'm playing John Janovec, who is dead. He died for freedom."

The 'enormous pressure' of Hardy's first movie role

Like "Band of Brothers," "Black Hawk Down" features a rich ensemble cast, with stars like Josh Hartnett and Ewan MacGregor being joined by a long list of actors in minor roles who would later become more famous, such as Orlando Bloom, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Hugh Dancy. Set in Somalia in 1993 during the Battle of Mogadishu, "Black Hawk Down" was Tom Hardy's feature-film debut, and it came with even more pressure than "Band of Brothers," where there was a distance of 50-plus years separating Hardy from the man he was playing.

In "Black Hawk Down," Hardy's Army Ranger, Lance Twombly, was based on a soldier who was still living with "demons" when they were making the movie. The film shows Twombly getting separated from his unit with Shawn Nelson (Ewen Bremner), who loses his hearing after Twombly discharges his gun near his ears. In his comments to IGN, Hardy said he didn't get to meet the real Twombly until after making "Black Hawk Down," but he still felt a responsibility to do his story justice and not treat it as a big moment for his acting career, despite it giving him his movie break:

"There are these people who have fought and will fight and will die. It's a responsibility if you're going to go in there and play a character like that, and the pressure is enormous. But, you cannot think, 'This is my big moment' at all. And those were very much the key elements for both of those projects that struck me as an actor, and as a guy who desperately wanted to do the right work, at least attempted to do the right work."

"Band of Brothers" is currently streaming on HBO Max (soon to be relabeled Max) , and "Black Hawk Down" is available to rent on most VOD platforms.

15 Best War Movies on Paramount+ to Watch Right Now

Paramount+ has a huge selection of films like Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down for the war nut in your life.

With nearly a thousand films in its library, Paramount+ may not offer as much content as streaming services like Netflix or Prime Video, but they offer significant quality over quantity, with some of the biggest box office hits of recent years and critically acclaimed films. That quality applies to its war movie offerings as well.

The following are the best war films currently available on the Paramount+ service. We've included films in which war and combat are prominent themes and not just action films that feature gunplay. These films also explore a soldier's experiences in war, a perspective that separates the genre from traditional action.

15 Tropic Thunder (2008)

Tropic thunder.

Tropic Thunder , starring and directed by Ben Stiller , is one of the most remarkable comedy films of the 21st century. It follows an ambitious director who is making a war film based on the memoirs of a Vietnam War veteran, 'Four Leaf' Tayback, but the production is falling behind the schedule despite the film featuring an ensemble of A-list prima-donna actors: Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), and Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.).

In a desperate situation, the filmmaker drops the cast in a Vietnamese forest, hoping to find some realism, but they are unaware that the area is controlled by a heroin-producing gang that is also heavily armed. Are these actors capable of making it out of there alive?

A Comedy that Will Truly Shock You

Tropic Thunder is a brilliantly written comedic war film that gets better on subsequent viewing. With modern comedy growing increasingly stale, this film offers something unique. Furthermore, despite boasting a dream cast consisting of Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, and Ben Stiller, the writing and directing aspects of the film are what makes it so remarkable, it's well worth a watch.

14 Braveheart (1995)

Braveheart is an epic historical drama film starring and directed by Mel Gibson , who portrays Sir William Wallace, a Scottish warrior who led a rebellion against King Edward I of England in the 13th century. After losing a loved one to English soldiers, Wallace rallies Scottish warriors to liberate their homeland from Edward I's tyranny. Despite being oppressed by the massive English army, the mighty warrior puts everything on the line with the assistance of Robert the Bruce (Angus Macfadyen).

Iconic For a Reason

Braveheart is one of the greatest war films of all time , bolstered by being based on historical events. Sure, it has shortcomings in terms of historical accuracy, but it's a rousing spectacle that induces sophisticated emotional swirls throughout its three-hour runtime. Aside from boasting a stellar ensemble such as Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, and Angus Macfadyen, the film also has incredible character development, epic battle sequences, and provides a visually stunning experience.

13 Tigerland (2000)

Tigerland is a war drama film directed by Joel Schumacher that takes place in 1971 in Fort Polk, Louisiana. The plot revolves around a platoon of recruits that arrive at a Louisiana training camp for infantry training, led by Jim Paxton (Matthew Davis), an aspiring writer-soldier who wants to experience everything, and Roland Bozz (Collin Farrell), a cool Texan who frequently gets into trouble for his generosity as a leader. As they prepare for their first training of the week, they realize that the Louisiana swamp may be more dangerous than the war itself.

A War Movie With a Character-Based Plot

Despite being filmed in Florida, Tigerland is a fairly authentic classic that is often defined as a war movie with no actual war in it. The film focuses on the struggles of emerging soldiers, providing viewers with a deeper insight into what they would face before the war and how it traumatizes them. It is a character-driven drama that is gritty and heart-wrenching but a bold attempt by Schumacher, which works surprisingly well for any audience.

12 Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

Flags of our fathers.

Flags of Our Fathers is a poignant film helmed by Academy Award Winner Clint Eastwood. During World War II, the American government discovered that most of its war treasury was empty due to the public's distrust of their forces. To raise finances for the war, the government brings three survivors of Iwa Jima and introduces them as war heroes despite their initial defeat. Will these honorable soldiers play along with the government's lies as they rise to new levels of fame and status after the war?

Tension and Emotions Run High

Oftentimes, when you fictionalize a tale about historical wars, you run the risk of inaccuracy and subsequently dishonoring the memories of these warriors. However, Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers portrays the concept in such a way that viewers are left to judge their actions, making it extremely intriguing. Moreover, it is difficult to find fault with any of Clint Eastwood's films and Flags of Our Fathers , which is packed with drama and action, is no exception.

11 Freedom’s Path (2022)

War is a genre that evokes a wide range of emotions, including tears, smiles, laughter, and more than anything, grief. Brett Smith's 2022 feature debut, Freedom's Path , is a historical war film that combines all the aforementioned elements. In the movie, William is a Union soldier who flees the battlefield in the hopes of getting away from the ensuing violence, and he eventually finds sanctuary on the Underground Railroad run by a young, heroic Black man named Kitch. Apparently, Kitch is a member of a secret group consisting of freed slaves and William's unannounced appearance sets a slave catcher on their trail.

A War Movie With Heart

Freedom's Path is a beautiful war drama told from the perspective of a young and naive soldier, and it also delves into the issue of slavery , which is often overlooked in modern war films. In addition to the incredible cinematography and the novel take on civil war, the entire ensemble delivers outstanding performances, making this an exceptional war film that should not be missed.

10 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)

Michael Bay is well known for his over-the-top action films and the Transformers franchise, but in 2016, he went in a different direction, telling the true story of heroism in the War on Terror. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi depicts the terror attack on an American consulate in Libya on Sep. 11, 2012. The film focuses on the small group of CIA military operators who protect U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and his staff from Islamic extremists who attempt to infiltrate their compound on one harrowing night.

The film stars John Krasinski as CIA contractor Jack Silva, a role far different from his role as Jim in the sitcom The Office , and it proved he was capable of being a serious leading actor in film. James Badge Dale ( 24, The Departed, 1923 ), Pablo Schreiber, and David Denman all co-star as the operators fighting with him, in a film that stands apart from Michael Bay's usual blockbusters .

Intense and Immersive

The bombastic action style that has become a Michael Bay trademark is still here, but there is an underlying emotional gravity and urgency. Outstanding performances by the cast highlight the real-life heroism and sacrifice of those involved. Movie critic Dan Buffa called the film "a truly visceral experience," adding "When you left the theater, you felt a piece of shrapnel sticking out of your heart."

9 Black Hawk Down (2001)

Black hawk down.

Black Hawk Down is based on the true story of the disastrous U.S. military mission in Somalia in 1993, in which over 100 U.S. Army Rangers were ambushed by the army of a local warlord. With two Black Hawk helicopters down, and the soldiers pinned down in the middle of Mogadishu, a frantic rescue mission is undertaken to save them before their position is overrun. Josh Hartnett plays an Army Ranger in the midst of the battle, who leads his fellow soldiers to the Black Hawk crash site in search of survivors.

From Master Director Ridley Scott

The terrible personal cost of war, particularly in modern urban warfare, is captured with harrowing accuracy in Ridley Scott's film . You likely won't recognize most of the famous actors in the cast, as the chaotic battle scenes make them almost indistinguishable, which is the point. Individuality is lost as each soldier is in a fight for their lives, and the lives of those around them. The film won two technical Oscars, and Scott earned a nomination for Best Director.

8 Devotion (2022)

Read Our Review

Devotion flew under the radar of many moviegoers during its theatrical run in November 2022. The film is based on the true story of Ensign Jesse Brown, the first African-American Navy pilot. Set during the start of the Korean War, the film follows Brown (played by Marvel actor Jonathan Majors) as he is paired with Lt. Tom Hudner ( Top Gun: Maverick star Glen Powell) as his wingman. Two very different people became close friends, and the outbreak of war tested their friendship in ways they didn't foresee.

A Rarer Korean War Movie

Devotion takes place during the Korean War, a conflict rarely depicted in Hollywood or covered in history books. That alone makes the film a unique viewing experience, and the added layer of racial inequality gives the film emotional gravity, thanks to an excellent performance by Majors. The flight sequences are superb, with an authentic feel and strong camera work.

7 The Four Feathers (2002)

The four feathers.

Based on the classic novel by A.E.W. Mason, The Four Feathers is set during the late 1800s in the Sudan, where British troops are sent to quell an uprising. Heath Ledger plays a British officer who resigns his commission and is subsequently accused of cowardice. When he learns his friends are facing certain death in a Sudanese siege, he single-handedly sets out to rescue them.

Worthwhile For Heath Ledger Alone

A fantastic cast elevates the more pedestrian elements of the film, directed by Shekhar Kapur. Strong performances from Yellowstone star Wes Bentley and Oscar nominees Kate Hudson and Djimon Hounsou highlight this tale of honor, loyalty, and duty, themes often lost in today's cynical world. The film boasts stunning battle sequences, with cinematography by Robert Richardson, who won Oscars for his work with Martin Scorsese ( The Aviator, Hugo ) and Oliver Stone ( JFK ).

6 Gladiator (2000)

Set in 180 A.D., Gladiator tells the story of a Roman general (Russell Crowe) who is betrayed by the Emperor's son (Joaquin Phoenix) and sets out on a path of revenge as a powerful gladiator. As he attempts to restore justice to Rome, he finds allies in a fellow gladiator (Djimon Hounsou) and the Emperor's daughter (Connie Nielsen). The film is filled with incredible action scenes, including the film's opening battle, featuring hundreds of warriors in the forests of Germany.

A Genre-Defining Classic

Ridley Scott crafts yet another genre masterpiece. Russell Crowe was never better in a career-defining, Oscar-winning role as a general who became a slave, and then became a gladiator who defied an empire. A mix of old-school Hollywood epic and gritty historical adventure, Gladiator won five Oscars, including Best Picture. Crowe took home the Best Actor Oscar, and as good as he is, he was matched by Best Supporting Actor nominee Phoenix, who plays the Emperor's power-hungry son Commodus. Hans Zimmer's iconic music is still one of the most memorable scores ever written.

15 Best Original Movies on Paramount+ to Watch Right Now

5 hamburger hill (1987).

Hamburger Hill is a visceral film about the real-life battle in the A Shau Valley in Vietnam in 1969, which lasted ten days and became one of the bloodiest, costliest battles of the war. Dylan McDermott, Don Cheadle, and Tim Quill lead an outstanding cast as members of the 101st Airborne's 187th Infantry, who are tasked with taking a hill from the North Vietnamese at any cost.

A Difficult But Rewarding Watch

Made with an eye for realism, Hamburger Hill is not an easy watch. It pulls no punches in its depiction of the futility and insanity faced by troops in Vietnam, particularly in the utter insanity of having so many Americans die for an ultimately useless objective. The film is a marked departure from other Vietnam films of the era , which romanticized the conflict in an attempt to rectify the treatment of returning soldiers. Ironically, both succeeded in changing how America saw the war and the troops, despite the radically different tactics.

4 Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Saving private ryan.

Steven Spielberg's World War II masterpiece Saving Private Ryan opens with a harrowing sequence, recreating the Normandy landings on D-Day. A group of soldiers, led by Capt. Miller (Tom Hanks), sets out on a mission to bring a mother's last surviving son home from the war. The task is not easy, as the son, Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon) is lost behind enemy lines, with the Germans bearing down on them. More than two decades after its release, the film is still a towering cinematic achievement.

A Legendary Installment in Spielberg's Body of Work

By 1998, Spielberg's directing style had matured somewhat from his 1980s blockbusters, but Saving Private Ryan still features his signature tent-pole sequences. Here, however, his directing hand was more nuanced, and the action sequences display the harsh realities of war and its cost. Tom Hanks gives an iconic performance, and the rest of the cast is fantastic. The final scene can still bring viewers to tears, and it is a travesty that the film lost the Best Picture Oscar to Shakespeare in Love .

3 Top Gun (1986)

Set at the Navy's fighter pilot school in California, Top Gun blended outstanding pre-CGI visuals with a rousing underdog story. Navy pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and wingmate Nicholas "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) are chosen to attend the Navy's Fighter Weapons School, a.k.a. "Top Gun." A training accident sends Maverick on a personal spiral, just as an international incident puts him on a path to a showdown against an enemy country piloting Russian MiG fighters.

Empty Blockbuster, Propaganda, or Art? You Decide

Top Gun may be considered summer blockbuster fluff to some film snobs, but Tony Scott's film was more than the best Air Force recruitment film ever made. It captured the mood of a nation finding its place on the world stage once more, and willing to use its military might to do so. Tom Cruise captured the confidence and hopefulness of the Reagan era, and regardless of the clichés, Top Gun is a heck of a lot of fun.

15 War Movies Where the Main Character Dies a Heroic Death

2 top gun: maverick (2022), top gun: maverick.

Top Gun: Maverick was Hollywood's first runaway blockbuster to emerge from Hollywood after the COVID-19 pandemic, and it's the rare sequel that's actually better than the original film. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, now a training pilot, is called back into service to train a new generation of Navy pilots for a dangerous mission. Things get complicated, however, when he learns one of the pilots is the son of his former wingman, Goose.

An Epic Comeback

Even though it follows many of the same beats as the original film, Top Gun: Maverick manages to feel fresh by addressing its age. The brash cockiness that defined Maverick in the first film is still there, but there is now an undercurrent of both age-crafted wisdom and regret. Val Kilmer's appearance is bittersweet, and Cruise proves that he's more than a persona. Top Gun: Maverick dared to make movies fun again, and it succeeded.

1 We Were Soldiers (2002)

We were soldiers.

Based on the true story of the first major battle of the Vietnam War, We Were Soldiers follows Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) and 400 American soldiers, who find themselves pinned down by thousands of Viet Cong soldiers in the Ia Drang Valley in 1965. As the troops fight for their lives in the "Valley of Death," their families back home begin to receive word of their desperate situation.

An Epic Tale of Emotion and Combat

Mel Gibson reunited with Randall Wallace, who wrote his Oscar-winning masterwork Braveheart , and together, the two crafted one of the best Vietnam epics ever made. The supporting cast is superb, with Sam Elliott, Greg Kinnear, and Barry Pepper also appearing. The battle scenes focus less on gunplay, and more on the human element. It gives the film much more emotional gravity, and a richer viewing experience overall, in what could have been a pedestrian war film.

Screen Rant

9 actors you forgot were in black hawk down.

Black Hawk Down features a stacked ensemble cast, and there are some actors who blend into their roles so well, it's easy to forget they were there.

Ridley Scott's 2001 war epic Black Hawk Down features a large ensemble cast filled with recognizable names, but there are some actors who blend into the film so seamlessly that it becomes easy to forget they were even involved. Black Hawk Down , which retells the story of the disastrous Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, was led by actors Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, and Ewan McGregor, with the late Tom Sizemore and William Fichtner also receiving a healthy amount of screen time. Prolific character actors Željko Ivanek and Glenn Morshower featured prominently as two commanding officers circling the battle overhead.

Although the cast of Black Hawk Down includes plenty of A-list talent, Scott also handed screen debuts and minor roles to up-and-coming actors who would land prominent film and TV roles later in their careers. The film's chaotic battle sequences also serve to mask even the most recognizable faces in Hollywood. Black Hawk Down is deliberately loud and hellish, and with the cast dressed and modeled to look like young soldiers, it's only natural that most lack a resemblance to their more iconic roles.

Related: Black Hawk Down Cast Guide: Every Famous Actor & Cameo

9 Tom Hardy

Playing SPC Lance Twombly in Black Hawk Down was Tom Hardy's first movie role, and the actor is almost unrecognizable. Hardy, who had also made a brief appearance in an episode of Band of Brothers the same year, displays his chameleon-like ability, portraying a machine gunner who gets separated from the rest of his unit alongside Ewen Bremner's Shawn Nelson. Hardy would receive greater focus in 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis , in which he plays a clone of Patrick Stewart's Captain Picard, before experiencing breakout success with 2008's Bronson . Hardy has since become an A-list movie attraction, almost ever-present on the big screen.

8 Orlando Bloom

Orlando Bloom portrays Private Todd Blackburn in Black Hawk Down , who in real life was the first wounded casualty of the Mogadishu raid. Bloom was 24 during filming, with his military haircut and American accent ensuring that he dissolves seamlessly into the wartime setting. Black Hawk Down premiered a month after Bloom's iconic debut as the arrow-shooting elf Legolas in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , and a little under two years before the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl .

7 Ioan Gruffudd

Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd is arguably best-known for his portrayal of Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in Fox's two Fantastic Four movies, as well as for his appearances in 1997's Titanic and the Clive Owen-led King Arthur movie from 2004. He has a brief appearance in Black Hawk Down as Lieutenant John Beales, who suffers a seizure while watching Carl Reiner's The Jerk before the beginning of the operation. This leads to Josh Hartnett's Matthew Eversmann taking command of his chalk.

6 Ty Burrell

Ty Burrell has a minor role in Black Hawk Down as pararescue officer Timothy A. Wilkinson, who attends the crash site of the first downed Black Hawk. Burrell is most famous for his portrayal of Phil Dunphy in the sitcom Modern Family , which ran for 11 seasons starting in 2009. Burrell has also made appearances in The Incredible Hulk , where he portrays Doc Samson, as well as National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets . Weirdly, both of these see him in a relationship with the love interest of the main protagonist.

5 Hugh Dancy

Like Tom Hardy, Hugh Dancy is almost completely unrecognizable in Black Hawk Down . Taking on the role of combat medic Kurt Schmid, Dancy's appearance is a far departure from his more notable role as Will Graham in Bryan Fuller's Hannibal TV show, which ran for three seasons between 2013 and 2015. The bulk of Schmid's screen time comes during one of Black Hawk Down 's grimmest moments, as he and the rest of his Ranger chalk are unable to save the life of Corporal Smith with surgery. Black Hawk Down was the first major movie Hugh Dancy appeared in .

4 Gregory Sporleder

Gregory Sporleder is a prolific actor most recognizable for his roles in movies from the 1990s, having a particularly memorable turn as a bloodthirsty soldier under the command of Ed Harris' renegade general in Michael Bay's The Rock . Without the curtains hairstyle he had during that film, Sporleder is less distinguishable in Black Hawk Down , with most of his scenes being shared with Hartnett's Eversmann. Sporleder's last film appearance came in 2010's The Crazies , with the actor winding down to a few minor appearances on TV over the past decade.

3 Jason Isaacs

Although Jason Isaacs has a prominent role in Black Hawk Down as Captain Steele, he assimilates into the role so effortlessly that it's easy to forget that Steele is Lucius Malfoy himself. Swapping his English accent for a Georgian twang and his mid-length hair for a bald cut, Isaacs provides a commanding presence in Black Hawk Down , and is thoroughly believable as a Ranger officer who bristles against his less rigid Delta Force comrades. Ironically, Isaacs would portray a similar kind of special forces operator in the 2010 thriller Green Zone , sporting a classic commando mustache opposite protagonist Matt Damon.

2 Corey Johnson

Corey Johnson is one of the definitive "that guy!" actors from the 1990s and 2000s, arguably best remembered for his part in 1999's The Mummy , where he plays one of several American treasure hunters who get killed by the resurrected Imohtehp. Johnson also has minor roles in Saving Private Ryan , Hellboy , and The Bourne Ultimatum , and was set to appear in the Leslie Grace-led Batgirl before its cancellation. Johnson's role in Black Hawk Down is easily missed, as he appears for a few seconds to patch up Tom Sizemore's Danny McKnight once the Ranger group is safely evacuated to the Pakistani-controlled stadium.

1 Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Years before he was Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones , Nikolaj Coster-Waldau portrayed posthumous Medal of Honor recipient Gary Gordon in Black Hawk Down . Coster-Waldau doesn't have many lines, but he is a central figure in one of Black Hawk Down 's most important set pieces, which depicts Gordon and fellow Delta sniper Randy Shughart repelling a hostile crowd from capturing and harming Mike Durant, the sole survivor of the Super 64 crash. Coster-Waldau would reunite with Scott and co-star Orlando Bloom for 2005's Kingdom of Heaven , and has featured in a number of action movies since the release of Black Hawk Down .

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Josh Hartnett

I 'm in a cinema on Union Square when I see it: a man-sized cardboard cut-out of the actor I am to interview in a hotel room in a few hours' time. Yes, it is definitely him. Same squinty eyes, same pale skin. Above his head is the title of his new movie, 40 Days and 40 Nights and beneath his feet is a roll call of names including, in big letters, his own. 'Look!' I say to my friend. 'It's Josh Hartnett. Shall I take him home with me?'

We are considering whether he will contravene any British Airways luggage restrictions, when a fierce young blonde appears. She says nothing, but looks like she might have designs of her own on Josh. We leave, empty-handed, and feel her eyes boring into our backs all the way to the subway.

It is at this moment that it finally hits me: in America, Josh Hartnett really is hot news - and girls will, if necessary, fight to the death for the right to own their very own cardboard cut-out of his 6ft 3in frame. Pay attention, and you'll see his face everywhere: on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, on the cover of Details magazine, on billboards at run-down street corners. For the past few months, he has been publicising first Black Hawk Down, the Ridley Scott epic about America's disastrous foray into Somalia, and now this - a romantic comedy in which he plays a hunk called Matt Sullivan who takes a Lenten vow of sexual abstinence. The result, gratifyingly for the studios, is coverage as deep and crisp as freshly fallen snow.

40 Days is not the kind of film Hartnett is likely to take his granny to see. There are lots of porn jokes and strange protuberances in our hero's trousers. In one scene, his flatmate even carries out spot checks on his friend's bed linen using a special light to detect emissions. But it gives Hartnett the chance to round off an early career in teen flicks (he was named 'the unofficial Hottie of Horror' by 17 magazine) with a performance his fans will be able to breathlessly discuss on his websites for years to come. It will also remind directors everywhere that, though he looked good in combat fatigues in Pearl Harbour and Black Hawk Down, he looks even better in jeans and a sweater. It's all part of the plan, stoopid.

Happily, in person, you would never know that Hartnett is being lauded as 'the new Tom Cruise' or even 'the new Leonardo DiCaprio'. He is better-looking than either of them and about a tenth as big-headed.

We meet at a starchy hotel just off Fifth Avenue, where he and his co-star, Shannyn Sossamon, are billeted for the duration of a press junket for 40 Days. With minimum fuss, he walks into the room looking so gauche and anxious and unbelievably handsome that it's hard to sit still. Meeting him is like going on a date with a boy you know is miles - continents - out of your league: pointless and misery-inducing and thrilling all at the same time. He has high cheekbones and dark eyebrows hovering over flinty green eyes. He also, like all truly desirable men, has the requisite flaw: a delectable gap between his front teeth.

In a deep, gravelly mumble he tells me that, yeah, his grandma probably won't like his new movie. 'But if I was painting or writing, I wouldn't veer away from things because they seemed unsavoury to me. So as an actor I kind of think the same way. I should do things that are different and interesting and shed light on the craziness of the world.'

But could he, in real life... erm, do without it for 40 days and 40 nights? 'Well, I wouldn't want to but, you know, maybe. It's you women who think we guys are so highly sexed.' He pauses, no doubt to watch the red carpet creeping up my neck and across my hot little cheeks. 'I mean, I don't think most women could go without touching a man or masturbation or anything to do with sex, like, for a very long time. They'll never admit it though. Heh heh heh.'

Josh Hartnett, who is 23, was born in the St Paul half of Minneapolis-St Paul, and despite the siren call of Los Angeles, he still resides in the Twin Cities. 'It's one of those ideal places to raise a family,' he says. 'It's safe, it's beautiful, there are lakes and cabins. The people who represent me understand that I want to be there, so they just kind of let me be.

I don't love LA. I love New York and Minneapolis, so if I have a choice I'll stay in those places.'

His parents, whom he describes as 'hippyish', are divorced, but he is close to both of them, and his three younger siblings, Jake, Joe and Jessica. His father was a guitar player for Al Green before taking over the family real estate business; his mother is a classroom assistant. His folks are, he insists, are a lot more interested in achieving happiness rather than success - and brought Josh up to be just the same way.

'I never really considered acting as a career,' he says. 'I kind of fell into it. Originally, I wanted to be a painter.' He got his first taste of being in front of an audience during grade school, as an altar boy. He and his friends would serve at funerals because they would get five bucks and the day off school. But mostly, he wanted to play football. Then, at 16, a knee injury forced him off the team. At first, he had a strong suspicion that acting was 'for sissies', but somehow ended up auditioning for the part of Huck Finn in a children's theatre production of Tom Sawyer. He got the part. Soon after, a local talent scout spotted him playing Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls. By the time he left high school in 1996, he was doing TV commercials and had a manager, Nancy Kremer.

It was on her advice that he headed for Hollywood. 'She just kept calling,' he says. So he gave in. The day after she picked him up at the airport, he got an agent and was soon going to four auditions a day. Though he was not always successful - it is part of the Hartnett legend that he tried out six times for Dawson's Creek - within two months he had landed a part in the US version of Cracker, playing Fitz's son. The series was axed after nine episodes, but by that time Hartnett was already on his way. There was Halloween H2O and another horror film, The Faculty, and Sofia Coppola cast him in The Virgin Suicides as Trip Fontaine - the sexiest kid in the school - without even meeting him. 'You just knew he had it,' she said. Then, the big one: Pearl Harbour, in which he played Ben Affleck's best friend.

It was at this point, however, that Hartnett's strange Great Lakes idealism reared its head. He was repeatedly told by Pearl Harbour's producers that the movie - at that time, they thought it would be a bigger box-office smash than Titanic - would 'change his life'. Hartnett wasn't so sure he wanted his life to change.

'Yeah, I nearly turned it down,' he says, though he clearly dislikes talking about the film which, in relation to the expectations heaped on it, turned out to be a Titanic-sized flop. 'It was a role a lot of people wanted but... I didn't want to be famous.' Still, someone obviously persuaded him to think again. 'Well, we're all on a journey. The average American switches profession four times. I'm lucky to be in a business where I change the character I am playing every couple of months.'

And there was one happy by-product: his pay cheque per film is now $2m and rising. Not that he is particularly interested in money. So far, his only luxury purchase has been a new car, an Audi, bought because his parents were sick of his old Jeep breaking down all over the place. Does this mean that he really isn't interested in being the new Tom Cruise? He looks uncomfortable. 'I dunno. Tom Cruise is a multinational corporation.' He pauses and then, perhaps afraid that he might sound as if he is dissing Cruise, adds: 'It's flattering to be compared to him because he has been so successful. I think he's an underrated actor. But comparisons in the film business are completely odious. You can't follow the same path as someone else.'

He has already set up his own production company and wouldn't mind getting behind the camera himself, one day; failing that, he will go back to his first love, painting, 'providing I haven't lost my soul completely'.

So that hasn't happened yet? 'Not in my daily life, but you answer enough questions about yourself and you start to get a big head.' Isn't there a way he can stop this happening? 'Yes, by realising I'm not any more important than anyone else. I look at it like this. There are only so many blank spaces in the world for famous people, and they have to be filled 'cos everybody wants to see movie stars and stuff like that. But it's cyclical - there are people who are there for a while, then they lose it.'

He stops, looks flustered, runs his hands through his hair. 'I'm just coming up with this theory right now, so tell me if it's bullshit. What I'm saying is, it's not about me, it's about that blank space. It's about being in that spot. When you're not there, nobody cares. People care about my fame, not me. But that's fine. I have my own life. Besides, it's not as if I'm a politician.'

The way he tells it - though I am not entirely sure I believe him - fame is agony and to fall head over heels in love with it is the biggest mistake a man can make. Perhaps this is why he is so loyal to boring old Minneapolis. 'I admire the way someone like Sean Penn keeps the bullshit out of his life,' he says. 'I respect people who recognise their boundaries as to how much of this stuff they can take. I also respect people who can work in the midst of this press bonanza. Luckily, I've got a pretty good bullshit meter. I'm pretty good at returning to life after my work is done.'

As for the idea that he has some kind of masterplan, well, I'm barking up the wrong tree there. 'I just kind go along for the ride. You need some people in the world who are determined to do one thing in life, to make that thing their goal. But luckily, because you have all those other people being pillars, holding up the world, someone like me can just wander through.'

The question is, will Hartnett make it as a serious actor, as he so obviously longs to, or will he always be fobbed off with tedious chiselled-jaw roles? 'Josh runs the real risk of becoming a sort of one-man embodiment of the Backstreet Boys to hormone-crazed 15-year-old girls from Minnetoka to Tarzana,' Ben Affleck told Vanity Fair magazine, shortly before the release of Pearl Harbour. 'He is so very pretty.' These words were prophetic. Hartnett has taken to wearing a knitted beanie whenever he is out in public, though even a hat and sunglasses, he says, 'don't really help' when you are being chased down the street. 'I'm kinda learning to deal with being recognised. I'm determined not to change the way I live. I'm still gonna walk around and if people come up to me, well, no offence, but I'll say, sorry, I just can't give autographs all day.'

He was fine in Pearl Harbour, in as much as anybody could be fine in a movie whose major stars were all exploding fusillades, and, in Black Hawk Down, carried off his role as a staff sergeant with a certain intense aplomb. 40 Days and 40 Nights is unlikely to win him any prizes, though it shows he can do physical comedy if he puts his mind to it (his character has a funny, jerky jog he slips into to keep undesirable urges at bay).

But, so far, he hasn't made a movie that comes even close to, say, Trainspotting, the film he says inspired him to try his luck in Hollywood. He refers to Ewan McGregor and Ewen Bremner, his co-stars in Black Hawk Down who both appeared in Trainspotting, as 'my two friends' and adds, 'Wow! You see that kind of work and you want to be a part of it.'

So what next? 'I plan to take time off,' he says. 'I've been doing publicity for so long and before that I worked for four years straight. I could do with a break.' Is it up to him what roles he takes, or does his agent decide what he does and in what order? 'It's completely down to me. These guys give me suggestions, obviously, but I'm one of those people who when someone says "turn right," go left. I don't know whether they've figured that out yet...'

Later this year, he can be seen in O, a high-school rendering of Othello, the release of which was delayed for two years because it was feared its violence would attract negative publicity. Hartnett plays the Iago character, Hugo, so we will see then if he is capable of evil as well as cute.

When he is home, he paints and sees his friends, who are, he says, determinedly unruffled by his fame. In the past, Hartnett has resolutely refused to discuss his private life, although rumour has it he briefly dated Brazilian model Gisèle Bündchen.

On his website, however, his fans claim to have found proof that - oh no! - he does indeed have a woman in his life, and have posted a picture first published by the National Enquirer of the actor with Ellen Fenster, a girl he supposedly went to school with. 'Oh well, at least he's happy,' says one distraught fan. Weep, weep.

At the merest mention of girls, Hartnett's voice trickles away to an almost inaudible mutter. It's like asking your kid brother what he got up to at the school disco. Luckily, he is saved by the bell. The door of the room opens and two publicists troop in to retrieve their charge. I must leave now because Josh is going to have a lunch break. 'So you get time off to eat,' I say. 'Yeah,' says Josh, rolling his eyes. He unfolds himself from his chair, puts his hands in the back pockets of his jeans and heads in the direction of the sandwiches.

'You know, I'm not interested in fighting the publicity machine,' he says. 'That's not my fight. There are other things I want to fight for. I want interesting roles. I want to do some good in the world.' Poor boy. He'll learn, I guess.

· 40 Days and 40 Nights will open on 31 May

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A man who crashed a snowmobile into a parked Black Hawk helicopter is suing the government for $9.5M

BOSTON — Jeff Smith was whizzing along on a snowmobile one evening a few years back when something dark appeared in front of him. He hit his brakes but he couldn’t avoid clipping the rear tail of a Black Hawk helicopter parked on the trail.

The March 2019 crash almost cost Smith his life and is now the subject of a federal lawsuit by the Massachusetts lawyer. He is demanding $9.5 million in damages from the government, money he says is needed to cover his medical expenses and lost wages, as well as hold the military responsible for the crash.

“The last five years, there’s been surgery, recovery, surgery, recovery,” said Smith, who lost the use of his left arm, suffered respiratory issues since the crash, and hasn’t been able to work full time. “Honestly, right now, it feels like I’m in a worst place than when I first had the surgeries in 2019.”

A U.S. District Court judge in Springfield is expected to rule on the lawsuit later this year.

Smith’s lawyers in the yearslong court case argue that the crew of the Black Hawk helicopter that flew down from New York’s Fort Drum for night training was negligent for parking a camouflaged 64-foot (19.5-meter) aircraft on a rarely used airfield also used by snowmobilers. Smith also sued the owner of Albert Farms airfield in Worthington, Massachusetts — accusing them of both giving permission to snowmobilers to use the trail and the Blackhawk crew to land in the same area. He settled with the farm owner for an undisclosed sum.

Smith argues that the crew didn’t do enough to protect him, including failing to warn snowmobilers of the helicopter’s presence on the trail, leaving the 14,500-pound (6,577-kilogram) aircraft unattended for a brief time and failing to illuminate it. The helicopter landed on an air strip approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and the crew members testified that trainings are often conducted in similar locations. But Smith, who said he had snowmobiled on the trail more than 100 times, said the last time an aircraft used it was decades ago when he was a child — and never a military aircraft.

“Our argument from the beginning has been that it’s incompatible to have a helicopter land on an active snowmobile trail,” Smith’s attorney, Douglas Desjardins, said, adding that the lawsuit was filed after the government failed to respond to their damages claim.

“The Army internal investigation showed pretty clearly that the crew knew that they were landing right before or right after on an active snowmobile trail,” he said. “What bad could happen there? You know, helicopter on a snowmobile trail where folks go fast.”

The government has attempted to dismiss the case several times, arguing that it can’t be sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act since this involves a policy decision. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office had no comment.

They also argued that the court lacked jurisdiction and that the crew wasn’t told that they were landing on a snowmobile trail. They also pushed back on claims they could have prevented the accident, saying there was nothing in their policies that required illuminating the helicopter. They also attempted to cast blame on Smith for the accident, claiming he was driving his sled more than 65 mph (105 kph) at the time the crash and that he had taken both prescription drugs and drank two beers before his ride.

In its investigation, the Army concluded the crew wasn’t aware they were landing on a snowmobile trail in the crash. It also questioned whether glow stick-like devices known as chem lights used to light up the craft would have made a difference.

“I found no negligence by the crew and believe they complied with all applicable regulations and laws,” according to the report. “Furthermore, given the particular circumstances of this incident, I am not convinced that using such chem lights or similar devices would have prevented the collision.”

The night of the accident, Smith said he was over at his mom’s helping fix a computer. He had a beer with dinner and then another with his dad, before setting off to meet his brother, Richard Smith, on the trail. Smith drove in the dark alongside farm fields and forests before going over a ridge. His headlights reflected off “something,” he said, but Smith only knew it was a helicopter after the crash.

The testimony from the crew and the people who had come out to see the helicopter painted a chaotic scene after the crash, in which Smith was thrown from his snowmobile and his sled went flying through the air.

“I found him face down in the snow,” Benjamin Foster, one of the crew members, told the court. “We rolled him on his back and I might remember yelling or telling one of my crew chiefs to grab some trauma shears and space blankets from the aircraft. ... I remember him gasping for breath.”

“As soon as I heard that somebody on a snowmobile hit the helicopter, I knew it was my brother,” Richard Smith said. “My heart hit my stomach. I just knew it was him. I went down there and my father told me he was alive. I didn’t sleep that night. I spent that night on my knees praying.”

Smith was airlifted to a trauma center, with a dozen broken ribs, a punctured lung and severe internal bleeding. “It was a mess,” Jeff Smith said.

The 48-year-old returned home after a month in the hospital. But he continues to struggle with simple tasks, including putting on socks or pulling up his pants. Worse, he no longer golfs or snowmobiles —- including rides with his brother, friends and his 20-year-old son, Anthony. He gets by on federal disability assistance and lives with his parents.

“We went away that winter before the accident a couple times and he had gotten to that age where we were really bonding,” he said. “I feel like it got robbed from me.”

For Richard Smith, it’s meant the loss of his riding partner. “It has destroyed me,” he said.

Jeff Smith is now pinning hopes on winning the lawsuit, which he said would help pay for a procedure at Massachusetts General Hospital that attaches an electronically-controlled brace that would improve movement in his left arm.

“It would change my life,” he said. “I would certainly be able to function and it would easier to do the daily activities of daily life like brushing my teeth, taking out the trash and opening door with one hand.”

tom cruise black hawk down

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Man who crashed snowmobile into Black Hawk sues government for $9.5M

tom cruise black hawk down

BOSTON (AP) — Jeff Smith was whizzing along on a snowmobile one evening a few years back when something dark appeared in front of him. He hit his brakes but he couldn’t avoid clipping the rear tail of a Black Hawk helicopter parked on the trail.

The March 2019 crash almost cost Smith his life and is now the subject of a federal lawsuit by the Massachusetts lawyer. He is demanding $9.5 million in damages from the government, money he says is needed to cover his medical expenses and lost wages, as well as hold the military responsible for the crash.

“The last five years, there’s been surgery, recovery, surgery, recovery,” said Smith, who lost the use of his left arm, suffered respiratory issues since the crash, and hasn’t been able to work full time. “Honestly, right now, it feels like I’m in a worst place than when I first had the surgeries in 2019.”

A U.S. District Court judge in Springfield is expected to rule on the lawsuit later this year.

Smith’s lawyers in the yearslong court case argue that the crew of the Black Hawk helicopter that flew down from New York’s Fort Drum for night training was negligent for parking a camouflaged 64-foot (19.5-meter) aircraft on a rarely used airfield also used by snowmobilers. Smith also sued the owner of Albert Farms airfield in Worthington, Massachusetts — accusing them of both giving permission to snowmobilers to use the trail and the Blackhawk crew to land in the same area. He settled with the farm owner for an undisclosed sum.

Smith argues that the crew didn’t do enough to protect him, including failing to warn snowmobilers of the helicopter’s presence on the trail, leaving the 14,500-pound (6,577-kilogram) aircraft unattended for a brief time and failing to illuminate it. The helicopter landed on an air strip approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and the crew members testified that trainings are often conducted in similar locations. But Smith, who said he had snowmobiled on the trail more than 100 times, said the last time an aircraft used it was decades ago when he was a child — and never a military aircraft.

“Our argument from the beginning has been that it’s incompatible to have a helicopter land on an active snowmobile trail,” Smith’s attorney, Douglas Desjardins, said, adding that the lawsuit was filed after the government failed to respond to their damages claim.

“The Army internal investigation showed pretty clearly that the crew knew that they were landing right before or right after on an active snowmobile trail,” he said. “What bad could happen there? You know, helicopter on a snowmobile trail where folks go fast.”

tom cruise black hawk down

A damaged snowmobile which crashed with a Black Hawk helicopter, March 13, 2019, in Worthington, Mass. (Army photo provided by attorney Douglas Desjardins/AP)

The government has attempted to dismiss the case several times, arguing that it can’t be sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act since this involves a policy decision. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office had no comment.

They also argued that the court lacked jurisdiction and that the crew wasn’t told that they were landing on a snowmobile trail. They also pushed back on claims they could have prevented the accident, saying there was nothing in their policies that required illuminating the helicopter. They also attempted to cast blame on Smith for the accident, claiming he was driving his sled more than 65 mph (105 kph) at the time the crash and that he had taken both prescription drugs and drank two beers before his ride.

In its investigation, the Army concluded the crew wasn’t aware they were landing on a snowmobile trail in the crash. It also questioned whether glow stick-like devices known as chem lights used to light up the craft would have made a difference.

“I found no negligence by the crew and believe they complied with all applicable regulations and laws,” according to the report. “Furthermore, given the particular circumstances of this incident, I am not convinced that using such chem lights or similar devices would have prevented the collision.”

The night of the accident, Smith said he was over at his mom’s helping fix a computer. He had a beer with dinner and then another with his dad, before setting off to meet his brother, Richard Smith, on the trail. Smith drove in the dark alongside farm fields and forests before going over a ridge. His headlights reflected off “something,” he said, but Smith only knew it was a helicopter after the crash.

The testimony from the crew and the people who had come out to see the helicopter painted a chaotic scene after the crash, in which Smith was thrown from his snowmobile and his sled went flying through the air.

“I found him face down in the snow,” Benjamin Foster, one of the crew members, told the court. “We rolled him on his back and I might remember yelling or telling one of my crew chiefs to grab some trauma shears and space blankets from the aircraft. ... I remember him gasping for breath.”

“As soon as I heard that somebody on a snowmobile hit the helicopter, I knew it was my brother,” Richard Smith said. “My heart hit my stomach. I just knew it was him. I went down there and my father told me he was alive. I didn’t sleep that night. I spent that night on my knees praying.”

Smith was airlifted to a trauma center, with a dozen broken ribs, a punctured lung and severe internal bleeding. “It was a mess,” Jeff Smith said.

The 48-year-old returned home after a month in the hospital. But he continues to struggle with simple tasks, including putting on socks or pulling up his pants. Worse, he no longer golfs or snowmobiles —- including rides with his brother, friends and his 20-year-old son, Anthony. He gets by on federal disability assistance and lives with his parents.

“We went away that winter before the accident a couple times and he had gotten to that age where we were really bonding,” he said. “I feel like it got robbed from me.”

For Richard Smith, it’s meant the loss of his riding partner. “It has destroyed me,” he said.

Jeff Smith is now pinning hopes on winning the lawsuit, which he said would help pay for a procedure at Massachusetts General Hospital that attaches an electronically-controlled brace that would improve movement in his left arm.

“It would change my life,” he said. “I would certainly be able to function and it would easier to do the daily activities of daily life like brushing my teeth, taking out the trash and opening door with one hand.”

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COMMENTS

  1. Black Hawk Down (film)

    Black Hawk Down is a 2001 war film directed and produced by Ridley Scott, and co-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, from a screenplay by Ken Nolan.It is based on the 1999 eponymous non-fiction book by journalist Mark Bowden, about the crew of a Black Hawk helicopter that was shot down during the Battle of Mogadishu.The film features a large ensemble cast, including Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor ...

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