#black hawk down (2001)

[pedroam-bang]

Black Hawk Down (2001)

“Leave no man behind”

#2001 #gif #film #movie #aviation #military #Black Hawk Down #Ridley Scott #Eric Bana #Sergeant First Class Norm Gibson #Norm Gibson #Hoot #Delta Squad #U.S. Army Rangers #Somalia #Mogadishu #Sikorsky #UH-60 #Black Hawk #Boeing #Hughes #AH-6J #Little Bird #Colt #Model 727

[adamwatchesmovies]

Black Hawk Down (2001)

All war films walk a delicate line. You don’t want to portray war in a good light but movies are entertainment. You have to show combat without glorifying it but unless you have a good reason to, you probably shouldn’t show members of the armed forces as monsters (well, unless they're Russian). Black Hawk Down features too many characters to keep track of, the running time is way longer than is probably necessary and the character development is almost non-existent but these “weaknesses” are actually features. This powerful film immerses you in the chaos and trauma of armed combat.

In 1993, Somalia’s civil war rages. United Nations personnel are on a peacekeeping mission when the Mogadishu-based militia suddenly declares them enemies. To put an end to the conflict, United States forces make a move to capture Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the country’s self-proclaimed president. The mission should've been done in thirty minutes. Instead, there's no end in sight, with many men now stuck behind enemy lines.

This is a long movie. The theatrical cut lasts 144 minutes (and there’s an extended edition that’s even longer). Inside it, there are A LOT of characters played by familiar faces: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Ewen Bremner, Ioan Gruffud, Jason Isaacs, Tom Hardy, Orlando Bloom, and more. What roles do they play? It’s almost not important. I say this because once the operation goes wrong, you’ll quickly lose track of who’s who. You know you saw one soldier take off parts of their armor because “the operation isn’t going to take long and I won’t need the extra weight”. This almost certainly means they will be shot and killed at some point. The thing is, you can’t remember who it was that did that until they are hit. Once the titular Black Hawk helicopter is shot down, chaos erupts. People die, people are left behind, people are brought back to the camp to be treated and reinforcements are sent out. All hell breaks loose. Names, ranks and personal stories don’t matter anymore. It's all about the enemies all around them, the diminishing resources and the ever-increasing number of wounded. You feel like at any point the characters on-screen could be shot and killed. There are no certainties.

What makes Black Hawk Down so effective is how it shows us the bravery of the men involved in this military catastrophe and the futility of war as a whole. The militia who hound the U.S. troops are seemingly endless. When a man gets shot, there’s another right behind them to pick up their gun and take their spot. You wonder how these people can so carelessly throw their lives away. Did they not see their predecessor die seconds ago? Why do they insist on fighting? At least two scenes beg this question so vividly that they will leave a scar. One involves a woman who reaches for a gun. The other features a boy and his father roaming Mogadishu's streets, looking for soldiers. The U.S. military personnel are in a similar position. Their vehicles are constantly pelted by bullets. Inevitably, the gunner above will get hit and fall down, dead. Less than a second later, someone is ordered to take their place. At the end of the movie, we see the names of the people killed but that feels like an incomplete list. That severed hand we saw. Did it belong to one of the dead, or is it from another soldier who survived despite an injury you can never recover from?

There is so much chaos that Black Hawk Down could’ve easily become a slurry of violence - credit to the editing, cinematography, sound design, and score for making it a well-paced, "easily to follow" story. You only feel the movie’s length at the very beginning when we get at least a couple of paragraphs’ worth of text to set up the stage, and towards the end when all the soldiers are so exhausted they feel like they can’t go on any longer. It’s yet another way in which director Ridley Scott and writer Ken Nolan make you feel the way the characters feel. Then, you're hit with a wallop of a scene that shows no one - not even the people in the country you’re fighting for - can understand the inhumanity of war. I don’t know how anyone could watch this film and think “I need to enlist so I can experience this for real”. Watching it unfold from the comfort of your couch is traumatic enough.

Black Hawk Down hits some similar beats as Saving Private Ryan in that its carnage serves a purpose. It makes you wonder how anyone could choose to make war. In one scene I’ll never forget, a soldier’s gun is shot out of their hand. Their thumb is so badly mangled you doubt it can be saved. The weapon? It’s perfectly fine and fires like nothing's happened once it's picked off the ground. That moment says a lot, but rather than condemn the people who choose to serve, it shows that sometimes, you HAVE to intervene if you want a clean conscience. It fills you with all sorts of emotions in so many ways I foresee myself revisiting Black Hawk Down again in the future. Specifically, because it’s so well made on a technical level. (April 1, 2022)

#Black Hawk Down #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Ridley Scott #Ken Nolan #Josh Hartnett #Eric Bana #Ewan McGregor #Tom Sizemore #William Fichtner #Sam Shepard #2001 movies #2001 films

[illfigureoutacoolnamelater]

#black hawk down #ridley scott #2001

[lyledebeast]

Two months later I continue to be haunted by Jason Isaacs’ bald head and Southern accent in Black Hawk Down (2001). A man for all seasons indeed.

#jason isaacs #black hawk down #in 2001 he played a soldier and a drag queen #impressive until you remember that Tavington was both at the same time

[haverwood]

Black Hawk Down Ridley Scott USA/UK, 2001 ★★★

#Black Hawk Down #Ridley Scott #2001 #2000s #photoset #title card

[asianrabbit]

Black Hawk Down (2001) All units, Irene. I say again, Irene.

#black hawk down #ridley scott #josh hartnett #ewan mcgregor #eric bana #orlando bloom #tom hardy #william fichtner #filmedit #2000s #mogadishu #somalia

[tygerland]

Black Hawk Down (2001)

#ridley scott #war #2000s #movie #film #napoleon #black hawk down #josh hartnett #helicopter #movies #director #filmmaking #us military #cinematography #us army #retro #filmedit #cinephile #filmmaker #cinema #army rangers #somalia #mogadishu #bill clinton #1993 #somali civil war #🎬

[mcgregor]

EWAN McGREGOR in BLACK HAWK DOWN dir. Ridley Scott (2001)

#Ewan McGregor #black hawk down #ewanmcgregoredit #dilfgifs #filmgifs #chewieblog #userbbelcher #userfilm #userewan #thetorontokid #userjasmine #userkenobee #userelisa #usermcnobi #usermantarosie #underbetelgeuse #favoritedarkness #mel edits

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actor Ewen Bremner, born January 23rd 1972 in Edinburgh.

Bremner has worked with many of the most respected directors in world cinema, including Danny Boyle, Mike Leigh, Ridley Scott, Joon-Ho Bong, Werner Herzog and Woody Allen. Hen has established himself by creating unique characters in critically acclaimed films, as well as going toe to toe with many of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Ewen had worked widely in theatre, television, and film for years before being cast in his breakout role in Trainspotting, by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle. He was the first to be cast in the role of Mark Renton in Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre production but lost out to Ewan McGregor in the film version, instead he was handed the role of Spud Murphy and earned screen immortality with his character's infamous "speed fuelled" job interview scene.

Prior to Trainspotting, Bremner gave a striking performance in Mike Leigh's Naked, fellow Scot Susan Vidler played his girlfriend Maggie in this excellent film.

In 1999, Bremner received critical acclaim for his portrayal of a schizophrenic man living with his dysfunctional family in Harmony Korine's Julien, Donkey-Boy. Filmed strictly in accordance with the ultra-realist tenants of Lars Von Trier's Dogma 95 movement and starring opposite Werner Herzog, Bremner played Julien its eponymous hero, requiring him to assume an American accent. He then worked with director Michael Bay in his high-profile 2001 war film Pearl Harbor, proving his versatility once again by portraying the role of a wholeheartedly patriotic American soldier fighting in WWII. The following year, he stepped back into fatigues for a supporting role in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, while rounding out the next several years with roles in high-profile Hollywood releases such as The Rundown, Disney's Around the World in 80 Days), AVP: Alien vs. Predator, Woody Allen's Match Point, the comedy Death at a Funeral directed by Frank Oz, and Fool's Gold starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson.

This past few of years proved to be a busy when Bremner was invited to join the DC Universe in the Zack Snyder-produced feature Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, co-starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. Ewen also reprised his unforgettable role as Spud in the highly-anticipated sequel to Danny Boyle's cult classic, T2: Trainspotting

Bremner appeared in the TNT Drama Series Will with Shekhar Kapur. The series told the story of the lost years of young William Shakespeare after his arrival to London in 1589 but only lasted one season. Other notable film credits include Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Perfect Sense starring again alongside Ewan McGregor, Great Expectations, Jack the Giant Slayer, and Snowpiercer starring alongside Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton. Further credits include Exodus: Gods and Kings, Wide Open Spaces, Mojo, Mediator, Faintheart, Hallam Foe, Sixteen Years of Alcohol, and Snatch.

In television, Ewen has worked on many acclaimed productions including David Hare's Worriker trilogy starring Bill Nighy for BBC, Jimmy McGovern's Moving On and also his Australian mini-series Banished, Strike Back for Sky TV, Dominic Savage's Dive, the Dylan Thomas biopic, A Poet In New York and the adaptation of Day of the Triffids for the BBC. Other noteworthy series appearances include portraying legendary surrealist Salvador Dali in the U.K. television drama Surrealissimo: The Trial of Salvador Dali, and a guest spot on the successful NBC series, My Name is Earl, not to forget an early appearance in Taggart way back in 1990.

Latley Ewen has been one of a number of Scottish actors who are backing a campaign to reopen the Film House cinema in Edinburgh, he has a couple of projects on the go just now, Bluefish, which takes us around the globe to tell stories of people trying to break out of their bubbles of isolation, which I take to mean the Covid pandemic, he also has a film on the go called Roo, but there is nothing to report on that just now.

#scotland #scottish #history #happy birthday #actor #television #cinema #trainspotting

[pedroam-bang]

Black Hawk Down (2001)

“Leave no man behind”

#2001 #film #movie #aviation #military #Black Hawk Down #Ridley Scott #Carmine Giovinazzo #Goodale #Josh Hartnett #Staff Sergeant Matt Eversmann #Matt Eversmann #U.S. Army Rangers #Delta Squad #Somalia #Mogadishu #Sikorsky #UH-60 #Black Hawk #Colt #M16A2

[artorojo]

Top 100 military movies of all time.

1. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

2. Apocalypse Now (1979)

3. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

4. Platoon (1986)

5. Black Hawk Down (2001)

6. Das Boot (1981)

7. The Thin Red Line (1998)

8. Paths of Glory (1957)

9. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

10. 1917 (2019)

11. Dunkirk (2017)

12. Patton (1970)

13. Gallipoli (1981)

14. We Were Soldiers (2002)

15. Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

16. The Deer Hunter (1978)

17. The Hurt Locker (2008)

18. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

19. Zulu (1964)

20. Black Book (2006)

21. Stalingrad (1993)

22. The Battle of Algiers (1966)

23. The Longest Day (1962)

24. The Bridge at Remagen (1969)

25. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

26. Jarhead (2005)

27. The Patriot (2000)

28. Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

29. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

30. Enemy at the Gates (2001)

31. Glory (1989)

32. The Great Escape (1963)

33. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

34. The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)

35. Lone Survivor (2013)

36. Kelly's Heroes (1970)

37. The Green Berets (1968)

38. The Alamo (1960)

39. The Messenger (2009)

40. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)

41. 12 Strong (2018)

42. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

43. The Pianist (2002)

44. Rescue Dawn (2006)

45. The Beast of War (1988)

46. A Bridge Too Far (1977)

47. Behind Enemy Lines (2001)

48. Inglourious Basterds (2009)

49. The Boys in Company C (1978)

50. Red Tails (2012)

51. Battle for Haditha (2007)

52. Courage Under Fire (1996)

53. 5 Fingers (1952)

54. Company of Heroes (2013)

55. The Finest Hours (2016)

56. Windtalkers (2002)

57. Battle of the Bulge (1965)

58. The Nightingale (2018)

59. A Midnight Clear (1992)

60. Attack on the Iron Coast (1968)

61. Sergeant York (1941)

62. Empire of the Sun (1987)

63. The Pacific (2010) - Mini-series

64. The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)

65. The Pacific (2010) - Mini-series

66. Enemy at the Gates (2001)

67. The Monuments Men (2014)

68. Days of Glory (2006)

69. Fires on the Plain (1959)

70. The Steel Helmet (1951)

71. Battle of the Damned (2013)

72. Memphis Belle (1990)

73. Crimson Tide (1995)

74. Attack on the Iron Coast (1968)

75. Sergeant York (1941)

76. Empire of the Sun (1987)

77. The Pacific (2010) - Mini-series

78. The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)

79. Enemy at the Gates (2001)

80. The Monuments Men (2014)

81. Days of Glory (2006)

82. Fires on the Plain (1959)

83. The Steel Helmet (1951)

84. Battle of the Damned (2013)

85. The Longest Day (1962)

86. The Bridge at Remagen (1969)

87. M*A*S*H (1970)

88. Jarhead (2005)

89. The Patriot (2000)

90. Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

91. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

92. Glory (1989)

93. The Great Escape (1963)

94. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

95. Platoon (1986)

96. Come and See (1985)

97. Hamburger Hill (1987)

98. The Red Badge of Courage (1951)

99. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

100. Fort Apache (1948)

#war movies #war history #combat movie #military movie #nilitary #saving private ryan #tom hanks #matt damon #band of brothers #black hawk down #ridley scott #movie club #movie quotes #movie list #the best #repost

[beauteousthings]

Eric Bana as Delta Force Operator Hoot in Black Hawk Down (2001)

#black hawk down #eric bana #ericbana #hoot black hawk down #Hoot #delta force #ridley scott #eric bana is a beautiful man

[my-never-ending-nightmare]

Gary Gordon (August 30, 1960 - October 3, 1993) and Randy Shughart (August 13, 1958 - October 3, 1993)

Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the Battle of Mogadishu & portrayed by Nikolaj Coster Waldau & Johnny Strong in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down.

Master Sergeant Gary Ivan Gordon, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as Sniper Team Leader, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Master Sergeant Gordon's sniper team provided precision fires from the lead helicopter during an assault and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. When Master Sergeant Gordon learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the second crash site, he and another sniper unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After his third request to be inserted, Master Sergeant Gordon received permission to perform his volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Master Sergeant Gordon was inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon and his fellow sniper, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Master Sergeant Gordon immediately pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Master Sergeant Gordon used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers until he depleted his ammunition. Master Sergeant Gordon then went back to the wreckage, recovering some of the crew's weapons and ammunition. Despite the fact that he was critically low on ammunition, he provided some of it to the dazed pilot and then radioed for help. Master Sergeant Gordon continued to travel the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. After his team member was fatally wounded and his own rifle ammunition exhausted, Master Sergeant Gordon returned to the wreckage, recovering a rifle with the last five rounds of ammunition and gave it to the pilot with the words, "good luck." Then, armed only with his pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon continued to fight until he was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life. Master Sergeant Gordon's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.

Medal of Honor citation.

#history #military history

[lobbycards]

Black Hawk Down, German lobby card (2001)

#Lobby Cards #submission #Black Hawk Down #Ridley Scott #Lobby Card

[jedivoodoochile]

R.I.P. to Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr.

(November 29, 1961 – March 3, 2023)

Best known for his supporting roles in Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), Passenger 57 (1992), True Romance (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), Strange Days (1995), Heat (1995), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Red Planet (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), Pearl Harbor (2001), and the revival television series Twin Peaks (2017), and for voicing Sonny Forelli in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002).

#tom sizemore

[nancydrewwouldnever]

Anyway, now I'm rooting for Hartnett to have a big comeback, especially since he can't be labelled be called a pretty boy anymore. Still good looking, but no longer a pretty boy he once was, which I believe partially hindered his career. He made few poor casting choices as well, but Hollywood really wanted to pigeonhole him.

You know, it's interesting to do a compare/contrast on Josh H. and Chris because they're basically of the same "generation" of actor in Hollywood. Josh is a couple of years older, but he started working steadily in 1998, only a year before Chris moved out to L.A. You can see that Josh also got the insane push as "eye candy" after Pearl Harbor in 2001, but you can also tell from his filmography he was wanting to take films with more depth to them. Love that he was in Black Hawk Down also in 2001, which shows he was looking for good ensemble dramas as well.

I think he made the decision very early to return to living in the Midwest, and that changed his career trajectory. He really seems to prefer smaller projects. I totally recommend Penny Dreadful to those who haven't seen it. Also, 30 Days of Night, a more unusual vampire movie (warning: very, very gory).

#ask