|
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Product Description
The Bang Bang Club was the name given to four young photographers; Greg Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe), Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch), Ken Oosterbroek and Joao Silva, whose photographs captured the final bloody days of white rule in South Africa. Two were awarded Pulitzer Prizes for their acclaimed work. The film tells the remarkable and sometimes harrowing story of these young men - and the extraordinary extremes they went to in order to capture their pictures. Anna (Malin Akerman) is their photo-editor, who looked out for them, protected them and made sure their photographs were seen across the world. Based on the book by Marinovich and Silva, The Bang Bang Club tells the true story of these four young men, recounting their relationships with each other and the stresses, tensions and moral dilemmas of working in situations of extreme violence, pain and suffering.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is the s true story of a group of photo journalists, who came to fame during the civil war that saw South Africa finally end apartheid. It is based on the book of one of them; Greg Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe - `54', `Cruel Intentions' and `The Lincoln Lawyer'). Greg was a freelance but managed to get taken seriously by getting up close and personal with the warring sides. The ANC were in a civil war with the `Authorities' who were being helped by the Zulu Inkatha Freedom Movement. Atrocities were being perpetrated by both sides, but the press was very much on the side of the ANC and working to strict censorship from the ruling white government. Greg went out of his way to hear what Inkatha ha to say - and show him, it is not all pleasant.
We follow the fortunes of Greg and one of the more laid back members of the `gang', Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch) who has a penchant for recreational cigarettes and an excellent eye for a good photo. Greg also falls for the Photo Editor - Robin Comley (Malin Akerman) something which she says she never does. In one scene as they enter a bar there is a poster that proclaims, `A Civil War s not Very Relaxing', well we soon find out why. There are graphic scenes of violence, with extensive use of machetes and not a lot being left to the imagination. There is real tension throughout and loads of extras involved in the street and ghetto fighting. Writer and director Steven Silver has done an excellent job to try to recreate the actions that took place and are both from the book and the actual original photos.
The film tracks mainly the four year period between 1990 and 1994 and for the most part does so as observer with an interloper feel. The question of `when do you intervene', is finally addressed, but to say any more would be a plot spoiler for those not familiar with what took place. I always find that some photographers of death and suffering are almost indecent voyeurs, however; the fear and passion that is needed to do such work is brilliantly captured. It is always easier for the casual observer to be critical of such actions, when they have not actually done the deed themselves.
This is an excellent piece of cinema that has brought to the screen an essential piece of African recent history, if you are interested in that period then this is a must see. A word on the acting, everybody puts in excellent to well above credible performances and the direction is great too. There has been criticism of the shaky camera during certain scenes, but as these are street battles I found it totally unobtrusive and even fairly realistic. I feel all involved should be justifiably proud of the film they have made.
We follow the fortunes of Greg and one of the more laid back members of the `gang', Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch) who has a penchant for recreational cigarettes and an excellent eye for a good photo. Greg also falls for the Photo Editor - Robin Comley (Malin Akerman) something which she says she never does. In one scene as they enter a bar there is a poster that proclaims, `A Civil War s not Very Relaxing', well we soon find out why. There are graphic scenes of violence, with extensive use of machetes and not a lot being left to the imagination. There is real tension throughout and loads of extras involved in the street and ghetto fighting. Writer and director Steven Silver has done an excellent job to try to recreate the actions that took place and are both from the book and the actual original photos.
The film tracks mainly the four year period between 1990 and 1994 and for the most part does so as observer with an interloper feel. The question of `when do you intervene', is finally addressed, but to say any more would be a plot spoiler for those not familiar with what took place. I always find that some photographers of death and suffering are almost indecent voyeurs, however; the fear and passion that is needed to do such work is brilliantly captured. It is always easier for the casual observer to be critical of such actions, when they have not actually done the deed themselves.
This is an excellent piece of cinema that has brought to the screen an essential piece of African recent history, if you are interested in that period then this is a must see. A word on the acting, everybody puts in excellent to well above credible performances and the direction is great too. There has been criticism of the shaky camera during certain scenes, but as these are street battles I found it totally unobtrusive and even fairly realistic. I feel all involved should be justifiably proud of the film they have made.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
If you haven't read the book or see the film already, DO NOT READ THE OTHER REVIEW! IT CONTAINS ALL THE MAIN PLOT POINTS. It will ruin the whole story and it is an excellent, important story. hope you can all enjoy it as much as i did.
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this film largely because there are few films about photographers working under conditions of war like this one. Set in South Africa during the era before the end of the Apartheid years it tells the story of a group of hard living photographers working under extreme circumstances. It is based on a true story and one good thing about the DVD are the extras with interviews with the real characters around which it is based. From that point of view it is a bargain compared to some DVD releases. A good film, made well, great acting and thought provoking action.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Close enough for Govt Work...
Having read the book and met both Greg Marinovitch and Joao Silva (just before he was seriously injured in Afghanistan), I had mixed feelings about this. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr Rob Knight
Bang Bang Turkey
This film is complete rubbish. Go off and read the book THE BANG BANG CLUB by Greg Marinovich and Joćo Silva. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Walter Sweetman
Stark & Realistic
An entirely believable movie that tells a difficult story remarkably truthfully. This really was how life & events were in South Africa at that time. Read more
Published 3 months ago by jon4jon
Brave men captured in brisk, visceral film
A good film with nice character portrayal despite some ineffective and cringeworthy South African accents. Read more
Published 4 months ago by N. Alterskye
bang bang club dvd
was rather disappointed with the DVD its very disjointed and doesn't cover all aspects of the situation these photographers found themselves in. Read more
Published 6 months ago by gjh
An important film!
This is a really imoportant film based on a book and its been released in the States.
The Bang Bang Club was a name primarily associated with four photographers active... Read more
The Bang Bang Club was a name primarily associated with four photographers active... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Eagle Wizard
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
