Standard Operating Procedure [Blu-ray] [2008] (3 for 2 on selected Blu-ray discs *)

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Total RRP: £69.97
Price For All Three: £32.84

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• This item: Standard Operating Procedure [Blu-ray] [2008] DVD ~ Christopher Bradley

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• Redbelt [Blu-ray] [2008] DVD ~ Chiwetel Ejiofor

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• Any Given Sunday [Blu-ray] [1999] DVD ~ Al Pacino

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Synopsis
Amazon.co.uk Review
It's impossible to talk about Standard Operating Procedure without referencing Taxi to the Dark Side. Fortunately, both documentaries are vital to any discussion about US military interrogation techniques. While Alex Gibney's Oscar winner uses the death of an Iraqi taxi driver as a framing device, director Errol Morris and writer Philip Gourevitch (We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families) examine the issue through visual evidence (they also collaborated on a book of the same name). While Gibney concentrates on Bhagram, Morris focuses on Abu Ghraib, but his self-described "non-fiction horror film," which features a dramatic Danny Elfman score and slow motion re-enactments, runs along two tracks. First, he aims to find out what happened at the infamous institution. Along with the photographs and video footage, he speaks to the guards and the brigadier general who oversaw their operations, including former army specialist Lynndie England, who has all the charm of Aileen Wuornos (so memorably immortalized in Monster). As in his Thin Blue Line, accounts contradict other accounts. In Morris's world, absolute truth doesn't exist-- it's up to viewers to decide which subjects seem most reliable. This leads to his parallel goal, which is to question the reliability of imagery. Photography was prohibited at Abu Ghraib, so he identifies the responsible parties, the reasoning behind their rule-breaking, and the stories behind the most incendiary pictures. If less emotionally engaging than Gibney's feature, Standard Operating Procedure is just as essential--and every bit as disturbing. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Synopsis
Master filmmaker Errol Morris turns his keen eye to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in this intense and provocative documentary. Using interviews with the soldiers that appeared in the now infamous torture photos, Morris strings their stories together with vivid re-enactments and striking digital technology for a wrenching look at the events at the prison. With his trademark straight-into-the-lens interview style, it is chilling to see the familiar faces of Lynndie England and Sabrina Harmon as they try to articulate their experiences. The lawlessness and confusion in the prison quickly become evident, and as their stories unfold, the film slowly strips away the many puzzling questions that surround the incidents, exposing a much larger truth about corruption within the US military, corruption that appears to reach far beyond the handful of soldiers that took the fall for the scandal.


Morris's re-enactments are extremely vivid, and often shot in a beautifully cinematic style. While these techniques make for riveting filmmaking, they are sometimes considered controversial by documentary purists, and some might criticize his detailed recreations of such deeply disturbing events. However, others might deem the re-enactments necessary to really bringing home the reality of what happened. Regardless of his methods, Morris does a masterly job of untangling such a complex, twisted story. He shines a glaring light on one of America's most shameful moments and, more importantly, exposes how little we truly know about our military's methods.

Redbelt [Blu-ray] [2008] DVD ~ Chiwetel Ejiofor £9.98

Gomorrah [Blu-ray] [2008] DVD ~ Gianfelice Imparato 3.8 out of 5 stars (9)  £9.98

Gandhi [Blu-ray] [1982] DVD ~ Ben Kingsley 3.9 out of 5 stars (7)  £9.98

Amadeus - The Directo's Cut [Blu-ray] [1984] DVD ~ F. Murray Abraham 3.8 out of 5 stars (8)  £9.98

Any Given Sunday [Blu-ray] [1999] DVD ~ Al Pacino 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £9.98

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2 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   1 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars The Photos were shocking but the movie is not., 17 Mar 2009 By  Gisli Jokull Gislason "Jokull" (Iceland) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)       The movie never gripped me but was rather a long documentary without highlights. A lot was done to make something more interesting than it is and I didn't like the style of the interviews. But it is an honest account and I did find it interesting that those who were convicted of crimes were convicted for petty reasons. The really shocking pictures fell into the category Standard Operating Procedure and where not punishable acts. Those more knowledgable will see the resemblance of Abu Graib to the Stanford prison experiment but here it isn't an experiment but real life. MP reservist woefully ill equipped and far too understrength are set into surroundings that they were never trained for and expected to run a prison, including high value detainees brought in for interrogation. Even under these circumstances things would have been very bad but then the soldiers are brought into softening up the prisoners and from there all moral boundries become blured. Of course cruelty is terrible. When you add to that taking pictures of you and your comrades smiling in on pictures of men being forced into humiliation and pain that is stupid. Go one step further and distribute the photos so they become publicly accessable and there is no word left for it. The are two concepts that come into mind that are very important to a war like the one in Iraq. Failiure of command & Hearts and Minds. The USA Army conduct can be looked at as a case example of how badly things can be done. But here Failiure of Command can be take a step further since not only did command fail to stop undesireable behavior but encouraged it. It is a testimony that when convicted only the privates and sergeants got sentenced. Funny how high pay and power are said to come with great responsibility when it is the grunts that get sacrificed. On a last note I found the book better than the movie, its pace is slower and simply presents the facts without getting lost in style. There are no pictures in the book, including the infamous pictures that set the scandal off and that is a plus, because the book is about people and the things they do. The film on the other had uses the pictures a lot but never seems to get going or know where it wants to be. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   5.0 out of 5 stars Revealing documentary, 8 Jun 2009 By  D. Postma (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    I found it a very good documentary, giving insight into the American military culture. Astonishing that the people who gave the orders were never charged or convicted. Only the men and women of the lowest ranks got made scapegoats. There are some funny moments as well, the "softening up" of prisoners by playing continues loud music. They (prisoners)were able to handle basically all kinds of music except Country & Western music. Also interviews with "consultants" hired to do interogations. Brave of the people who helped making this documentary and scary to see how the Americans operate with their commanding officers & Bush administrators washing their hands in innocence. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 2 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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