Review of Black Hawk Down

Introduction

Black Hawk Down is based upon real life events in Somalia after United Nations intervention in the country`s Civil War - which had led to famine and starvation, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Somalis.

The film tells the story of American mission in 1993 to capture a Somali warlord, which goes badly wrong. During the mission, a helicopter is shot down in a hostile sector of the city, leaving men injured and stranded. The troops on the ground are surrounded, outnumbered, without aerial support, and only have limited ammunition. With limited resources to stage a rescue mission, the men are left to fight their way out of the city - and are not prepared to abandon their dead and injured.

Video

The video is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is of a very high standard throughout the film. The picture is very sharp, contains lots of detail, has no compression problems, no grain, and no dirt. There is plenty of contrast and the slightly over exposed image looks absolutely superb.

When I first saw this film at the cinema, I considered that it was one of the with realistic looking war films that I had ever seen - and this experience is equally hard-hitting on DVD. This realism is easily on par with the opening segment of Saving Private Ryan, and even more harrowing in places. The use of authentic locations really helps to convey the horror faced by the soldiers on the ground, which the director shows the audience in graphic detail.

The movie isn`t for the fainthearted - every nasty injury imaginable is contained somewhere in this film and even those used to seeing such footage will certainly be squeamish at times. One scene in particular made me feel distinctly ill in the cinema, and I didn`t enjoy it much the second time around either!

Audio

Like the video, the sound is of an exceptionally high standard throughout the film. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, full use is made of all of the available channels to bring you sound effects, lots of gunfire and explosions and add atmosphere to the film.

When combined with the realistic visuals, the excellent soundtrack results in a breathtaking home cinema experience. Had this disc been presented in DTS-ES 6.1, it would undoubtedly have joined the select few "reference" discs.

If you`re a fan of bullets flying around the room, explosions making your house shake, helicopters flying overhead, and generally spectacular "in-your-face" sound, this is the disc for you.

Luckily, the dialogue remains clear and understandable throughout all of the mayhem.

Features

A new two disc edition of this DVD will be released later this year (the release date is still to be confirmed), which promises to be laden with extra features, however the original release of the film only includes a featurette, production notes, filmographies and the trailer.

As you can imagine, none of these extras are particularly exciting.

The disc is packaged in a black and Amaray case, which contains a four-page insert holding the production notes and the chapter breaks.

Conclusion

When I went to see this film at the cinema, I expected jingoistic American propaganda. Instead, the film is realistic and graphic - and certainly does not glorify American involvement in the war in Somalia. Anyone contemplating joining the armed forces may well have second thoughts after seeing the horror of what may await them unfolds before their eyes!

A good cast is backed by fantastic production and effects, which make the film look superb. The DVD has excellent video and sound, but only minimal extras (however the promise of a new Special Edition is mouth-watering).

If you choose this edition, you won`t be disappointed, but if you haven`t bought the film already, you might want to hold on for the new edition.

Overall, this was excellent film, which is very well presented on this disc. Recommended.