The Siege (1998)

The secret US abduction of a suspected terrorist leads to a wave of terrorist attacks in New York that lead to the declaration of martial law.

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writers:

Lawrence Wright (story), Lawrence Wright (screenplay),

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Bruce Willis

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard
Annette Bening	...	Elise Kraft / Sharon Bridger
Bruce Willis	...	Major General William Devereaux
Tony Shalhoub	...	Agent Frank Haddad
Sami Bouajila	...	Samir Nazhde
Ahmed Ben Larby	...	Sheik Achmed Bin Talal
Mosleh Mohamed	...	Muezzin
Lianna Pai	...	Tina Osu (as Liana Pai)
Mark Valley	...	FBI Agent Mike Johanssen
Jack Gwaltney	...	Fred Darius
David Proval	...	Danny Sussman
Lance Reddick	...	FBI Agent Floyd Rose
Jeremy Knaster	...	INS Official
William Hill	...	INS Uniform
Aasif Mandvi	...	Khalil Saleh

Storyline

After the abduction by the US military of an Islamic religious leader, New York City becomes the target of escalating terrorist attacks. Anthony Hubbard, the head of the FBI's Counter-Terrorism Task Force in New York, teams up with CIA operative Elise Kraft to hunt down the terrorist cells responsible for the attacks. As the bombings continue, the US government responds by declaring martial law, sending US troops, led by Gen. Devereaux, into the streets of New York City.

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Plot Keywords:

terrorist | abduction | new york city | martial law | bombing | 

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Taglines:

On November 6th our freedom is history

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Arabic Spanish

Release Date:

6 November 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Against All Enemies

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£845,954 (UK) (8 January 1999)

Gross:

SGD 511,909 (Singapore) (19 February 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Lynda Obst Productions, Bedford Falls Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to an interview that screenwriter Lawrence Wright gave to CBS in 2007, the film was a box office failure upon its theatrical release, "but it was the most-rented movie in America after 9/11." Wright also claimed that the initial release bombed because "Muslim and Arab protesters picketed the theaters. They were furious at being stereotyped as terrorists."

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Goofs

When Hubbard is thrown off his balance and he falls to the ground, you can see that the pavement bends a little under him - a telltale sign that the pavement is not real.

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Quotes

Agent Frank Haddad: [after the FBI teams capture an army intelligence van] Microwave!

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Connections

Featured in Light It Up (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Great Leap Forward"
Written by Jim Kerr (as James Kerr) and Charlie Burchill (as Charles Burchill)
Performed by Simple Minds
Courtesy of Virgin Records America, Inc.

User Reviews

Eerily prescient.

This film, made in 1998, is so close to the reality of Sept. 11, 2001 that it sends chills down your spine. Although events played out differently, so many elements in the film are near-mirror reflections of the reality. The attacks are carried out by Islamic extremists, whose core network were trained by the CIA, their attacks were dramatic and centered on New York City, there was little cooperation between, the FBI, CIA and military, and Arabs and Arab-Americans were rounded up in large numbers, or were subjected to harassment and violence. The images of bodies and debris are no less shocking than the sight of people jumping to their death from the World Trade Center. Torture was employed by US soldiers, in pursuit of terrorists. With all of that said, even had the attacks of Sept. 11th not occurred, this would still be a tremendous film.

Director Ed Zwick and actor Denzell Washington team up once again for a great one-two punch. Denzell brings great humanity to his role as an FBI agent, charged with counter-terrorism operations and investigations. He is aided by Tony Shalhoub, who delivers another great performance and some of the best lines. Annette Benning displays her talent as a CIA operative at the heart of the whole crisis. Roger Deacons adds his wonderful cinematography, and Bruce Willis turns in a fine performance as an over-zealous army general.

The film delivers a cautionary tale about extreme reactions to terror and the loss of freedoms that can result from acting in anger, rather than with reason and law. The rounding up of citizens, as depicted in the film, and the declarations of martial law, are not that far away from the provisions of the Patriot Act, which violates First Amendment rights, the right to privacy, and the right to due process. The film suggests that by giving up these rights, or stripping them away, we become the very thing that our enemies claim we are. It suggests that that may be the terrorists true aim.

This is not a crystal ball prediction of 9/11; but it is a fine thriller. The filmmakers did their homework and got quite a bit right. They also extrapolated things to an extreme, but not an implausible one. However, they delivered an excellent film, and one that should be seen and studied.