Live from Baghdad (2002) (TV)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Mick Jackson

Writers (WGA):

Robert Wiener (book)
Robert Wiener (teleplay) ...

Release Date:

7 December 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

The Gulf War, 1991. No story is worth dying for - but this was the story of a lifetime.

Plot:

A group of CNN reporters wrestle with journalistic ethics and the life-and-death perils of reporting during the Gulf War.

Plot Keywords:

Cnn | Gulf War | Baghdad | Iraq | Saddam Hussein

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 7 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Michael Keaton	...	Robert Wiener
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Ingrid Formanek
Joshua Leonard	...	Mark Biello
Lili Taylor	...	Judy Parker
David Suchet	...	Naji Al-Hadithi
Bruce McGill	...	Peter Arnett
Michael Murphy	...	Tom Johnson
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Ed Turner
Hamish Linklater	...	Richard Roth
Michael Cudlitz	...	Tom Murphy
Robert Wisdom	...	Bernard Shaw
Pamela Sinha	...	Fatima (as Pamela Sinna)
Clark Gregg	...	Eason Jordan
Matt Keeslar	...	Nic Robertson
Kurt Fuller	...	Inky

Runtime:

110 min | USA:108 min | Argentina:107 min | Spain:104 min (DVD edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:LH | South Korea:12 | Spain:18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | USA:Unrated | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

HBO Films

Trivia:

The reason CNN is approved to use the fore-wire is said to be because the ministry believes them to be "fair and balanced". FOX News's motto is "fair and balanced".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Robert is giving cash to the front desk clerk and the Egyptian translator in 1990, he is giving them the new U.S. notes which were not introduced until 1996.

Quotes:

Richard Roth: This was the biggest forest in the history of the world...dinosaurs. Then it all died, rotted, turned into oil, and now...we're here. It's basically we're fighting to see who gets to desecrate the cemetery. Who gets the oil. No wonder there always been so much bad blood, it's always been lousy Karma to be a grave robber.

Movie Connections:

References "ABC News Nightline" (1980)

Not a movie as much as a prompt

'Live from Baghdad' is a political movie in the sense that it asks very tough questions; however, its center lies not in politics but in people. It relates the story of Robert Wiener and his CNN team as they struggle to report the news from Baghdad in the six month antebellum period leading up to the Persian Gulf War of 1991. The team battles with tough Iraqi censorship, enormous political tension, and the reality of impending war. While still presenting the historical events of the time, Baghdad focuses on interpersonal relationships and intrapersonal struggles. Questions over the role of the media emanate from the various stories and struggles that the CNN team faces. The issues of censorship and propaganda, for example, plague the CNN team and their coverage. The use of the media as a diplomatic pawn befalls Wiener and his crew several times in the film. In many senses Baghdad is a media mood ring: different situations in the movie stress and display the various characteristics of the press from a governmental tool to diplomatic connection.

The acting in this movie is superb. Keaton is a very strong actor in this film and in every sense epitomizes the gung-ho, balls-out attitude of the real Robert Wiener. In stark contrast, David Suchet, as Naji Al-Hadithi, presents the exquisiteness of his character with a sense of calculation and deliberation. He very much captures a cultured, borderline-aristocratic dignity that an Iraqi official in Saddam Hussein's cabinet might hold.

The particular strength of this movie is not in the plot, the production or the characters, however--and in fact none of these really stand out as excellent--but in the broad questions it raises. At the heart of this film is the implied question as to the role of the media. To what extent should we censor? How much should we analyze? What does the public have the right to now and how far can the press go to get it? 'Live from Baghdad' is an incredible movie in the sense that it can raise these questions from an emotional and factual base.

I give this movie an 8 out of 10 for its generally entertaining plot and tough press-related questions.