Septem8er Tapes (2004) User Reviews

Fine Indie Effort

[dcambot · 7/10 · 3 February 2005]

I was prepared to give this film a vote of 8 until I read all of the negative reviews. I gave it a 10 instead.

Anyone who would give *any* film that makes it to general release on DVD a vote of 1 is making a political statement rather than an artistic evaluation. On its technical merits alone the film is far better than most of the studio films that came out in 2004. But it gets extra credit in my estimation for its low-budget ingeniousness and its courage. The film is fiction, not documentary, but the film makers really did go to Afghanistan at a time when it was extremely dangerous to do so.

Yes, echos from Blair Witch abound. So what? The differences far outweigh the similarities. I admired Blair Witch but, frankly, September Tapes is a better (and much more interesting) film.

I wouldn't have bothered to make a comment were there not so many negative reviews. I felt obliged to jump to the film's defense.

Not a Documentary but Worth Watching

[hupfons5 · 7/10 · 29 November 2006]

Harrowing, obsessive quest of a photojournalist in lawless Afghanistan. Although it's a movie, it seems like a documentary. The on-site filming and the use of actual Afghan police and other locals heighten the documentary "look & feel" of the movie.

The Dolby/DTS 5.1 soundtrack during the gun battle and the chase scenes will have you feeling like ducking for cover from the bullets and rockets. You'll hear the rockets whoosh from your front to rear speakers and then explode behind you. You'll hear the bullets whiz from L to R and front to rear speakers. The explosion of the 2,000 lb bomb" will give your sub-woofer a resounding workout.

The final scene sheds welcome light on the main character's relentless pursuit of Osama Bin Laden.

In the DVD release, the Director's Commentary and the MAKING OF features are well WORTH watching too -- very enlightening and entertaining.

Blair Witch Project meets Afghanistan

[tabbycat · 7/10 · 17 March 2005]

Me so gullible, actually thought this a real documentary.

Stark Afghan locales are very real, but alas the story ain't so much.

Contrived story and amateur acting give it away. But . . . still tense, involving, ultimately moving. Be sure to check out "Behind the Scenes" in DVD's Special Features: the true tale of filming a feature -- illegally -- in this war-torn faraway unknown pocket is almost as fascinating as the fictional story.

The "money shot" here is every scene captured in the forbidden netherworld of the former Taliban. Apparently, this is the first -- and only -- feature film ever shot here, and you will definitely feel yourself visiting a world unknown.

Best Movie I have seen in sometime.

[andrewbardusk · 17 November 2004]

I think this film was very engaging, the documentary style narrative makes it easy to get attached to the characters, making the film all the more suspenseful when they wind up in a tight situation. I would like to clarify something, I have read other users reviews saying that it didn't look believable that they were shooting in Afghanistan. Well I saw this film at Waterfront film festival and had the privilege of hearing some Q & A from the director. And they really did fly to Afghanistan to make this film, and all of the interviews are not staged. I think the director did a good job of keeping the documentary side consistent and seamless with the narrative.

Great documentary until...

[padiyark · 7/10 · 21 June 2005]

Watching this movie was an interesting experience. Basically, we see an arrogant young American who wants to go after Osama Bin Laden, and is willing to risk his (and his companions) life to do it. He obviously is clueless about the environment he's in, and basically thinks he's invincible. There are scenes that are terribly scary, and I myself was scared for the crew. At times, the crew is being faced with actually being shot at--you see the live ammo and explosions head on. And then...

SPOILER ALERT!--what I'm about to write may spoil the experience of watching the film, so be warned.

...then I realize that I have been duped. This comes about when one of the crew is killed, and the camera still rolls. And then I have flashbacks to the major flaw with "The Blair Witch Project". If a comrade has been shot, why would I have the camera pointing in the direction of the victim acting as if nothing happened? We further get this feeling when prior to a firefight, the main protagonist poses around with himself narrating . And finally, when our protagonist gets captured and escapes, he has the camera running, while shooting at the enemy, making it look like a first person shooting game. Now I'm convinced this is a film and not a documentary.

As a movie viewer, I don't mind the documentary feel, and there are some films that were great at capturing it like "Bloody Sunday" or "Man Bites Dog". But in "Bloody Sunday" and "Man Bites Dog", we knew that it was not the actual footage of real events, though the experience brought us closer to understanding it. Here, we are given no warning that this was a real event, and when we find out half way that we are lead on, we don't care for the characters any more.

I gave this film a 7/10 because while I was soured by the final third of the movie, I think it gives westerners a good idea of what living in an anarchic third world country is like, and how ignorant westerners can be to this. I may have bumped it up to a 9/10 if a) we were told that this was fictional, b) the crew had come out alive, but changed, or c) the shooting was more consistent with reality.

Movie's been shot in Rajasthan - India

[indigshai-1 · 1/10 · 25 February 2005]

This is a complete Hoax...

The movie clearly has been shot in north western Indian state of Rajasthan. Look at the chase scene - the vehicles are Indian; the writing all over is Hindi - language used in India. The drive through is on typical Jaipur streets. Also the palace is in Amer - about 10 miles from Jaipur, Rajasthan. The film-makers in their (about the film) in DVD Bonus seem to make it sound that they risked their lives shooting in Kabul and around. Almost all of their action scenes are shot in India. The scene where they see a group singing around fire is so fake that they did not even think about changing it to Afgani folk song. They just recorded the Rajasthani folk song. How do I know it because I have traveled that area extensively. They are just on the band-wagon to make big on the issue. I do challenge the film makers to deny it.

its not bad

[burndownhollywood · 7/10 · 2 February 2005]

Its similar to how the Blair witch project is set up. Where you have people who filmed footage, disappeared, and all thats left is the movie you see. Rather than being in woods and having something supernatural after you. Your in the desert and 3rd world cities. With a journalist looking for trouble, and resulting in terrorists after him. I was entertained. Thats exactly why I rented it, to be entertained. Its not a Hollywood looking movie with huge stars and ridiculous stunts. Its completely realistic in the perspective the movie describes. I don't regret watching it. Its not a slow moving movie. The acting works in my opinion.

Hilarious!

[eddie-192 · 2/10 · 13 January 2006]

If it wasn't for some immature gullible idiot I know insisting that I watch this "documentary" I would never have seen this comedy! This film is full of bad scripting and laughable moments. One in particular is where the Afghan police / soldiers arrest Don Larson for filming in the streets while they allow the cameraman to carry on filming his arrest and then drive away, still filming, presumably to his plush hotel. Then there's the scene where a car crashes into another car which has been turned upside down and parked nicely on the side of the road without any evidence of it being in a crash or explosion.

I am surprised this has currently got the rating it has (5.8 / 10). I thought IMDb users had more sense.

Thought-provoking

[Flat_Water · 9/10 · 7 February 2005]

People are so critical. Yeah, it reeks of Blair Witch but so what? I actually thought it was a real documentary until about 3/4 of the way through. I had heard nothing about this film and picked it up on a whim. Try to remove yourself from any political bias and try to enjoy it for what it is... a nice piece of entertainment on a low budget that does not have the standard Hollywood trappings.

I noticed one user commented that this film was the worst he had seen in a year. That is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard. How about The Grudge? Make some sense out of that mess.

At least this film is topical and gives some insight into a part of the world most people would just as soon forget about.

quite good, more realistic then an average Hollywood movie

[Dalby_ · 7/10 · 18 December 2004]

I read the comments before I saw this movie. I think the movie is quite good: it tells the story of a journalist going to Afghanistan. You might not like it when you expect a documentary but it is certainly good for a movie: it is much more realistic then an average Hollywood movie. OK, the cameras shake etc, but that is what it makes realistic. At first I was thinking: who would be crazy enough to do this for real? But you will find out at the end.

And I saw this in another comment: "If you support Bush you are going to love this movie, if you liked Michael Moore please do not see this movie." As far as I know, this isn't the case. It just shows the US from a different side. Not in detail. Just at some sensitive points. That is maybe why so many Americans get upset in their comments? (And isn't this what Michael Moore does too?)

Awful. My review uses quotes because this isn't real.

[BenjCarr · 1/10 · 23 September 2004]

I just got back from this free screening, and this "Osama Witch Project" is the hands-down worst film I've seen this year, worse than even "Catwoman" - which had the decency to at least pass itself off as fiction.

In "September Tapes," a "film crew" of "documentary journalists" heads to Afghanistan - despite being thoroughly unprepared for the trip, the conditions and, oh yeah, the psychotic and ridiculous vendetta of their filmmaker leader to avenge his wife's death on Sept. 11 - to track down Osama bin Laden.

They "made" eight tapes on their journey, which now "document" their travels and, of course, their attempts to kill the terrorist leader. (The eight tapes, thankfully, all end at points significant in the narrative, which is convenient for a "documentary.")

The psychotic, idiotic protagonist - who is given to long, significant speeches that he probably learned watching "MacGyver" - cares nothing for his own life or the life of his innocent crew as he gets them further and further into danger through a series of completely dumb mishaps. I don't know why he didn't just wear a sign on his back that said "Shoot me."

The crew's translator, supposedly their sensible voice-of-reason, does little more than whine and gets baffled as the idiot hero leads them into doom.

You wish they'd brought along someone on their trip to call them all morons.

Around "Tape 4," I began rooting for the terrorists to shoot the film crew.

Guerilla filmmakers take note. This film delivers!

[hadman · 8/10 · 31 January 2005]

Just for starters, YOU take a small crew to Afghanistan, shoot a film, and get back to me. That India served as a base of operations for this film is no different than Sydney doubling for San Francisco. Get over it. I don't know what the previous reviewers are on, but I can only assume they'd be happier watching 'Independence Day' while stuffing their faces with popcorn. This film says 'Drama' right on the box. That anyone mistook it for a 'Documentary' is their own doing. In my humble opinion, this film embodies the true spirit of indie film-making. The gun play alone puts many multi-million dollar schlock films to shame. Given their limited resources, I was not at all phased by the rare weak moment in the film. To note that this film condones an 'America rules' sentimentality is ludicrous. This is a story about one man's will to seek justice for himself, and what he believes is a serving of justice for all humanity. You don't have to agree with it - you just have to accept this character's objective for what it is. As an actor myself, I would have been thrilled to have worked on this project. What a roller-coaster ride it must have been to get this in the can. I don't just take my hat off to the makers of this film - I'm throwing it up in the air too. A commendable effort that should be rewarded with due recognition if you ask me.

Indie guerrilla film, decently crafted

[phrixion · 5/10 · 3 July 2011]

The film is made in the style of a fictional documentary similar to Blair Witch but about a guy who wants to make a documentary by going to Afghanistan and searching for the truth about the war that has ensued since 9/11.

The style is gritty as if they were using hand held cameras, following around the main character and his interpreter through out the land searching for answers. There is decent FX, the story is easy enough to follow but with major flaw. A documentary is about a subject and not about the documentary maker so that's where the film could lost me and weakened the premise of the film entirely. If the camera were to be the main character, I think the film would have been more palatable for myself.

Even with this weakness the effort to try to make a film of this style is appreciated.

Not Bad, Don't believe other reviews

[bcphilli · 22 December 2005]

It's sad, but as much as I respect our troops I'm getting really tired of every army, marine, this or that commenting on war movies (i.e. jarhead) just because they were in the service. When you go to film school and study film, than I will listen to you.

This film is full of suspense, and in my beliefs "humanizes" to an extent the conflict in the middle east. Although the acting is not always top notch and neither is the dialog, the film truly picks up speed and ends on a high note. Most "war" films are seen from the large, forceful perspective of the U.S. Armed forces. This film however, really makes you see the little guy and the U.S. army is that witch is obscured. Definitely worth the money.

I want my money back

[rockoandbill · 1/10 · 14 February 2007]

The movie was completely misleading and the bonus material confirmed my impression that it was a rip-off of Joeseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness ,the River is replaced by a road and the boat becomes a Jeep and Walter Kurtz is Osama.

The claims made on the outside of the DVD box was overt fraud to

take this fabricated death of a Journalist and present it as factual

while some portions have Muslims supporting the 9/11 attacks for the USA's treatment of Muslims around the world .

I alerted the Video store that the movie should be removed from their "Documentary" section and be placed in the War-drama area for quasi fictional accounts of actual events.

I would like my money back please!!!!!!!!!

[Sarum1976 · 1/10 · 28 September 2004]

This is the worst movie I have ever seen. I was going to get up and leave at Tape 4 but I stuck it out. I now consider myself a Masochist! Afghanistan? Come on guys! Who's the idiot who forgot to hide the Sanskrit billboards? I thought the lead actor(George Calil) was particularly inept. Apart from the bad acting and over zealous camera shake, I thought using the events of 9/11 as a reason to make "Larson the Lunatic Implodes, all over a screen near you" disgraceful and irreverent to the victims of 9/11. Using a phone call from Larson's wife, Sarah, supposedly from one of the terrorist held planes on that day, was appalling. The camera shake didn't make me feel sick, that cold hearted stunt did.

Apocalypse Right Now

[dr.gonzo-4 · 8/10 · 11 March 2005]

September Tapes is a brilliant little piece of manipulation that profoundly blurs the line between reality and fantasy. The technique used here, passing something off as "documentary footage" when it really isn't, is definitely not something new but it is tremendously effective in its purpose. If you've ever seen films like 84 Charlie MoPic - a cameraman follows around a platoon in Vietnam - or Man Bites Dog - a French film about a camera crew who follows around a serial killer - or The Blair Witch Project - do I really need to explain what it's about? - or Gang Tapes - a stolen camera documents gang warfare in the inner city. All these films along with September Tapes utilize our voyeuristic side in that we know it's not real but we watch it like it's a car wreck on the side of the road.

September Tapes takes something that was in all of us Americans right after 9/11, the desire to find Bin Laden and kill him, and thrusts it into the screen. There were times in the film when I honestly couldn't decide whether it was exploitative or not. The film carries out much like that of Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now with Bin Laden of course being Kurtz. The only difference being that here, Marlow never finds Kurtz.

All in all I must say they did a great job of establishing the false sense of reality through terrific performances and almost too real locations and events. There is considerable violence, although nothing too graphic. It's not a great film by any means, but it's one intense experience thats easily ten times scarier than Blair Witch.

Junk

[heybobbo · 1/10 · 13 April 2006]

I watched the first 15 minutes, thinking it was a real documentary (with an irritatingly overly dramatic "on camera" producer).

When I realized it was all staged I thought "why would I want to waste my time watching this junk??" So I turned it off and came online to warn other people. The characters don't act in a believable way. too much immature emotion. for a guy to travel half way around the world into a war torn country, he acted like a kid. and I don't believe it was because "his character was so upset about the trade center bombings".

very trite and stupid.

have you seen "city of lost children"? french dark fantasy film about a guy who kidnaps kids and steals their dreams... I liked it!

A great little war film.

[Kshalene · 8/10 · 1 April 2005]

I couldn't help to be blown away from this little movie. I see the obvious comparisons to Blair Witch, but films that choose to tell their story through the device of fabricated documentary have few options in which to work. I think that the characters were original and the acting was so good that I kept forgetting that I wasn't watching a documentary. Towards the end of the film I could really feel the actors' terror. I think that the film dealt with some touchy political issues and did it without being too prescriptive or heavy-handed. The main character was a little foolhardy at times, but he needed to be for the film to work... I would strongly recommend this movie, and I often do at the video store I manage.

Over Blown Over Dramatized

[dakinea · 3/10 · 28 January 2011]

At first the film started off fine in the classic first person documentary position. However, the more I watched, the less documentary it seemed and the more staged it became. Some of the voice over commentary is dribble at best.

As an active member in the armed forces and having good knowledge of the areas the film took place in, the more unbelievable the story line became. Lars taking all the liberties which he did in the film truly would have got him killed in a matter of days. Moreover, the fire fight scenes we completely staged and dramatized. But the movie is a drama so I guess that goal was accomplished.

If the film was scaled back to Septem4er Tapes, I probably would have given it a higher rating. Once the point of beyond reason was reached, the film makers should have just wrapped it up. Seriously, an American with a camera going to interview the bounty hunters searching for Bin Laden and Bin Laden himself..... I am sure he would have granted the interview if he was indeed found. Come on. The plausibility of an outsider especially an American roaming freely to find Bin Laden is just too much.

If you like video games, you might like this misguided, vile, fake bad idea!

[ads-33 · 28 September 2004]

Remember Wolfenstein? Remember the mindless fun of running helter skelter through a NAZI castle shooting everything that moved? Well here's a "documentary" using tragically real Afghanistan and the live suffering of long-manipulated/abused poor people as backdrop to someone's war-porn fantasy!

Does the camera stray from the clenched "journalist's" jaw to discover anything about this culture, who these people are, why they do what they do?

It's the real Afghanistan they're using, but we don't have time to waste on that, we've got to stick with the narrow story of an idiot who ignores everyone's advice and then feels real bad getting his new friends killed. Does the "journalist" ask a single probing question? Ahh, but he is the mystery man who asks no questions, only "moves forward" with grim determination. Yes, we slowly learn, the real people who are glimpsed interacting with our actor, like much of our real-world "intervention" over there, are but real-suffering cardboard props for cowboy bravado and sick little egos working out life's problems by killing folks -- just like the terrorists!

This film might be a good example of why the world hates America. Hell, I hate America after coming out of this lame-brained clueless turkey, so maybe it has its own genius, in a boring, shockingly manipulative, sacriligous sort of way (using Afghanistan's misery AND 9-11 victims as story gimmicks. Hmmm. Gutsy!)

At least I had the satisfaction of thinking that maybe the "hero" of this story got his just desserts, though I grew tired of waiting the two hours for him to recklessly run into more incoming fire and just die already. What is more clear is that every brown-skinned "buddy" around him dies for his unknown cause ("Dr. Jones, no -- eeeeyyyyiiii!"). Now, why did they swear their lives to follow the reckless Fratboy to the ends of the earth? And just what the hell was this shades/smokin' Rambo-wannabe after? Ahh, the grand justification for this stupidity is revealed at the very end, and I wouldn't spoil that for you. It justifies EVERYTHING. Well, actually, no. It just shows how egotistically pathetic the "message" is.

Play Wolfenstein instead and consider actually HELPING the poor, not just killing them. Anyone who actually experienced or knew 9-11 victims will absolutely want these guy's heads on a pike.

What a waste of time and money

[rockmalone · 1/10 · 9 September 2005]

This movie fails miserably on every level. I have an idea, let's take everyone involved in this movie and ship them into a hot zone in the middle east. Maybe if we're lucky they'll all be shot and killed and we won't have to ever have our time wasted by them again. Did I mention that I have never been so bitter about a cinematic pile of crap in my entire life? My god, I can't think of anything I've ever seen that was this bad. I'd rather watch Ishtar 25 times in a row than sit through 10 minutes of this sorry excuse for a film. If I ever happen to meet anyone who was involved in this film, I'll spit in their face and then beat them senseless. That's my two cents.

Drivel

[imdb-543 · 1/10 · 5 March 2005]

Amateurish in the extreme. Camera work especially overwrought - documentary camera operators needn't spin around ALL THE TIME.

The script is truly inane, and the acting is even worse. On top of that, the story is disjointed and meandering - with some gaping holes in logic. At one point the lead wishes to get thrown in jail in order to rub shoulders with suspected Al-Quada operatives, and thus get an interview with Osama. I found the story entirely unbelievable as a result of so many flaws. The "filmmaker"/lead role really portrays a rash, idiot frat boy. The only item of interest really, is that the filmmakers did in fact film on location. It's truly a shame they wasted their opportunity to make something interesting.

Who financed this crap?

Why are people so upset about this film?

[jerry-552-729252 · 10/10 · 10 October 2009]

I thought it was an awesome film. The action scenes are more realistic than anything out of Hollywood. I think people are so inundated with CGI in action flicks that people no longer know what reality is suppose to look like.

This movie is tense, scary, and realistic. Who cares that the dialogue is crap. There is some really interesting things said in the film by real people (bounty hunters, afghans, etc). If people pay attention and stop being so prejudgmental and negative you might enjoy this film for what it is, and isn't.

I must admit, I thought the movie was a real documentary when I first saw it. Even after finding out it was just a mockumentary, I still enjoyed it. I have watched it with friends and most were blown away by this film. Some didn't believe it was real (because it was too real - didn't believe anyone in their right mind would do this) but still appreciated the realism and crazyness of it all.

It puts you on the midpoint of wondering...was that part real?

Reminds Me of a Giant Turd

[tim0227 · 1/10 · 22 March 2005]

Well, basically, the movie blows! It's Blair Witch meets Sean Penn's ill conceived fantasy about going to Iraq to show the world what the "War on Terror" is really about. The script sounds like it was written by 8th grader (no offense to 8th graders); the two main actors over-act the entire film; they used the wrong kind of camera and the wrong type of film(not that i know anything about those things--but it just didn't look like real documentaries I've watched), and worst of all Christian Johnson took a great idea and made it suck. It reminded me of the time I tried to draw a picture of my dog and ended up with a really bad stick figure looking thing that looked more like a giant turd. I'd rather watch the Blair Witch VIII, than sit through that again.