Gunner Palace (2004)

Directors:

Petra Epperlein
Michael Tucker

Genre:

Documentary | War

Tagline:

Some war stories will never make the nightly news.

Plot:

American soldiers of the 2/3 Field Artillery, a group known as the "Gunners," tell of their experiences in Baghdad during the Iraq War. Holed up in a bombed out pleasure palace built by Sadaam Hussein, the soldiers endured hostile situations some four months after President George W. Bush declared the end of major combat operations in the country. |

Plot Keywords:

Iraq War | Palace | Iraq | Detainee | Ramstein Germany

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Bryant Davis	...	Himself
Devon Dixon	...	Himself
Javorn Drummond	...	Himself
Elliot Lovett	...	Himself
Nick Moncrief	...	Himself
Jon Powers	...	Himself
Richmond Shaw	...	Himself
Terry Taylor	...	Himself
Stuart Wilf	...	Himself

Directed by
Petra Epperlein
Michael Tucker

Produced by
Petra Epperlein	....	producer

Original Music by
Robert Cimino

Cinematography by
Michael Tucker

Film Editing by
Petra Epperlein
Michael Tucker

Art Direction by
James David Goldmark

Sound Department
Chris Müller	....	sound mixer
Michael Tucker	....	sound

Music Department
Robert Cimino	....	musician: freestyle beats
Heinrich Kreyenberg	....	musician: piano
Stuart Wilf	....	musician: guitar

Other crew
Winston Emano	....	publicist
David Magdael	....	publicist
Dana O'Keefe	....	sales agent
Steven Wallace	....	publicist: David Magdael & Associates

Production Companies

• Nomados

Distributors

• Palm Pictures (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Elephant Films (2006) (France) (all media)
• Mongrel Media (2004) (Canada) (all media)
• Mongrel Media (2005) (Canada) (DVD)
• Palm Pictures (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• David Magdael and Associates  publicity
• Fidelis, Matt & Dean  security
• Studio Babelsberg  sound mix

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 on appeal for strong language throughout, violent situations and some drug references (re-rating on appeal)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Canada:14A | USA:PG-13 (re-rating on appeal) | USA:R (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Baghdad, Iraq

Company:

Nomados

Trivia:

During a raid on a house, several Iraqi men, brothers, are captured. One of them protests, saying (in English) that he is a journalist. Some of the soldiers tell him to shut up, and he is taken away. As it turns out, this man was indeed a journalist, Yunis Khatayer Abbas. He spent time in jail, some at Abu Ghraib, suspected of plotting to assassinate British PM Tony Blair. After nine months of imprisonment, he was released, and the US has not charged him with any crime. By coincidence, Michael Tucker, the director of "Gunner Palace," heard about Mr. Abbas' story, and worked together to make his latest movie, "The Prisoner, or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair."

Quotes:

SGT Beatty:When you sit on your couch and you watch the TV, and you go to your 9 to 5 job and you complain about the pizza being late ... there's no way you're gonna know how to live here.
SGT Beatty:Someone being sympathetic to this? I don't know if I'd be sympathetic if I wasn't in the army. After you watch this, you're gonna go get your popcorn out of the microwave and talk about what I said, and you'll forget me by the end of this.
SGT Beatty:Only people who remember this is us.

Movie Connections:

Featured in This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)

Something every person in the world should see.

This movie through all its cursing, violence and drug references, this movie takes the "BS" out of the media's broadcasts and throws you straight into what little sense of "reality" one can get of war on the big screen. It leaves the politics behind and puts you straight in the middle of The Sandbox with the men and women who fight for this country. This movie will probably have you laughing your tail end off then in a somber silence in a matter of seconds. Political bias aside, Gunner Palace is something every citizen of the world needs to see, preferably before the next special report on what's "happening" in Iraq.

All this said, I personally walked away with a greater sense of pride in my country's soldiers, in the eyes of everyone of the speakers in this movie I saw those of my friends who have been there or who are there. This movie has moved me in a way which I shall not soon forget. The look of sheer terror and hope all on the same face has a profound effect on one's soul.