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:

Palace | Iraq War | Iraq | Father Daughter Relationship | Raid

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)
• Roco Films (2004) (Non-USA) (all media)

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:

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

Filming Locations:

Baghdad, Iraq

Company:

Nomados

Trivia:

Under normal circumstances more than one use of the word "fuck" would get a film an R-rating. In this instance, the MPAA reasoned that a person old enough to be recruited by the army should be allowed to view a documentary on actual army life. However the rating also carried the notice that it was awarded on appeal to provide a better cautionary warning to parents concerned about what their children are viewing.

Quotes:

SPC Billie Grimes:The kids are really funny 'cause at first they'll be like 'Mr., Mr.' and then they'll realize, oh, 'Mrs., Mrs.' and then they want to talk to you even more. Like you get swarms of kids just right in front of you. You try to be friendly to 'em while looking around...

Movie Connections:

Featured in This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)

Superb for what it is

I ended up liking this quite a bit, although paradoxically the movie's greatest strength (an unwillingness to get wrapped up in the political arguments pro/con on the Iraq war, a willingness more or less to keep the vision down to the grunt's level) is also the movie's big weakness, as it often seems one or two steps removed from raw footage (in fact there's two false endings here, until finally the movie makers concede that they don't know how to end the thing....and then end it). The movie makers start the film suggesting this stuff should be on television and I agree; this really should be a very special "Primetime Live" or something.

That said, the footage is superb, the sense of a grunt's life very well evoked, with individual personalities nicely delineated. For what it is, essentially journalism in documentary film fancy-dress, it's very well done. The movie makers took some real risk; one only wishes more journalists would do the same. I also liked the melange of hip-hop, Islam, metal guitar, doper humor, Army briskness, pop culture references and the like that the film portrays: I have a pet theory that the twenty-first century will be characterized by the multi-cultural stew that GUNNER PALACE and the like portray. Worth checking out.