Redacted (2007)

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writer:

Brian De Palma (written by)

Release Date:

16 November 2007 (Spain)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | War

Tagline:

Truth is the first casualty of war.

Plot:

A montage of stories about U.S. soldiers fighting in the Iraq conflict, focusing on the modern forms of media covering the war.

Plot Keywords:

Iraq | Soldier | Controversy | Bare Chested Male | News Report

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Izzy Diaz	...	Angel Salazar
Rob Devaney	...	Lawyer McCoy
Ty Jones	...	Master Sergeant Sweet
Anas Wellman	...	Soldier (as Anas 'Tipsy' Wellman)
Mike Figueroa	...	Sergeant Jim Vasquez
Yanal Kassay	...	Soldier
Dhiaa Khalil	...	Soldier
Kel O'Neill	...	Gabe Blix / al Investigation Agent #2
Daniel Stewart Sherman	...	B.B. Rush
Patrick Carroll	...	Reno Flake
Qazi Freihat	...	Hadi
Adel Odai	...	Interpreter
Helen Zamel	...	Date Girl
Hiyam Abdel Karim	...	Pregnant Woman
Issam Shamary	...	Pregnant Woman's Brother

MPAA:

Rated R for strong disturbing violent content including a rape, pervasive language and some sexual references/images.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English | French | Arabic | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Ireland:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Ireland:15 (video rating) | Netherlands:16 | Japan:R-15 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA (2008) | Germany:18 | New Zealand:R16 | France:-12

Filming Locations:

Amman, Jordan

Company:

Film Farm, The

Trivia:

Magnolia Films requested that Brian De Palma blacked out the faces of dead Iraqis in the disturbing photo montage at the end of the film. It was feared that families of the dead could sue.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Angel Salazar's video camera, as shown in the opening scene, is a small, cheap camcorder. However, during the scene where Master Sergeant Sweet is introduced, the camera's shadow suggests a much larger high-end HD camera with wide lens and external microphone is being used.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-01-23)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

We Got That Thing

the thing we know for sure about de Palma....

The thing we know for sure about de Palma is that there are no accidental or unintentional images, cuts, camera angles or words in his movies. What looks rough was intended to look rough. What looks like a careless frame was there to look careless. This film, like "Hi Mom" & "Greetings" (and even "Get to Know Your Rabbit) is not part of the Hollywood so many "reviewers" leaving their drivel in IMDb (aka the un-united statesmen) are either railing against or rallying behind.

As far as I could tell, this was a look at the world through De Palma's own Snake-eyes - via a camera, and a script HE wrote. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that a view of the world from his camera will not look like anybody else's, and most surely won't be subject to anybody else's rules or political agenda.

Back in the day when Martin Scorsese made "The Last Temptation of Christ," I got cornered next to a conversation of religious conservatives who were ranting about the "Jews who control of Hollywood" being behind Scorsese's film. I had to laugh -- and did. They all turned to look at me like I was next in line for the noose -- and so I pointed out that Scorsese was New York Italian Catholic -- and had contemplated the priesthood. And that he'd made so much money and reputation points for studios that no studio, executive, or other influencing body could or would try to influence or control the content of his films.

So again, there's a laugh here if you think De Palma is the tool of any studio, influential group, or left-wing agenda. The truth is, each filmmaker has a point of view that is their own - - or at least the ones who make the films we want to see.

And -- if you think Hollywood -- that herd of cats who make the entertainment which may well be our last exportable natural resource -- is wrangled into the lock-step of an agenda other than making money and making entertainment, then you've obviously never met a writer, an actor, a musician, an artist, a computer nerd, a designer, a makeup artist, a stunt coordinator, or an agent. As a group, the only thing they have in common is lust for MAKING. Individually -- their beliefs are as varied as Tom Cruise and Tom Waits. And their personal agendas may sometimes reach the light in the projector -- or the flash of paparazzi cameras -- or the blare of a talk show microphone.

But the statements made in these point-of-view films are artworks giving voice and image to the mind of the artist. Like Guerneca, Rhapsody in Blue, or Oliver Twist -- art is not just entertainment, beauty, or cleverness -- it is the expression of a personal agenda by its very nature. Artists are meliorists. They believe they can, and that they have the right, to change the world.

so get over yourselves. It's not a plot. It's free speech. And Brian De Palma has always been enamored of not so much speaking his mind -- as filming his mind.