Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011.

Director:

Kathryn Bigelow

Writer:

Mark Boal

Stars:

Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Joel Edgerton

Won 1 Oscar. Another 57 wins & 66 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Clarke	...	Dan
Reda Kateb	...	Ammar
Jessica Chastain	...	Maya
Kyle Chandler	...	Joseph Bradley
Jennifer Ehle	...	Jessica
Harold Perrineau	...	Jack
Jeremy Strong	...	Thomas
J.J. Kandel	...	J.J.
Wahab Sheikh	...	Detainee on Monitor
Alexander Karim	...	Detainee on Monitor
Nabil Elouahabi	...	Detainee on Monitor
Aymen Hamdouchi	...	Detainee on Monitor
Simon Abkarian	...	Detainee on Monitor
Ali Marhyar	...	Interrogator on Monitor
Parker Sawyers	...	Interrogator on Monitor

Storyline

Maya is a CIA operative whose first experience is in the interrogation of prisoners following the Al Qaeda attacks against the U.S. on the 11th September 2001. She is a reluctant participant in extreme duress applied to the detainees, but believes that the truth may only be obtained through such tactics. For several years, she is single-minded in her pursuit of leads to uncover the whereabouts of Al Qaeda's leader, Osama Bin Laden. Finally, in 2011, it appears that her work will pay off, and a U.S. Navy SEAL team is sent to kill or capture Bin Laden. But only Maya is confident Bin Laden is where she says he is.

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Plot Keywords:

al qaeda | osama bin laden | navy seal | prisoner | cia | 

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Taglines:

The greatest manhunt in history.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence including brutal disturbing images, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

11 January 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kill Bin Laden

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$417,150 (USA) (21 December 2012)

Gross:

$95,720,716 (USA) (29 March 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Annapurna Pictures, First Light Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

157 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Kuwait Lamborghini showroom scene, Dan asks if one of the cars is a Balboni. This refers to the Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni, a limited-production variant of the Gallardo named after a Lamborghini test driver. It is the car with the stripe along its centerline.

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Goofs

When Faraj is being arrested by the men wearing black Burqas, two of them are shown walking on a small bridge as they approach him. In the following wide shot, there's only one on the bridge.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dan: I own you, Ammar.

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Crazy Credits

All of the credits, except for the studio logo, appear at the end of the film, including the title.

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Connections

Featured in Moyers & Company: Are Drones Destroying Our Democracy? (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Murder (2012)"
Written by Jimmy Gnecco
Performed by Ours
Courtesy of Miseryhead Music
By arrangement with Revolution Songs

User Reviews

Thank you IMDb

Knowing this movie was nominated for best picture, I was afraid that I was losing my mind after seeing it, since what I saw in the theater was: one dimensional characters being frustrated about not being able to do anything, inter-cut with a newsreel about current events, followed a ridiculously overdone operation to kill a couple people in a house.

No doubt this is a difficult story to tell dramatically, since it's about people who are doing a job that is passive by nature. But what was striking is how completely devoid it was of character. Courtroom dramas trade in the same stock, but even the most pedestrian episode of Boston Legal or LA Law contain more compelling characters than anyone in this movie.

And most movies about real events overcome the inherent story problems by provoking thought in the audience about the events themselves. What they lack in dramatic momentum, they make up for in unsettling questions. But it was amazing how completely empty this film was of anything resembling a question about what was going on. It was as if Kathryn Bigelow thought she was just "presenting reality" to the audience.

In 50 years, people are going to look back at this movie in the same way that we look at the jingoistic WWII Hollywood features now - as empty fare designed to prop up our fragile national psyche. Maybe that's what people need right now. But let's not pretend it's a quality film.