Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)

Alex Gibney exposes the haunting details of the USA's torture and interrogation practices during the War in Afghanistan.

Director:

Alex Gibney

Writer:

Alex Gibney

Stars:

Alex Gibney, Brian Keith Allen, Moazzam Begg

Won 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Alex Gibney	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brian Keith Allen	...	Soldier - New York Studio Shoot Reenactment
Moazzam Begg	...	Himself - Torture Victim (as Moazzam Beg)
Christopher Beiring	...	Himself - Captain
Willie Brand	...	Himself - Military Police
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jack Cafferty	...	Himself (archive footage)
Brian Cammack	...	Himself - Military Police
William Cassara	...	Himself - Attorney
Doug Cassel	...	Himself - Professor
Dick Cheney	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jack Cloonan	...	Himself - Former FBI Agent
Damien Corsetti	...	Himself - Military Interrogator
Thomas Curtis	...	Himself - Sergeant: Military Police
Greg D'Agostino	...	Soldier - New York studio shoot reenactment

Storyline

Using the torture and death in 2002 of an innocent Afghan taxi driver as the touchstone, this film examines changes after 9/11 in U.S. policy toward suspects in the war on terror. Soldiers, their attorneys, one released detainee, U.S. Attorney John Yoo, news footage and photos tell a story of abuse at Bagram Air Base, Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo Bay. From Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Gonzalez came unwritten orders to use any means necessary. The CIA and soldiers with little training used sleep deprivation, sexual assault, stress positions, waterboarding, dogs and other terror tactics to seek information from detainees. Many speakers lament the loss of American ideals in pursuit of security.

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Plot Keywords:

afghanistan | cia | waterboarding | rocket attack | screaming | 

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Taglines:

In 2002, a young cab driver picked up a few passengers near his home in Afghanistan... He never returned.

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Genres:

Documentary | Crime | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing images, and content involving torture and graphic nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 January 2009 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Kurs do Krainy Cienia

Filming Locations:

Yakubi, Afghanistan

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,656, 20 January 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$274,661, 1 June 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Discovery Channel, Jigsaw Productions, Tall Woods

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 53 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Scott Horton - President of the International League for Human Rights: It's very clear that it starts in the office of Vice President Cheney. He had a very strong view that we were not as aggressive and dealing with people in interrogation as we could or should be.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Vantage Point/Diary of the Dead/Charlie Bartlett/Be Kind Rewind/Taxi to the Dark Side (2008)

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Soundtracks

Waterboarder
Written and Performed by Leopold Ross

User Reviews

How can anyone claim this film is biased?

This horrifying documentary won the Oscar for 2007. Using the case of an innocent Afghan taxi driver who were tortured to death by American interrogators in Bagram prison as the starting point, the film chronicles the atrocities committed by the Bush administration in the name of American people and an ill-defined 'war on terror'.

The film is written, directed and narrated by Alex Gibney, son of a high-ranking naval officer who was an interrogator in World War II. A great American and a true patriot, Frank Gibney's final disappointment of what became of the great nation of the United States in the hands of a few liars is heart-wrenching.

There is not a single frame in the film that is not supported by hard evidence. All of the investigation was conducted by Americans whose credentials of decency and patriotism are above suspicion. The film is a chronicle of how paranoia, self-serving deceit and mere stupidity can threaten the very values a great nation was built on. It should be impossible for anyone who watches this meticulous document to ever criticize the veracity of claims put forward by the recent films, Rendition, In the Valley of Elah, or Redacted - flawed as films though that they were.

Every person in the world, especially every American, that cares about the true nature of freedom and the sanctity of the individual (the basic tenets on which America was built) should see this film. How could anyone claim that it would be loved only by the supporters of Taliban is beyond me.