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Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Jason Isaacs, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana ... see more see more... , William Fichtner , Ewen Bremner , Sam Shepard , Kim Coates , Hugh Dancy , Ron Eldard , Ioan Gruffudd , Tom Guiry , Charlie Hofheimer , Danny Hoch , Zeljko Ivanek , Glenn Morshower , Gabriel Casseus , Jeremy Piven , Brendan Sexton III , Johnny Strong , Richard Tyson , Brian Van Holt , Nikolaj Coster-Waldau , Steven Ford , Ian Virgo , Tom Hardy , Carmine Giovinazzo , Chris Beetem , Tac Fitzgerald , Matthew Marsden , Orlando Bloom , Kent Linville , Enrique Murciano Jr. , Michael Roof , George Harris , Razaaq Adoti , Treva Etienne , Ty Burrell , Boyd Kestner , Jason Hildabrant , Gregory Sporleder , Johann Myers , Dana Woods , Abdibashir Mohamed Hersi , Pavel Vokoun , Kofi Amankwah , Joshua Quarcoo , Lee Geohagen

A quickly forgotten chapter in United States military history is relived in this harrowing war drama from director Ridley Scott, based on a series of Philadelphia Inquirer articles and subsequent book... read more read more... by reporter Mark Bowden. On October 3rd, 1993, an elite team of more than 100 Delta Force soldiers and Army Rangers, part of a larger United Nations peacekeeping force, are dropped into civil war-torn Mogadishu, Somalia, in an effort to kidnap two of local crime lord Mohamed Farah Aidid's top lieutenants. Among the team: Staff Sgt. Matt Eversmann (Josh Hartnett), Ranger Lt. Col. Danny McKnight (Tom Sizemore), the resourceful Delta Sgt. First Class Jeff Sanderson (William Fichtner), and Ranger Spec. Grimes (Ewan McGregor), a desk-bound clerk getting his first taste of live combat. When two of the mission's Black Hawk helicopters are shot down by enemy forces, the Americans -- committed to recovering every man, dead or alive -- stay in the area too long and are quickly surrounded. The ensuing firefight is a merciless 15-hour ordeal and the longest ground battle involving American soldiers since the Vietnam War. In the end, 70 soldiers are injured and 18 are dead, along with hundreds of Somalians. Black Hawk Down was voted one of the top ten films of the year by the National Board of Review prior to its limited Oscar-qualifying release. On the basis of his work in this film, co-star Eric Bana, a relatively unknown Australian actor playing Delta Sgt. First Class "Hoot" Gibson, won the lead in director Ang Lee's version of The Hulk (2003). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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85% liked it

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76% liked it

170 critics

R, 2 hr. 32 min.

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Release Date: December 28, 2001

Keywords: action, sad, war, intense, military, combat

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DVD Release Date: June 11, 2002

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Stats: 24,269 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (24,269)

  • fb1463751009
    March 9, 2012
    fb1463751009
    Overrated to the max. A movie that has action throughout the entire movie with no characterization to be found. When soldiers are hurt, they're simply bodies that bleed blood and then near the end they try to make the audience sympathize with one soldier who is captured... really... read more? Now you try after an hour and thirty minutes? The movie fails on every level except for the cinematography and action.
  • garyX
    November 8, 2011
    garyX
    An American Black Hawk helicopter is shot down during a raid on a Somali warlord in Mogadishu leading to a desperate rescue mission faced with overwhelming opposition. In Black Hawk Down, Ridley Scott has created one of the most realistic war movies ever made. You really feel lik... read moree you're in the thick of an urban warzone and the excellent ensemble cast make for very believable protagonists. It's usually a fine line between respect for the bravery of the fighting man and macho, gung ho bullshit, but Scott stays on the right side by focussing on the loyalty between comrades fighting for each others lives rather than the usual "God And Country" crap that many war films fall back on. It laso concentrates on the fact that despite what the propaganda machine may have us believe, modern warfare is, as ever, concerned with the brutal, harrowing deaths of many young men as the film has a lot more in common with The Alamo or Zulu than Jarhead or the Hurt Locker. It takes a lot of stylistic cues from Apocalypse Now making for artful visuals that are attractive without ever compromising the visceral realism of combat and despite a rather dry opening full of military jargon and diagrams, as the situation gets more desperate and the fighting more intense, it gets better and better. It's true the film doesn't really explore the political context of the conflict and the Somali side of the story is largely ignored, but what is presented on film is executed to perfection. One of the best modern war films around.
  • fb100001493964409
    August 20, 2011
    fb100001493964409
    Absolutely brutal and visceral, this is a film that doesn't pull punches. This film was released the same year that the disaster "Pearl Harbor" was released. One of Pearl Harbor's biggest flaws is that Michael Bay decided to sprinkle the plot with a bull crap AMERICA IS DA BEZT m... read moreessage and a contradicting tone of defeat and victory. Black Hawk Down doesn't have this problem. This is a combat situation gone completely wrong, and it doesn't shy away from death and despair. The situations get ungodly intense (one of the more infamous scenes in the film, finding the artery, will even make a seasoned filmgoer cringe). The lack of shaky cam is another plus, allowing the viewer to really focus on the action and chaos. But now, it's practically essential viewing thanks to Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2. Both of these games ripped so SO SOOOOOO much from this film, it's not even funny. But this film would be worth watching even without that fact. Seriously, just sit down, and enjoy this spectacular catastrophe.
  • DreamExtractor
    August 6, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    One of my favorite war films ever. A lot of characters make it hard to follow sometimes, but I guess thats what wars like, its hard to remember everyone. The plot and realistic war scenes were extraordinary. One of my all time favorite action films.
  • jamers2011
    May 15, 2011
    jamers2011
    Excellent, excellent, excellent!

    In the same league as Saving Private Ryan, it's that good. BHD is not only one of my favorite war films, but one of my favorite films period!
  • shawnewing92
    March 14, 2011
    shawnewing92
    A stressful and frightening war environment that fills 90% of the movie with gun battles and frantically running from point A to B. The lack of character and plot development is a little disappointing but the action sequences are very intense.
  • stevenecarrier
    January 1, 2011
    stevenecarrier
    There is a lot of noise, a lot of yelling and a lot of explosions in "Black Hawk Down". For whatever reason Ridley Scott thought it would be a good idea to take his 2 and a half hour runtime and dedicate most of it to one long action sequence. This, potentially, could have been f... read moreine if Scott and his team took the time to craft some really good character development in that first half hour. Unfortunately for me (though no one else really seems to have a problem with this), he does not. All we learn about these men is that they are in the military, and that's it. Sure, some of the action sequences are well constructed and the visuals are nice, but for a film that is based on a real event and should have some type of message attached to it, "Black Hawk Down" is insanely boring.
  • ironclad1609
    September 13, 2010
    ironclad1609
    Technically perfect war film about the Somalia incident 1993. The breathless pace, great cinematography and the outstanding cast make this one hard to forget. The atmosphere is full of lead, sand and debris and leaves as much space to escape for the audience as for the soldiers. ... read moreDirector Scott doesn't dare to carry his death toll into the ranks of the biggest stars of the film, though. That's rather surprising but weakens the film's effect a little bit. In the end it is still very touching and gets its point across.
  • helpahorse
    August 5, 2010
    helpahorse
    I not only love the action and great plot of this movie, I also love how it was incredibly accurate about the event that took place in Somalia. This movie was so intense and amazing. I've watched it so many times and it never gets boring. This is one of my favorite movies by far.
  • fb619846742
    August 4, 2010
    fb619846742
    In my opinion, one of the best war movies ever made. It features an outstanding cast, relentless action sequences, a memorable soundtrack, and incredible pacing by the great Ridley Scott. The film gives you a realistic depiction as to what being in the middle of a battle is - it'... read mores not focused on developing characters expertly, nor does it have to (this is rare), it's completely dedicated to showing a first-person perspective of being in the middle of a battle. Every few years or so I watch this film, and the intensity it brings every viewing is simply unforgettable. It truly is an experience.

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Critic Reviews

Lisa Alspector
November 8, 2011
Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader

I also don't know how well this 2001 drama represents the events of October 3 and 4, 1993, though I can see that it represents them in a realist vein, referring to other war movies without becoming fr... Full Review

Richard Schickel
November 8, 2011
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

Black Hawk Down makes that point without preachment, in precise and pitiless imagery. And for that reason alone it takes its place on the very short list of the unforgettable movies about war and its ... Full Review

Todd McCarthy
January 2, 2009
Todd McCarthy, Variety

A relentless immersion in combat strikingly realized but none too pleasurable to sit through. Full Review

Michael Wilmington
July 20, 2002
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

A first-rate war movie that presents its subject so horrifyingly well that it doesn't need to probe or preach. Full Review

Richard Roeper
January 24, 2002
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

[D]efinitely worth seeing for those amazing battle sequences. Full Review

Stephen Hunter
January 22, 2002
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

The next worst thing to being there. That's how real it feels. Full Review

Peter Rainer
January 22, 2002
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

It represents a particularly limiting application of hard-bitten manly values to experiences that can't help but transcend them. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 19, 2002
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

One hell of a ride. For better or for worse, it will leave you stunned and reeling. Full Review

Peter Howell
January 18, 2002
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Black Hawk Down superbly visualizes journalist-author Mark Bowden's bestselling 'tale of modern war,' detailing a U.S. military misadventure in the Somalia of 1993. Full Review

Bob Graham
January 18, 2002
Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle

I can think of no other instance when a country at war has presented on its movie theater screens such an excruciating account of battle, or such a sobering one. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Steele: Anybody comes through that door, you give 'em two in the chest and one in the head.
    • Delta Sgt. First Class "Hoot" Gibson: Y'know what I think? Don't really matter what I think. Once that first bullet goes past your head, politics and all that shit just goes right out the window.
    • Harrell: We've got a Black Hawk down. We've got a Black Hawk down.
    • Yurek: What's wrong with him?
    • Twombly: Oh, he's deaf. My fault.
    • Firimbi: You Americans don't smoke anymore. You live long, dull and uninteresting lives.
    • Ranger Staff Sgt. Matt Eversmann: Nobody asks to be a hero, it just sometimes turns out that way.
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  • What 2 actors star together in Black Hawk Down and Troy   Answer »
  • Which Lord of the Rings actor had a small role in the movie "Black Hawk Down"?  Answer »
  • In which U.S Ranger movie did Ewan Mcgregor play along side Josh Harnet, in somalia?  Answer »
  • Which two movies had both Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom?  Answer »
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