Restrepo (military documentary in Afghanistan): You Need To See This Movie

[IronMaxipad]

Seriously, it's amazing. Probably the best war movie I've ever seen. Very poignant, but also has a lot of extremely intense firefights and some moments of humor as well. I'm surprised people aren't talking about this movie more and I recommend it without reservation to everyone here. I literally can't imagine anyone not liking it, or getting anything worthwhile out of it.


Restrepo is a 2010 documentary film directed by American journalist Sebastian Junger and British photographer Tim Hetherington. The film explores the year that Junger and Hetherington spent in Afghanistan on assignment for Vanity Fair, embedded with the Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (airborne) of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in the Korangal valley. The 2nd Platoon is depicted defending an outpost (OP) named OP Restrepo, for PFC Juan S. Restrepo, a platoon medic who was killed earlier in the campaign.

http://media.nola.com/entertainment_impact_tvfilm/photo/0820-restrepo-1jpg-68cbdab4d2b13f8c_large.jpg

ROTTENTOMATOES: (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/restrepo/) 97%

It's available via Netflix streaming and on DVD/Blu-ray

Anyone else see it?

[Fpoonsie]

Amazing stuff. I always hesitate going into movies like this because they can't ever seem to shake an agenda, for or against, even w/o trying.

This one manages, with complete objectivity, to simply focus on how these young men deal with a complete. shit. situation, and does it with incomparable effectiveness.

Highly recommended.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Don't tell me what I need to see.

[Sense]

I saw it like a week ago, and I really enjoyed it. I thought everything about the movie was too real and I guess I realized I was finally watching a movie that showed everything you wanted to know about the war and how the troops are holding up.

The location definitely made it more intriguing, and the stories made the viewer get some sort of connection with the soldiers. Definitely the best war movie I've seen, because it's all real.

[Soul_Patch]

Watched that on NATGEO a few weeks back. Really moving stuff. Feel bad for some of these kids. How hard would it be to come back to civilian life after going through some of that shit.

[spursncowboys]

That OP had absolutely no strategic value. But those guys were left up there because the pentagon didn't want to make a decision. modern day hamburger hill. they finally moved out of that op. We still do missions in the korngal valley but no need to sit there and be a non-moving target.

[Soul_Patch]

That OP had absolutely no strategic value. But those guys were left up there because the pentagon didn't want to make a decision. modern day hamburger hill. they finally moved out of that op. We still do missions in the korngal valley but no need to sit there and be a non-moving target.

Yea, my wife and i were both wondering what the objective there was. Didnt seem to serve any purpose other than to agitate the local taliban and be a target.

[Fpoonsie]

That OP had absolutely no strategic value. But those guys were left up there because the pentagon didn't want to make a decision. modern day hamburger hill. they finally moved out of that op. We still do missions in the korngal valley but no need to sit there and be a non-moving target.

:lol Assumed you were referring to Maxipad at first. Thought to myself: "I dunno, I mean, he's KINDA funny."

[spursncowboys]

lmao. I could see an oversize maxipad as pretty strategic though.

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

Yeah I saw it when it was in theaters, great movie. Really sad also.

[Vici]

The point was to be essentially a bullet magnet. The though was they would draw combatants there instead of other places. Instead they ended up pissing off the locals and created more insurgents.

[Sisk]

Getting it now tbh

I had been looking for this for a while and had given up.

[Darkwaters]

Thats my unit. Good stuff.

Sky Soldiers!

[MannyIsGod]

Watched it last night. Thought it was really well done and as others pointed out absolutely no hint of an agenda. It really does just tell the story of those young men in that unit.

[desflood]

It's in my queue; haven't seen it yet.

[Nick Manning]

That OP had absolutely no strategic value. But those guys were left up there because the pentagon didn't want to make a decision. modern day hamburger hill. they finally moved out of that op. We still do missions in the korngal valley but no need to sit there and be a non-moving target.

This.

and the film was amazing.

[Soul_Patch]

Check out Sebastian Junger's book, War. I read it a week ago and it was one that was hard to even put down. It is basically the book version of the movie, but go's into a lot more detail. Junger is the guy that was embedded with the unit there in the Korengal.

Worth a read, if you are into reading.

[RandomGuy]

Watched it last night. Thought it was really well done and as others pointed out absolutely no hint of an agenda. It really does just tell the story of those young men in that unit.

Yup. It has been playing in HD on NatGeo channel.

The scenery is amazing.

It was a good, honest look at the war.


The war in Afghanistan has become highly politicized, but soldiers rarely take part in that discussion. Our intention was to capture the experience of combat, boredom and fear through the eyes of the soldiers themselves. Their lives were our lives: we did not sit down with their families, we did not interview Afghans, we did not explore geopolitical debates. Soldiers are living and fighting and dying at remote outposts in Afghanistan in conditions that few Americans back home can imagine. Their experiences are important to understand, regardless of one's political beliefs. Beliefs are a way to avoid looking at reality. This is reality.

The strategy review done by the Bush administration in 2006-7 after fucking up both Iraq and Afghanistan for years was the reason the outpost was abandoned. That strategy was, essentially, the same as the strategy that lost Vietnam. We finally decided to use our own counterinsurgency doctrine after that point. But that is something for the political forum.

This was an awesome documentary.

The accounts of the young men in it remind me that we are still probably not doing all we can about PTSD and concussive brain injuries. But again, that is for the politics forum. Read up on those topics.

I will stop there.

[mouse]

Feel free to add that film to my list.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110683

[The Reckoning]

mouse, think you can top this one?

im letting you know now that i fully expect yours to be a quality at the level, or beyond, this one. dont let me down.

[mouse]

w3ysuG2O0zw

[mouse]

mouse, think you can top this one?

im letting you know now that i fully expect yours to be a quality at the level, or beyond, this one. dont let me down.

It was cut from 120 minutes to 90, then 60 minutes then 30 minutes now it's at 24 minutes.
Sony Vegas takes a 2 minute film and saves it at 1GB How can i put a 30gb file on a DVD?
It took only 6 days to make but it's taking 14 days to edit.

[The Reckoning]

its all about quality, not quantity or excuses.

[IronMaxipad]

‘Restrepo’ Co-Director Tim Hetherington Killed In Libya (http://thefilmstage.com/2011/04/20/restrepo-co-director-tim-hetherington-killed-in-libya/)


Details are still coming in, but it has been reported that photo journalists Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros have been killed in Libya today. Hetherington is best known for co-directing the Oscar-nominated documentary Restrepo. He is pictured above (on the right) with fellow director Sebastian Junger. Hondros is a NYC-based Pulitzer Prize-nominated war photographer, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.


http://thefilmstage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/restrepo_junger_hetherington_008-650x433.jpg



His last tweet:

http://thefilmstage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-20-at-12.22.36-PM.png

Photo of Hondros:

http://thefilmstage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/hondros.jpg

[Cane]

It was an excellent and imo Oscar-worthy documentary. I'm glad there are filmmakers out there willing to put their lives on the line to show the sacrifices that those in uniform and those in war torn regions routinely make :depressed

RIP.

[howbouthemspurs]

It shouldve got an Oscar nom! truly amazing stuff!!

[Soul_Patch]

Oh wow, how sad. Read Jungers book, and saw the movie. Really gripping stuff.

[Sisk]

I knew this thread was bumped for the news. Really unfortunate. :(

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Restrepo was a good doc. RIP

Kinetic military action is hell.

[LnGrrrR]

Sucks that the director got killed. That was a great movie.

[The Gemini Method]

It shouldve got an Oscar nom! truly amazing stuff!!

It was nominated for Best Documentary, but lost out to the one on the Banking Industry robbing us blind...I believe the title is called Inside Job--which was an excellent documentary as was Restrepo. If there were a case for co-Best Documentaries, this should've been the year or, give it outright to the Restreop camp. Exit Through A Gift Shop was also a very poignant documentary.

Sad to hear that one of the producers of Restrepo passed away...Goes to show how much turbulence there is in that region...May his family be at peace.

[Fpoonsie]

Ugh. Tragic.

:depressed

[Cry Havoc]

:( Sad. I think I'll check out Restrepo. Sounds like something I would really take value from. Unfortunate that it took the director dying for me to hear about the movie, though. Hopefully his work will not have been in vain.

[greyforest]

Restrepo was great work. Great to see reality instead of fiction for once...there's plenty of Generation Kill, Full Metal Jacket, etc etc.

Sad to hear he's died in his dangerous line of work. I bet there will be a documentary made about him.

[MannyIsGod]

It was nominated for Best Documentary, but lost out to the one on the Banking Industry robbing us blind...I believe the title is called Inside Job--which was an excellent documentary as was Restrepo. If there were a case for co-Best Documentaries, this should've been the year or, give it outright to the Restreop camp. Exit Through A Gift Shop was also a very poignant documentary.

Sad to hear that one of the producers of Restrepo passed away...Goes to show how much turbulence there is in that region...May his family be at peace.


I was shocked Restrepo didn't win until I saw Inside Job. I then understood. I would definitely go 1a, 1b with those 2. I also agree ETTGS was a great great film.

[Soul_Patch]

Just watched Inside Job this sunday. That was a great film too.