Comical Ali is a spoof documentary about the thus-nicknamed former Iraqi Minister for Information, Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahaf, whose bravura performances at press conferences throughout the brief Iraq War of 2003 turned him into a global icon.
Comical Ali is a spoof documentary about the thus-nicknamed former Iraqi Minister for Information, Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahaf, whose bravura performances at press conferences throughout the brief Iraq War of 2003 turned him into a global icon.
2003-07-06
5.7
The very best of the Iraqi Information Minister
7.1In 1666, a colonial town is gripped by a hysterical witch-hunt that has deadly consequences for centuries to come, and it's up to teenagers in 1994 to finally put an end to their town's curse, before it's too late.
7.2Middle-aged Giulietta grows suspicious of her husband, Giorgio, when his behavior grows increasingly questionable. One night when Giorgio initiates a seance amongst his friends, Giulietta gets in touch with spirits and learns more about herself and her painful past. Slightly skeptical, but intrigued, she visits a mystic who gives her more information -- and nudges her toward the realization that her husband is indeed a philanderer.
7.2Young art student Hideo paints an unnerving portrait of Tomie, who whispers that she loves him. Inexplicably, he reacts by stabbing her to death with a painting trowel. Two friends, Takumi and Shunichi, arrive on the scene and help him dispose of the body. To cheer him up, the boys take the unwitting murderer to the nearest bar for a party... but a mysterious girl named Tomie shows up, bearing a few odd physical resemblances to the dead girl in the ground.
6.6Meet a tiny girl named Thumbelina who lives in harmony with nature in the magical world of the Twillerbees that's hidden among the wildflowers. At the whim of a spoiled young girl named Makena, Thumbelina and her two friends have their patch of wildflowers uprooted and are transported to a lavish apartment in the city.
7.2A 25-year-old man tries to suppress his embarrassment when his mother announces that she is pregnant.
7.1Arriving in Moscow, Chechen War veteran Danila meets Konstantin, an old friend who tells him that his twin brother has been forced into signing a crooked contract with a US ice hockey team. Soon after this meeting, Danila discovers Konstantin dead and he sets out to avenge his death; a journey that leads him to Chicago and a whole new experience.
7.3Nikander, a rubbish collector and would-be entrepreneur, finds his plans for success dashed when his business associate dies. One evening, he meets Ilona, a down-on-her-luck cashier, in a local supermarket. Falteringly, a bond begins to develop between them.
7.8After the death of his father and brother Danish, Faizal Khan vows to take revenge by destroying Ramadhir Singh's gang.
7.1The story of Usnavi, a bodega owner who has mixed feelings about closing his store and retiring to the Dominican Republic or staying in Washington Heights.
7.5Comedian Bill Burr talks male feminists, outrage culture, robot sex, and cultural appropriation in this standup comedy special shot in London.
7.0When an innovative modern architect flees post-war Europe, he is given the opportunity to rebuild his legacy. Set during the dawn of the modern United States (in Pennsylvania), his wife joins him, and their lives are forever changed by a demanding, wealthy patron.
6.8Driving cross-country, Ray and his wife and daughter stop at a highway rest area where his daughter falls and breaks her arm. After a frantic rush to the hospital and a clash with the check-in nurse, Ray is finally able to get her to a doctor. While the wife and daughter go downstairs for an MRI, Ray, exhausted, passes out in a chair in the lobby. Upon waking up, they have no record or knowledge of Ray's family ever being checked in.
6.7When a border guard with a sixth sense for identifying smugglers encounters the first person she cannot prove is guilty, she is forced to confront terrifying revelations about herself and humankind.
7.2Genji and his victorious G.P.S. alliance find themselves facing down a new challenge by the students of Hosen Academy, feared by everyone as 'The Army of Killers.' The two schools, in fact, have a history of bad blood between them. And the simmering embers of hatred are about to flare up again, burning away any last remnants of the truce they had so rigorously observed until now.
8.6In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.
8.2Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans, forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line, relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.
7.0The tale of an individualist proletarian in a time marked by the rise of mass political movements. In early 20th-century Italy, illiterate sailor Martin Eden seeks fame as a writer while torn between the love of a bourgeois girl and allegiance to his social class.
5.5As two teen prodigies try to master the art of time travel, a tragic police shooting sends them on a series of dangerous trips to the past.
6.5During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller and his team of Army inspectors are dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that threatens to invert the purpose of their mission.
0.0On the eve of Operation Desert Storm in the first Gulf War, the Italian government deployed eight Tornado Fighter-bombers. Gianmarco Bellini was one of these pilots. He was shot down, captured, and abused, but returned and was able to rise to the rank of General.
7.4A chronicle which provides a rare window into the international perception of the Iraq War, courtesy of Al Jazeera, the Arab world's most popular news outlet. Roundly criticized by Cabinet members and Pentagon officials for reporting with a pro-Iraqi bias, and strongly condemned for frequently airing civilian causalities as well as footage of American POWs, the station has revealed (and continues to show the world) everything about the Iraq War that the Bush administration did not want it to see.
6.019-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks the film shows what really happened to his squad – contrasting the realities of war with America's perceptions.
6.6An opus in three parts, Iraq In Fragments offers a series of intimate, passionately-felt portraits: A fatherless 11-year-old is apprenticed to the domineering owner of a Baghdad garage; Sadr followers in two Shiite cities rally for regional elections while enforcing Islamic law at the point of a gun; a family of Kurdish farmers welcomes the US presence, which has allowed them a measure of freedom previously denied. American director James Longley spent more than two years filming in Iraq to create this stunningly photographed, poetically rendered documentary of the war-torn country as seen through the eyes of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
0.0In this revealing program, noted author and economic activist Naomi Klein offers a lecture and a candid interview in which she expounds on the ideas at the heart of her best-selling book.
6.0Deserter follows Ryan Johnson and his wife Jen during their flight from the Central Valley of California to Toronto, Canada. Johnson deserted the American army after hearing that he was going to be deployed to Iraq, despite assurances that this would not happen. Like many of his contemporaries, Johnson only joined the army because he could not find a job, and he sees the war in Iraq as both illegal and immoral. Desertion means imprisonment, so he decides to flee, realising that there will be no way back. Johnson seeks advice from various helpful organisations that guide him and Jen to Canada. The employees include both Vietnam veterans and young soldiers who have already served in Iraq.
6.3Haji is severely traumatized by the war with Iraq. Back from the front, he's unable to adapt to civilian life. Despite family opposition, his fiancée stands by him as together they challenge both the authority of family and state to lead their own lives.
5.0BROTHERS AT WAR is an intimate portrait of an American family during a turbulent time. Jake Rademacher sets out to understand the experience, sacrifice, and motivation of his two brothers serving in Iraq. The film follows Jake’s exploits as he risks everything—including his life—to tell his brothers’ story.
6.9There were two wars in Iraq--a military assault and a media war. The former was well-covered; the latter was not. Until now... Independent filmmaker, Emmy-award winningTV journalist, author and media critic, Danny Schechter turns the cameras on the role of the media. His new film, WMD, is an outspoken assessment of how Pentagon propaganda and media complicity misled the American people...
8.0Civilians, journalists and soldiers from both sides of the conflict explain their experience during the Iraq War, from the 2003 invasion through the 17 years that followed. Edited version from "Once Upon a Time in Iraq" (2020)
0.0Did America rush into a war in Iraq for which it was unprepared? FRONTLINE examines why the U.S. went to war in Iraq, what went wrong in the planning for the postwar occupation, and what was at stake for both the U.S. and for Iraqis.
6.8Upon returning from serving in the U.S. Army, Chaplain Darren Turner faces a crisis that shatters his Family and Faith in God but through the help of his fellow soldiers, he returns to his faith and family
0.0Soundtrack to War showcases spontaneous music performances by a striking cast of battle weary. Performances made without rehearsal, under the blaring Iraqi sun, with a destroyed city, the distraction of gunfire and bursting mortar shells forming a frightening backdrop. American culture came into Iraq, wired into its tanks and helicopters - a live soundtrack to war, with lyrics such as Let The Bodies Hit The Floor, Round Out, The Tank and Bombs over Baghdad, being memorised by every soldier and forever linked to the violent events they accompanied. As the war extended into a second year, many started writing and performing their own songs. It was rock, rap & roll.
6.2Programming the Nation? takes an encompassing look at the history of subliminal messaging in America. According to many authorities, since the late 1950s subliminal content has been tested and delivered through all forms of mass-media including Hollywood filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock and William Friedkin. Even our modern military has been accused of these practices in the "war on terror" against soldiers and civilians both abroad and at home. With eye-opening footage, revealing interviews, humorous anecdotes, and an array of visual effects, the film categorically explores the alleged usage of subliminals in advertising, music, film, television, anti-theft devices, political propaganda, military psychological operations, and advanced weapons development. Director Jeff Warrick makes it his personal mission to determine if these manipulative tactics have succeeded in "programming the nation?" Or, if subliminal messaging belongs in the category of what many consider urban legend.
0.0Michael Blackwell entered the United States Navy on Veteran's Day, 2002 and served for more than nine years. While stationed with the now-disestablished Fleet Combat Camera Group Pacific, he served alongside United States Army 5th and 10th group Special Forces in Iraq.
Follow five women reporters and the challenges they face as they work in Iraq during the Second Gulf War. Molly Bingham is an experienced photographer who was held for several days at Abu Ghraib prison at the start of the war. Marie Colvin is a reporter who lost her eye to a grenade while working in Sri Lanka. Janine di Giovanni has to deal with the difficulties of becoming a mother and still working to fulfill her duties as a journalist. Mary Rogers is a camerawoman who continues to put herself in harm's way in an effort to get the proper footage to cover her stories.
0.0In the winter of 2002-'03, as the US was building its case to attack Iraq, people around the world responded with a series fo the largest peace protests in history. Shutdown: The Rise and Fall of Direct Action to Stop the War, is an action-packed documentary chronicling how DASW successfully organized to shut down a major US city and how they failed to effectively maintain the organization to fight the war machine and end the occupation of Iraq. Created by organizers involved with DASW, Shutdown combines detailed information on organizing for a mass action, critical interviews on organizing pitfalls, and the wisdom of hindsight. It is a must-see film for those engaged in the continuous struggle toward social justice.
0.0Casey Conklin joined the 3rd Ranger Battalion as a medic, because he always believed they were the toughest group around. After his experience in the Battle of Mosul in Iraq and receiving his Ranger tab, he doesn't question how tough he is. After returning home, he finds that he still must challenge himself to stay healthy and redefine toughness at home.
0.0PFC Benjamin Tollefson was killed in action during Operation: Iraqi Freedom. His mother tells the story he never got a chance to share.