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Movie Description
Master filmmaker Errol Morris turns his keen eye to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in this intense and provocative documentary. Using interviews with the soldiers that appeared in the now infamous torture photos, Morris strings their stories together with vivid reenactments and striking digital technology for a wrenching look at the events at the prison. With his trademark straight-into-the-lens interview style, it is chilling to see the familiar faces of Lynndie England and Sabrina Harmon as they try to articulate their experiences. The lawlessness and confusion in the prison quickly become evident, and as their stories unfold, the film slowly strips away the many puzzling questions that surround the incidents, exposing a much larger truth about corruption within the US military, corruption that appears to reach far beyond the handful of soldiers that took the fall for the scandal.
Morris's reenactments are extremely vivid, and often shot in a beautifully cinematic style. While these techniques make for riveting filmmaking, they are sometimes considered controversial by documentary purists, and some might criticize his detailed recreations of such deeply disturbing events. However, others might deem the reenactments necessary to really bringing home the reality of what happened. Regardless of his methods, Morris does a masterly job of untangling such a complex, twisted story. He shines a glaring light on one of America's most shameful moments and, more importantly, exposes how little we truly know about our military's methods.
Industry Reviews
"Films such as NO END IN SIGHT, STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE, and GHOSTS OF ABU GHRAIB serve as a necessary counterbalance to the manufactured reportage of the mainstream media..."
Film Comment - Michael Chaiken (03/01/2008)
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "[H]aunting and troubling....STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE's subject matter, and what it says about the war in Iraq, is eye-opening. It may be the most disturbing film you'll see in a long time."
USA Today - Claudia Puig (04/25/2008)
"A blockbuster of a documentary....STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE is a big, provocative and -- it goes without saying -- disturbing work..."
New York Times - Manohla Dargis (04/25/2008)
"[F]ocus is really the heart of Morris' unsettling film which strikes a remarkable balance between art and disturbance, between beauty and pain."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (05/02/2008)
"Morris, using a welter of photographs, constructs a day-to-day sense of how Abu Ghraib descended into a medieval hell." -- Grade: A-
Entertainment Weekly - Owen Gleiberman (05/01/2008)
"STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE resituates Abu Ghraib in the realm of the gothic....Characteristically, Morris does not finger pointing; there is rope enough here for most of the interviewees to hang themselves."
Sight and Sound - Samuel Wigley (08/01/2008)
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here is an emotive score by Danny Elfman and imaginative visual input from Kyle Cooper."
Empire - Kim Newman (08/01/2008)
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "Morris works with a deliberately limited set of means: his interviews, data-conveying graphics, reenactments, and the photos themselves....[These methods] construct a remarkably compelling narrative..."
Premiere - Glenn Kenny (04/23/2008)
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] harrowing documentary from Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris....Terrifying..."
Total Film - Ellen E. Jones (02/01/2009)
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