DVD Review: Black Hawk Down (Extended Cut)

By Patrick Luce Jun 2, 2006, 20:27 GMT

Action/war drama based on the best-selling book detailing a near-disastrous mission in Somalia on October 3, 1993 where nearly 100 U.S. Army Rangers, commanded by Capt. Mike Steele, were dropped by helicopter deep into the capital city of Mogadishu to capture two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord which lead to a large and drawn-out firefight between the Rangers and hundreds of Somali gunmen which led to the destruction of ...more

Black Hawk Down is one of the best war films to come out in the last decade, and was directed by Ridley Scott – a master at filmmaking. With that said, Black Hawk Down (Extended Cut) has next to nothing to offer fans and is simply the fifth re-release of the film (sixth if you count the UMD version released for the PSP system).

The latest release boast eight minutes of additional footage cut back into the film, but lacks any other new material to make it truly worth the double dip (if you can call a fifth release a double dip).

Black Hawk Down, which won two Academy Awards in 2002, is based on Mark Bowden’s best selling book, “Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War,” and was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The film is a gripping movie that features strong performances from a solid cast of character actors including Josh Harnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Ewen Bremner, and Sam Shepard.

The movie details the ill-fated U.S. Army mission in Mogadishu, Somalia on October 3, 1993, and the events that followed after an elite force of about 100 U.S. Army Rangers and Delta Force soldiers dropped into the city to complete a covert operation.

The mission was to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but the soldiers quickly found themselves outnumbered and fighting for their lives against a large force of heavily-armed Somalis. The situation grows worse for the soldiers when two Black Hawk helicopters are shot down. The solider, pretty much cut off from extra help, rise to the challenge and fight to survive the encounter..

Hartnett and the films stars do a good job coming across as average soldiers

Although Black Hawk Down is truly an ensemble cast, the film does focus on several of the soldiers – specifically the characters played by Harnett, Bana, and McGregor. The three actors (and rest of the cast of the film) do a really good job in portraying simple every day soldiers, and not coming across as big Hollywood names trying to pull off the part of an “average Joe.” This helps the film grab hold of you even more because you are truly sucked into the performances and what is happening on screen.

As the situation continues you grow worse through the course of the movie, you find yourself worried about how these men are going to make it out, and just how it will all end. This is a feeling that the movie continues to have even after multiple viewings. The film also makes you want to learn more about the situation, and the true story behind the movie.

This DVD edition of the film boast an extra 8 minutes, but I am sad to say I really couldn’t spot too much of the extra scenes. I have seen the movie a few times, and own the regular DVD release that came out in 2002. I did notice a couple of extra short scenes before the soldiers leave for the raid, but there is nothing that really makes this version stand out from what has already been released. The same can be said about the special features that are included on the “Extended Cut.”

Black Hawk Down is one of the best war films to come out in the past 10 years

The special features on this edition are extremely weak consisting of only Frontline: Ambush in Mogadishu. This is the documentary that was originally aired on PBS and includes an interactive mission map and timelines. This was also part of the much superior release Black Hawk Down (3-Disc Deluxe Edition).

The 3-Disc edition comes loaded with the type of special features that fans of the movie or history buffs will truly enjoy and is one that I would recommend over this “extended” version. This version fails to even provide some form of commentary by those involved in the film – even though commentary has been included on almost all the other releases.

Black Hawk Down is the kind of movie that pulls you into it at the beginning and keeps you on the edge of your seat until it is finished. It has the ability to appeal to even those who don’t normally care for war films (it is one of my wife’s favorite movies), and truly shows the sacrifice made by the soldiers. It is a movie that I would easily give five stars.

However, this re-release “Extended Cut” DVD does not come with any special features that truly make it worth spending the cash to purchase (especially with a suggested retail price of $19.94). The special features have been included on other better special editions of the film, and the extra footage does not add up to enough to make it worth the double dip.

The soldiers quickly find themselves outnumbered

For that reason, I am only giving the DVD a two stars rating. I would not even recommend it to those who don’t already own Black Hawk Down. Any of the other re-releases are better than this one, but I would suggest the 3-disc version.

Black Hawk Down (Extended Cut) is available for pre-order at Amazon for a June 6th release. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.