Zero Dark Thirty (Widescreen Edition)

Very enthralling movie. It held my attention throughout. I will gladly watch it again.

Another movie highlighting governmental failures if not for the boots on the ground. Much like 16 Hours. Great movie

As a former Intelligence Officer I enjoyed the movie even if not everything was explained. Like the reason why the helicopter crashed, which had to do with the fact that during training that the mock up compound had a chain linked fence that allowed for the helicopter wash to blow through and not cause so much updraft like the solid wall. The model of the compound was a great piece and looked just like the three that were actually made. I use to walk pass the one model everyday.I get that this is a Hollywood movie. People will gravitate to a film that is digestible and, ultimately, profitable. And depicting the reality of national security is challenging: much of the information is TOP SECRET, and a lot of it is just not dramatic or sexy at all. Reading thousands of reports and writing reports is just not that exciting.... can't be a profitable movie. If you work in the field you can pick apart a movie all day... I do it when I see gun fights in movies all the time.I could relate to Maya as a mid-level officer, being asked to "backbench" at a briefing—you’re briefing the guy who has to brief the guy—while she knows it’s her analysis that brought everyone together in the room. Supervisors sell this as "top cover" for the lower-level officer, and there is some truth to that. It’s easier for established officers to take a hit over a bad decision than for a new officer, whose career could end on an early miscall. When I became a supervisor, I did the same thing, and dodged my share of hits.The CIA doesn't like to be portrayed badly... and very sure of themselves... Saw this in Afghanistan. Black sites exist and they're not Disneyland.Jessica Chastain delivers a great performance... People just need to take it for what it is.. a great movie that depicts the events that lead up to the best payback we could have given UBL. I watch this movie every 2nd of May... as a remembrance to the co-workers I lost in the Pentagon.

First off, I never rate movies based on 100% historical accuracy. That just doesn't happen in Hollywood movies; PERIOD! Some may come close, but Hollywood dramatization ALWAYS inevitably overrides facts, so I rate movies based on entertainment value ALONE and NOTHING else.Secondly, I hate it when people leave 1-star ratings based on Amazon viewing problems in place of an actual review of the movie. Those ratings are an unfair representation of the movie, as opposed to an indicator of how good or bad the movie may actually be, and can deter potential viewers from watching. There IS a "feedback" feature that you can correspond with Amazon through in regards to such people, and they are very good about refunding your money when problems are incurred!Now for the movie review. This was not the greatest movie, but it was not a bad movie, and I ended up liking it. Based on some of the reviews, I thought the torture scenes would be extremely disturbing to watch, but I actually found the scenes depicting such to be rather brief and, although uncomfortable at the worst, very mild compared to many, many, much, much worse depictions (refer to the TV series "24"); these were a cake-walk. I don't get how many reviewers believe this movie takes the stance that "torture" is an effective tool either. I've never been a member of the military, nor CIA, so I have no idea what or even IF any such method IS effective or not, and we certainly can't count on either of them to tell us if it actually is ISN'T. Even if the director was "taking a stance", I could care less, but she only hinted at both sides of the issue; barely and very briefly mentioned from the viewpoint of the interrogators as opposed to Obama's stance. On that basis, I can't buy that this movie was simply a "propaganda" ploy against "torture" based on such either. It's just a MOVIE, and this one is simply about the very strong convictions of ONE WOMAN who was determined to find the MOST WANTED MAN IN THE WORLD!!! I have read a few articles that claim the character "Maya" is based on a real-life female CIA agent who was integral to this mission. However, who really knows if that's true or not or just how integral she was? I highly doubt that any government agency will EVER confirm such. There were some details in the movie with parts that contained actual audio, recordings, and new's coverage clips from around 9/11, and in subsequent years, some of which were heart-breakingly sad, and others which were enlightening, therefore interesting to me; as I'd not seen or heard about them previously. I thought the movie did a good job of depicting how utterly and painstakingly tedious it had to be to gather reliable data, as well as how integral every person involved was in gathering any and all of that data and following every lead to attain possible "targets" for interrogation in gaining any useful knowledge necessary to finding UBL; which was in no way, shape, or form because of the work of one woman here; surely it took thousands just to intercept & decipher the sheer volume of "white noise" between other agencies, countries, &/or Al-Qaeda communications, and to sift through all tips received for years after 9/11; despite Chastain being presented as THE driving force and ultimate "hero". If she is based on a real person, however, I wish I had been her. I mean hey....leave it to a woman to search to the ends of the earth and never stop until she's found the man who's really pissed her off or hurt one of her babies, and I know I would've done the same were I in her shoes. However, I found Chastain's (who I'd never seen nor even heard of before but who's acting ability is undeniably good) character "Maya" to be somewhat too serious to the point of being bland, and reserved or guarded thus less stoic than I'd expect, therefore not all too believable as a heroic CIA agent, for about the the first hour or more. Then her much feistier, absolutely determined, side finally erupted and Chastain was in her element. My favorite line from her was "I'm the MF who found the place" in response to Gandolfini's character; then later "One hundred percent in that building; ok...95% sure, cuz I know 100% freaks you guys out." The movie did drag on a great deal in that previous hour or more though (actually kept checking to see how much time was left in the movie - and it's a long one - wondering if it was EVER going to get more promising or end with an explosive climax or not). Then finally, sadly after the loss of a colleague, things started to become more intense, which is when Chastain's character really took on a whole new life. The story was a very good one, though, and AGAIN if even anywhere near factual, probably a historically important movie for everyone to see; although a "factual" documentary would suffice for that purpose, and you could just let this be a good movie to watch as it was entertaining enough for me to bear with and end up enjoying! This was the 2nd of all the movies nominated for Oscars that I've viewed. "Argo" was the first, and I still stand behind my opinion that Ben Affleck and his co-producers deserved the Oscar for it. It was much better paced, and even if not 100% historically accurate (which many reviewers of it found fault with too; nag, nag, nag), it was a great story "based on real events" most of which WAS factually accurate (despite an "unrealistic" scene at the end which I personally thought was very entertaining and added to the suspense despite knowing what the outcome was going to be, contained great humor, was well acted by all, and very intense throughout. I, sadly, did not feel that same intensity throughout this movie as I expected to, so that was somewhat of a let-down. Overall, though, I recommend watching this movie if you don't go into thinking it's gonna be 100% historically accurate, action-packed from start to finish, or very intense throughout; as well as if you're not an amateur critic who feels compelled to over-analyze and tear down every aspect of a movie with descriptions that make you sound like a 2nd or 3rd year drama school student and in terms that I honestly don't even understand or care about, or if your political views run so deeply you can't actually enjoy a simple movie ;)

The movie was as described, arrived on time, and in good condition.

Very well done movie about the finding, stalking and subsequent shooting of Bin Laden. What's not to like?

merci beaucoup a amazon est bpost

Ce film raconte la chasse de Ben Laden par la CIA jusqu'à la phase finale à travers le parcours obstiné d'un agent incarné avec brio par Jessica Chastain qui, grâce à son obstination, va finir par découvrir le lieu où Ben Laden se cache. Le film peut être considéré comme très réaliste et, du reste, a un début assez violent avec des scènes de torture de terroristes pour leur arracher des renseignements. On ne peut cependant pas dire que le film est un film violent ... peut-être parce que le réalisateur est une femme mais ça, ça n"engage que moi.J'ai regardé ce film une bonne dizaine de fois et il m'arrive encore de la regarder. Si le thème vous intéresse, vous ne serez pas déçus.

Zero Dark Thirty chronicles the decade-long hunt for bin Laden with profound neutrality. Darkness. A blank screen echoes the desperate screams and howls of innocent civilians telephoning their loved ones before the World Trade Centre crumbled over them. 2,977 fatalities. Over 25,000 injuries. “9/11”, at the hands of Islamic fundamentalist group al-Qaeda, became the “deadliest terrorist attack in human history”. The Bush administration swiftly launching the “War on Terror” to depose the Taliban, after the proposed extradition of leader Osama bin Laden floundered. Future terrorist attacks were imminent, with the CIA employing controversial systematic torture programs known as “enhanced interrogation techniques” to extract information from detainees in undisclosed black sites. Maya, a fictional CIA analyst tasked in locating bin Laden, soon becomes obsessed with potential lead Abu Ahmed that rapidly sends her down a monomaniacal path of danger, with growing pressure to save thousands of lives in the process.Bigelow’s thrilling decade-long depiction of events, in what is claimed as the “greatest manhunt in history”, can only be described as uncompromising scintillating cinema at its most raw. The extremist behaviour of Islamic Group members have been widely reported, detailed and sensationalised by the media for countless years. “7/7” bombings in London. The Camp Chapman attack. The 2008 Mumbai attacks. All co-ordinated actions that drew widespread condemnation. However, dramatising these profound events to stir further hatred for extremist behaviour and imply celebratory national patriotism, are not functionalities for Boal’s succinct screenplay. Both Bigelow and Boal, whom collaborated on ‘The Hurt Locker’, utilise modern history to insight political critique upon the questionable actions of the Bush administration and malevolence of al-Qaeda.A proliferate narrative neutrality that produced an unyielding barrier of risk, querying the legitimacy of bin Laden’s assassination and the gruelling process leading up to that pivotal raid. In the process, supplying sensitive philosophers and cowardly politicians with enough controversial ammunition to fire allegations from every direction. Supposed partisanship with the Obama administration, improper access to classified documents and pro-torture portrayal (more on that later...). These assertions are just that. Allegations. Because Zero Dark Thirty is a stark reminder of how ambivalent America’s contribution to this war was, and that undoubtedly irked “experts” and officials.Putting aside the historical politics for one moment, the essence of Bigelow’s intellectual assertion comes in the form of Maya. A lone female operative shrouded in the masculinity of warfare. Her tenacity and tough-minded persona undeniably receives the most acute character development arcs ever written, acting as an independent pressured employee expending her entire career in chasing bin Laden and a conduit for the narrative’s neutrality. Her initial reserved attitude towards approved “enhanced interrogation” allows viewers to question the permissibility of such authoritative techniques. Then she becomes obsessed, gradually succumbing to the ferocity of her work. Weeks, months, years. A decade passes. The pressure breaking her meticulous persona down, utilising any and all methods in finding bin Laden. Yet Maya combats the systematic ideologies of the CIA consistently to grant her fictionalisation a required neutrality that issues humanity. Chastain’s exceptional performance is littered with nuanced emotive details that gingerly bestow a provocative rage. Commanding, intimidating and menial. Chastain fluctuates her power from quaint whispers to enraged shouts, yet never lets her guard down. Until the final scene. A scene that profoundly reflected the morality and ethicality of all the preceding events that happened over the decade-long manhunt. The first and only moment where Maya exerts emotional fragility. A cluster of overwhelming feelings. Relief. Disappointment. Melancholy. Maya is the representation of the entire Iraq war from an emotional standpoint, and her culminating frame of film is perfect.Bigelow, alongside Fraser’s clinically bleak cinematography, explores the dark side of war. Bolstered by a commendable supporting cast whom exude professional urgency to the matter at hand. From the desolate anticipation of the Camp Chapman attack, to the night-vision filtered compound raid of Operation Neptune Spear. Zero Dark Thirty never dissipates its tension and technical astuteness, despite the chapter segregation that does regrettably disjoint the elongated runtime.Now, the torture interrogations. Waterboarding in particular. Famously generating a mass amount of controversy for its propagandistic nature and pro-torture stance. Makes you wonder why it conjured so much attention in the first place. To add on Bigelow’s response, it is a part of history. It shouldn’t have been, but it was. Consequently these government approved techniques should not be ignored regardless if it lead to bin Laden’s location or not, and it absolutely does question the morality behind such actions. Maya’s inclusion complying with that thought-process entirely. It categorically does not normalise torture, nor does its involvement endorse such issues. It simply provides exposure, arguably creating a statement against torture by implying the antagonistic behaviours of CIA agents.There’s a reason why Zero Dark Thirty was marred with controversy. There’s a reason why Zero Dark Thirty pursues a neutral narrative. It raises a fundamental question. “Was the death of bin Laden worth the price we paid?”. By showing the unspeakable, unflinching and the uncompromising, Bigelow audaciously challenges on an intellectual scale by using modern warfare as her weapon of choice. Producing a near-perfect film in the process.

As expected, anything to do with Sony video presentation is exceptional. This is a substantial upgrade from the already great Blu Ray. The HDR is as good as it gets. See the Blu-Ray.com review for in depth. One of my top movies.