The Siege [Blu-ray]
by Edward Zwick
![The Siege [Blu-ray]](/images/The-Siege-Blu-ray-B001VFM0Z6-L.jpg)
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Blu-ray details
Actor: Annette Bening, Bruce Willis, David Proval, Denzel Washington, Tony ShalhoubDirector: Edward Zwick
Brand: WASHINGTON,DENZEL
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed); English (Published)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 116 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2009-06-09
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Blu-ray Reviews of The Siege [Blu-ray]
Blu-ray Review: A Politically muddled film, though striking at times
Summary: 4 Stars
You could make sound arguments for hating or respecting The Siege. It pretends to cast a casual warning against religious extremism yet narrowly focuses on the religion which Americans already had firm worries about even before September 11, 2001. Islam had long been identified as a religion of fanatics within the American press and Hollywood had been all too happy to bolster that reputation with countless films long before The Siege ever came into play. So why does Fox hail its film as "eerily prescient"? Because they happened to put out a starkly realistic and ruthless portrayal of terrorism two years prior to 9/11. It may have its share of striking and wrenching moments, but have no doubt about it, The Siege requires shock to be effective.
The Siege starts with an all too literal bang. FBI Agent Hubbard (Denzel Washington) arrives on the scene of a bus being held captive by men armed with explosives. After a similar event the week before turned out to be nothing but a fluke, the situation seems well under control. Tailed by Elise Kraft (Annette Bening) and his partner Agent Haddad (Tony Shalhoub), Hubbard attempts to negotiate safe passage for the bus's passengers. First the children are released. There seems to be hope. Then, as he's midway through the release of the oldest riders - the bus explodes.
Director Edward Zwick paces certain parts of the film with phenomenal judgment. Many events are genuinely unexpected and even as the plot of the film becomes clear, each act of terrorism perpetrated retains the fresh and traumatic air that such an act should hold. On that note, The Siege excels. It takes the portrayal of terrorism to a place film often seems too timid to venture. For the first half of the film, The Siege maintains a clean stance on the pressures of terrorism and a general separation of ethnic stereotyping and terrorism trends. But all of that falls to pieces in the end.
The story attempts to keep itself free and clear of stereotyping all Muslims as terrorists by including Haddad as Hubbard's partner. Unfortunately, in order to make Haddad more palatable and acceptable as a partner in an American bureau, his adherence to Islam is extremely loose as he's shown to drink and generally live a life no different from a non-Muslim. In any other circumstance this portrayal would be fine - but when Haddad's presence on Hubbard's side is meant to say "See? Not all Muslim's are terrorists!" his lack of conviction to Islam makes that argument invalid. Instead, we're left with the impression that all true Muslims would find outrage at the extravagance of American life and seek the country's downfall. This just isn't true. But you wouldn't know it from the way the Islamic rites of cleansing are intertwined so blatantly with the acts or words of terrorism which follow them.
It's a near impossible line to walk without stepping too far over into one side. Had Zwick strayed too far in the other direction his film would have been neutered and devoid of any real emotion or passion. If The Siege had gone the other direction and had no qualms about vilifying Islam the film would be nothing but a slander piece worthy of public disdain and derision. Zwick walked the necessary line, but not without straying a bit into some dangerous territory. With such a strong issue at stake, it makes the storyline of Major Devereaux (Bruce Willis) establishing martial law within New York City seems unnecessary and a bit off the point. Bruce Willis's storyline makes it seem like The Siege realized it was peddling a dangerous sentiment and wanted to distract away from it with a wholly unrelated commentary on the abuse of military power.
Blu-ray Extra Features:
For such a volatile film it's a genuine shame that there's not even a director's commentary from Zwick or writer Lawrence Wright. In fact, there's nothing on the disc at all besides the film.
More The Siege [Blu-ray] reviews:
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Description of The Siege [Blu-ray]
Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 9-JUN-2009
Media Type: Blu-Ray
A high-profile action/exploitation thriller set in the present, The Siege is really a fantasy that extrapolates from major terrorist attacks. Denzel Washington is FBI special agent Hubbard, "Hub" to his friends, whose anti-terrorist task force must track down the terrorist cells responsible for a spate of bombings in New York. His partner is an FBI agent of Arabian extraction (played convincingly by Tony Shalhoub), proving not all Arabs are bad guys--a point the film should be lauded for making again and again. Thrown into the mix is a CIA spy (played almost kittenish at times by Annette Bening), whose ties to the terrorists appear to be at the center of the conflicts. When the bombings escalate out of control, the President institutes martial law, sending in General Devereaux (played with impenetrable countenance by Bruce Willis) with tanks and troops to ferret out the terrorists. Echoes of Japanese-Americans in internment camps ring out as Arabs, including the son of the Arab-American FBI agent, are herded into a stadium. Periodic audio-montages of "man in the street" sentiments anchor the material in the present and show how serious and relevant the material is. But finally what we have is a taut and entertaining popcorn movie, giving itself the humanistic nod when it can. --Jim Gay
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