A Historical Look at Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down takes us back to 1993 when our government sent over 100 Army Rangers to Somalia to overthrow a powerful warlord that was performing genocide upon the citizens. A mission that was only supposed to take three weeks turned into a few months. A young man, Sergeant Eversmann, takes on a group of young men that are assigned to control a corner of Bakara Market while Delta Force, an elite and secret group of soldiers, arrests some people of interest. However, all hell breaks loose and all the men are thrown into a fight for their lives in a mission that was only supposed to take an hour turns into the most difficult night of their lives.
The director Ridley Scott (2001) did an amazing job recreating the horrific events that the soldiers had to face, and not leaving any detail untouched. All of the characters that were involved in that fateful night in Mogadishu were identified in the movie for their contributions against Mohammad Farah Aidid. Black Hawk Down was an amazing and accurate portrayal of one of the most historic military conflicts in U.S. history.

Review of Hero

This link directs us towards a review by Joshua Tyler. He seems to not really enjoy this movie refering to it as, "...outlandish mythology..." and comparing to "...the cheesiest of Romance novels..." in the United States. Tyler seems to be overly critical of all the details that Zhang Yimou added to create dramatic effect. He reflects on how Hero is to compare with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but he states that, " Hero is trying for something a little deeper that in some ways just never connects." The rest of this review continues on this type of criticism with Joshua Tyler pointing out all the flaws, the simplistic plot, and the overall film being an "idealized dream."

History of the Qin Dynasty

This link provides a detailed account of the first dynasty to rule China, the Qin Dynasty. The Qin also known as the Ch'in seems to be the formation of China. They were the first dynasty to take control primarily because of their advances in modern warfare, implementing the calvary and the military defense mechanism - The Great Wall. Besides being a brutal war machine and tyrannical dictatorship, the Qin were able to accomplish some amazing things for China such as the standardization of language and writing. The Qin have a rich history in China and have laid a partial foundation for the modern state of China.

Three Kings

This critical article is from the site Rotten Tomatoes. The page mainly gives an overview of what the movie is initially about; however, there is one section that goes into details of where the directors have made mistakes in the film such as the mountainous scenery when describing Ice Cube's job in Detroit. Clearly there is a technical mistake. Whom ever wrote this article really knew the history of the Middle East because they were able to spot that the supposedly stolen Kuwaiti cars had registrations in Saudi Arabia. And the list continues as it provides a link to even more details that were overlooked by the movie's producers. This isn't a typical critical article that criticizes the director or just the movie, rather it delves into the complex intricacies that most people don't look into. It is quite interesting to see what is overlooked or forgotten when directing a film.

Francis Ford Coppola

The following link is a complete filmography of Francis Ford Coppola. It provides all of the movies that he has directed, produced, and written, and it also provides links to each movie that describes each movie in detail. He has directed 36 movies, including those that he is still working on, and he has worked on over 130 films in various positions ranging from the writer, actor, and producer. It's obvious from just the number of films that he has worked with that he is esteemed director in the movie industry, but until you look at the movies that he has been a part of then it becomes clear about how talented this man is. His work includes such movies as Jack (1996), The Godfather Trilogy (1972-90), Apocalypse Now (1979), and Dracula (1992) - just to name a few, but he has worked with other films like Marie Antoinette (2006), Jeepers Creepers (2001), The Virgin Suicides (1999), and American Graffiti (1973). The list keeps on growing, which displays how much of an impact this man has made on the film industry.

History Behind The Godfather

This link provides a short historical analysis of the The Godfather by stating that the film depicted "poverty, the turn of the century, a family, and the hypocracy of politics in America." Also, the link refers to The Godfather as an accurate portrayal of the Sicilian Mafia through the language and culture. However, this links doesn't give an indepth historical analysis as it does link the movie to key figures and events during the '20s. The link goes into descriptions of which characters in The Godfather resembled real-life gangsters, such as Johnnie Fontaine is most likely a link to Frank Sinatra, who was suspected of having mob connections. Also, Moe Green and Hyman Roth, in the movie, was closely related to Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky because of the related deaths and roles within the movie.

"Coppola is the most talented and interesting filmmaker to come to prominence in the 1970s."

Brian Dauth takes a critical approach towards The Godfather, but rather than point out all the negative aspects of the movie, he praises Francis Ford Coppola for all of his successes with the movie. He expresses Coppola's love of family's and how they exist within society. He explored the depths of which people inside the family and the family coexist within a greater society both socially and economically. Also, Dauth takes at how Coppola positions the camera to emphasize the importance of each character. He took a look at all possibilities for his characters to grow throughout the film. In short, The Godfather made Coppola an overnight success and left the question of where could he go from there?