Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Binding: DVD
EAN: 5050582550474
Format: PAL
Label: Universal Pictures UK
Languages: EnglishOriginal Language
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Universal Pictures UK
Region Code: 2
Release Date: May 05, 2008
Running Time: 102 minutes
Studio: Universal Pictures UK
Theatrical Release Date: 2007

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
Overlooked in the end at the Academy Awards, and not ratcheting up the box office you'd perhaps expect of a Tom Hanks movie, Charlie Wilson's War is nonetheless a challenging, entertaining and underappreciated film, that deserves to find a bigger audience on DVD.

Starring Hanks in the title role, the strength of Charlie Wilson's War is in some talented people doing what they do best. Hanks eases into his part, as the Texas congressman who uses his extensive contacts book and unorthodox nature (which is putting it mildly) to initiate and wage a secret war. Alongside him is Julia Roberts on fine form in a small part, and the excellent Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who is at the heart of the film's best, and funniest, moments.

Gluing Charlie Wilson's War together is an assured turn behind the camera from veteran director Mike Nichols. Nichols, still best known for The Graduate, is confident enough to let the comedy in a deathly serious story play out, while not shirking the drama either. It's a tender balancing act, that only flusters a little near the end.

It's not a perfect film, and the tone may be a little uneasy for some. But Charlie Wilson's War is, nonetheless, a very strong piece of American cinema, that has questions to ask, and manages to entertain at the same time. Well worth discovering. --Jon Foster




Rating: - Uncinematic story competently but blandly filmed
The film is not very good. It is simply not a very cinematic story, and it has not been dramatically filmed. It's just a bunch of people talking about funding a secret war, but with the intricacies of the politics and deceptions simplified to the point of rendering everything bland and dull.

An example: Hanks tells the President of Pakistan that he has probably broken the Logan Act in his dealings. The President asks what this is, Hanks does not explain. So most of the audience ... Read More

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Rating: - Surprisingly good
I didn't think this would be anywhere near as enjoyable as it is. I really liked it, and found it to be surprisingly good.

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Rating: - Don't buy if you want to know what really happened
It's not a bad film as pure entertainment but, naturally, it depicts Americans as good (though flawed) and Russians as essentially evil. I should add that I'm no fan of the appalling Soviet Empire but we now know that, far from saving Afghanistan from Russia, the US government (and the CIA) provoked the Russian invasion as part of their Cold War strategy. Whether or not you think this policy was worthwhile in harming the Soviet Empire, the fact remains that Charlie Wilson's War totally ignores the ... Read More

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Rating: - Surprisingly interesting movie!
Worth watching just for Hoffman's character, who manages to consistently upstage the two heavyweight leads of Hanks and Roberts. This guy is completely in the spirit and period of the movie and makes the other two look like they're hamming it up something rotten.

I initially rented this and assumed the unskippable advert was only on the rental copy - bit of a shameful oversight if it's on the bought version, I think.

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Rating: - Good but could have been better
I have to agree with the reviews on here, this film covers a very touchy subject and gives you an insight into American politics. A floored but good congressman (Hanks) stumbles into a war that he didn't know that much about, upon finding out the true story dedicates his career with the help of a wealthy texas woman (Roberts) to righting the injustice, and in steps another floored but honest character (Hoffman). However a 90 minute movie on such a subject when no-one would blink if it were 2 hours doesn't ... Read More

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