Charlie Wilson's War [2007] | ![Charlie Wilson's War [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eeGrM-OHL._SL75_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Mike Nichols
Actors: Tom Hanks, Amy Adams, Julia Roberts, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ned Beatty
Studio: Universal Pictures UK
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
Buy New: £9.88
You Save: £10.11 (51%)
New (14) Used (5) from £9.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 101
Format: Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 102
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5050582550474
ASIN: B0014JGFD2
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: May 5, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW & SEALED, Will despatch FIRST CLASS POST by the NEXT WORKING DAY from our UK outlet shop
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| Editorial Reviews:
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Really great film - but DVD has 3.5 minute intro you have to sit through May 8, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I saw this film at the cinema, came out and went right back in to see it again. As a fan of Aaron Sorkin it delivered exactly what I wanted.
Ordered as soon as available on the site - it arrived today and I have just started to watch it.
And it has a 3.5 minute trailer from unicef for a terribly important issue - HIV in Africa - at the beginning. It can't be skipped over. It can't be fast-forwarded past. It is terribly sad and depressing, and I'll have to sit through every time I want to watch this film - and I will want to watch it again.
It's maddening. Made worse paradoxically by the fact that the issue the mini-film is about it such a major one.
So: really good film - but be warned about the obligatory intro. I feel we should resist this development in new DVDs.
 And Then We F*****Up The Rest Of The World May 3, 2008
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
'A liberal as well as a libertine, Charlie Wilson finds common cause (among other satisfactions) with Joanne Herring, a right-wing Houston socialite who loves Jesus and martinis and hates Communism. She is a splendid American contradiction, standing up for liberty and godliness while getting into bed (literally) with a bachelor congressman and (metaphorically) with President Zia (Om Puri), the military ruler of Pakistan. And, after all was said and done, Charlie says "And then we fucked up the rest of the world." AO Scott
Charlie Wilson, was an unapologetic womanizer, cocaine user, alcohol lover and all around good guy., The kind of congressman any sane person would want to avoid. Not me, if I knew my congressman was akin to Charlie Wilson I would walk on water to see that he won office again. Charlie got things done, he had heart and he loved, what is more important in this world? Tom Hanks portrays him perfectly. Joanne Herring played by Julia Roberts is the perfect foil. A lovely blond bombshell who was intelligent and wanted to make the world a better place. She said she loved the Lord and that's how she portrayed her works to the world and to the people who she was able to enlist to help her. The winner in my mind is Philip Seymour Hoffman who plays Gust Avrakotos, a C.I.A. operative. He does not care whose feet he steps on, he just gets the job done. His ability to clear the air of any fanciful misunderstandings is well worth the price of the film.
Charlie Wilson is asked by Joanne to help the Afghan's, and it is not until he visits the refugee camps that he fully understands the need. Isn't that the way it always is? He is convinced and for the next ten years he does whatever it takes to turn the first $5 million into one billion dollars. When all is said and done, however, we leave Afghanistan in a mess and of course, today we see the result to a country in chaos- the terrorists take over.
"Charlie Wilson's War is a journalistic satire of realpolitik in which our jerry-rigged alliances, which looked strategic at the time, end up biting the U.S. in unforeseen ways. Hovering over the film is the audience's realization that the Afghan war, while it hastened the downfall of the Soviet Union, created the breeding ground for an arguably more toxic threat: the jihad radicals who had nothing but hatred for the West (even as they were only too happy to use its rocket launchers). It says Charlie was right to fight his war -- if only Congress had had the will to support his reconstruction dream!" Owen Gleiberman
I loved the reality of this film- it was fun but with such a good message. Charlie Wilson is a man whom we would all want to be part of our lives. He actually gets things done in government. It took a woman to show him what was really needed, but once he got the fever he worked wholeheartedly for the Afghans. The film's ending was not to my liking, but I can over look that one error. Everyone should see this film, see what can be done when some one has a vision.
Highly recommended. prisrob 04-24-
"Who said they couldn't bring down the Soviet empire?" April 8, 2008
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Tom Hanks' career could hardly be described as unsuccessful - he is one of only three actors ever to have seven consecutive $100million blockbusters - but his choice of roles hasn't always proved to be entirely triumphant. His recent turn as Robert Langdon in the Da Vinci Code, for example, was average at best; as one-dimensional as the film itself. And so, with very little knowledge of the 'war' in question, it was with great intrigue that I watched this, in which Hanks stars as a Democratic Texas Congressman, driven to supporting the Afghans' plight against the Soviet Union during the early 1980s. Wilson's idealism - which at times appears almost naïve - and his determination to pursue this cause, provides the film with its plot, and it is to Hanks' credit that the pace is maintained throughout. His portrayal of Wilson is a winning mixture of Southern charm, good humour, pathos, unerring resolve - and just a smidgeon of that ol' Tom Hanks' magic. Of course, the fact that he is flanked by the ever brilliant Philip Seymour Hoffman and the statuesque Julia Roberts (highly convincing as Wilson's conscientious love interest, Joanne Herring) does him or the film no harm either...
If nothing else, Charlie Wilson's War succeeded in piquing my interest in the Cold War and in the darker side of American foreign policy - however well-intentioned - which I have since gone away and researched in more detail (with George Crile's book of the same name being the obvious starting point). The film, however, should be judged on its own merits and personally I did not find it to be pro- or anti-American, preachy, or moralistic, but it did open my eyes to how political and military victories were - and to a certain degree, still are - achieved. It is a touch heavy on the political jargon for the average movie-goer, but the dialogue is swift and witty throughout making this an enjoyable and entertaining film, regardless of the depth of your knowledge of the period in question.
Matt Pucci
worth it for the last 5 minutes April 5, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
it's not a fantastic film. it's far too simplistic. check out the war on wikipedia.... but.... but...
it's probably a better, more realistic view of how the world works then most hollywood attempts.. and those last two scenes are are fantastic.... when the us empire collapses in the next 30 years... just remember those last 2 scenes... they had it all... and they blew it... just like all the others...
The picture just got bigger March 26, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A fantastic movie on all levels. Not only are the performances sleek and inspired, but there is a refreshing element of everydayness that makes the whole account watchable and enjoyable while retaining its seriousness. The gravity of the whole issue is not allowed to weigh the movie down, and the cheekiness of the presentation does not trivialise any of its messages. A perfect balance has been struck that delivers its message loud and clear.
It is important to notice that this movie transcends partisanship by extending itself into the real world. Specifically, the movie lacks an ending; even though it follows the war of the Afghan nation against the Soviets, showing how the US got involved, all the way to the defeat of the Soviets and even slightly beyond that, it stops there and does not follow through. And here lies the genius of this movie, simple and laconic: it gives us no ending! There in no proper ending to this movie, for the ending is out there, in the real world. We are actually left to understand the turn of events on our own, through the aftereffects of what the movie has shown happen twenty years ago, and to make up our minds as such. We are left to close the movie up with our own personal experience of the repercussions of what happened out there, and we are left to do it on our own and without lectures or cheesy endings.
And the best part of all is that when the DVD is released down the line, and re-released, and so on and so forth, we will still have an ending for Charlie Wilson's War. While this may make this movie difficult to comprehend in its entirety, say, fifty years from now, it makes it perfectly relevant now and allows the real world to explain the movie, just as this movie tries to explain the real world. Brilliant reciprocity. A great way to make a statement, even if the events are not entirely comprehensive. This is great storytelling, enjoyable and light-hearted. An effective way to touch a nerve or two. It'll incite hot questions amidst the apple-pie smiles and make an individual realise that defending democracy involves more than just arms. It involves brains, balls, vision, and an appreciation of the bigger picture... factors which were unfortunately absent in this tremendous geopolitical farce!
Charlie Wilson's War shows us exactly how idealism, zealotry, business-making, or just plain hype, can turn from blessing in disguise to an acrimonious curse, and may have an important thing or two to remind us (without drowning us in the pits of depression while doing so!)
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