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List Price: $29.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 638
Released: April 22, 2008 |
| Our Price: $8.19 |
| Used Price: $3.92 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this compelling and witty film from Oscar®-winning director Mike Nichols and Primetime Emmy®-winning writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing). Based on the outrageous true story, Charlie Wilson's War shows how one congressman who loved a good time, one Houston socialite who loved a good cause and one renegade CIA agent who loved a good fight conspired to bring about the largest covert operation in history.
Description of Charlie Wilson's War (Widescreen):
Political movies about backroom negotiations need not be dry or heavy-handed, as Charlie Wilson's War delightfully proves. Based on the true story of playboy congressman Wilson's efforts to fund Afghanistan's defense against the Soviet invasion of the 1980s, the film is borne along on breezy attitude and a peppery script by West Wing scribe Aaron Sorkin. Wilson, played by Tom Hanks (who also produced), is the perfect hero for this kind of tale, because there's nothing perfect or heroic about him: He's a highball-swilling, fanny-pinching gadabout who becomes radicalized on the issue of helping the Afghans against their mighty aggressor. He has help in the form of a right-wing Texas anti-Communist (Julia Roberts) with a genius for raising money, and a sardonic CIA operative (Philip Seymour Hoffman, stealing the show) who lacks all the social skills Wilson has in abundance. Sorkin's syncopated speech is just the ticket for director Mike Nichols, who understands exactly how to keep this kind of political comedy popping (the complicated story comes in at a hair over 90 minutes, amazingly). Some scoundrels are on the right side of the angels, and the movie's Charlie Wilson is one of them. --Robert Horton
Beyond Charlie Wilson's War on DVD
More Tom Hanks | 
Films by Mike Nichols | 
More Julia Roberts |
Stills from Charlie Wilson's War (Click for larger image) Charlie Wilson's War (Widescreen) Reviews:
Incredible story! 
2009-01-08 - A good historical viewpoint of the present/recent past US involvement in Afghanistan. Personally, I recommend reading the book before seeing the movie since so much more historical information can be presented in a book than in the movie. Reading the book also made the movie easier for me to follow even though most people I have talked to who did not read the book said it was fairly easy to follow.
tom hanks and philip seymour hoffman shine in a fast-dialogue tongue twister 
2008-12-30 - First, let me be honest about relevant biases I hold. I am not a fan of Tom Hanks. I don't like Forrest Gump, and aside from Big, I've never really understand his massive appeal. I either really enjoy Julia Roberts (i.e. Mona Lisa Smile or Steel Magnolias) or I'm lukewarm about her performances. I think Philip Seymour Hoffman is brilliant in everything he's ever done. Finally, Aaron Sorkin is a dynamic writer.
The dialogue is fast-paced, which I usually adore (i.e. 30 Rock, the funniest show on television). When rapid dialogue coexists with Southern accents, it is sometimes difficult to understand. This movie is all dialogue. I found myself listening too hard to the individual words to always understand the depth of plot. It's certainly a history lesson, and the story is fascinating. Philip Seymour Hoffman steals every scene he's in, and he deserved the Oscar nomination for it. I happen to believe his performance was even better than Javier Bardem's winning performance in No Country for Old Men, but I realize I'm in the minority. Tom Hanks was also fantastic, and I am not one to commonly hold this belief. Julia Roberts, despite having very little to do in this incredibly male driven story, was underwhelming. She's from Georgia, and I know she can do a Southern accent well, but her accent in Charlie Wilson's War was odd and un-Texan. She had a few great lines, but they managed to be more throwaways because of her accent and lack of character development. I would have gladly added ten minutes to the film's running time to see Julia Roberts have more to do.
All things considered, it's definitely worth seeing, but when you watch it, you may want to keep the remote control nearby to pause and rewind the rapidly fired dialogue. Prepare to once again be in awe of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Also, prepare to be absolutely depressed because the story is true. It's brilliance is in its tragedy; the layers of history must be determined after the fact. I give Aaron Sorkin credit for distilling a complicated part of history into a manageable hour and forty-five minute story. I appreciate the tongue-in-cheek depictions of women at the time. The screenplay and the actresses who portray Wilson's support staff manage to allow viewers to celebrate the decadence of the day with a modern view of its sexist underpinnings. It's not a movie I'll need to see again, but it is a movie I'm glad I saw.
Interesting take on history
2008-12-24 - Another political movie that choses gloss over substance. Philip Seymour Hoffman steals every scene that he's in and Julia Roberts rely on her southern roots to turn in a convincing Texas belle performance. Tom Hanks-eh. I wasn't too impressed, it seems like I've seen this character for him before. I didn't necessarily find this story all that compelling and it fails at being a character study because the change in our main character literally happens at a snap of a finger. Of course at the end everything is the U.S' fault and I guess somehow we should all be ashamed of ourselves in the end. For the most part, the film is just a notch above a snoozer-only because of Hoffman.
Better than most 
2008-12-22 - Philip Seymour Hoffman makes this movie. His sarcastic, cynical and wry CIA agent is the best part of the whole thing. The dialog is great and Julia Roberts has the "Texas Socialite" down pat.
The crappy Texas accents make it a bit hard to understand the actors, particularly at the beginning of the movie, and I really could have done without the shot of Tom Hanks naked butt.
Otherwise, the movie is funny and holds your interest throughout.
Charlie Wilson's Warf
2008-12-21 - Item arrived on time and in great shape. Here again Tom Hanks is always fun to watch.
