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The Siege (1998/I)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
6 November 1998 (USA) moreTagline:
On November 6th our freedom is history morePlot:
The secret US abduction of a suspected terrorist leads to a wave of terrorist attacks in New York that lead to the declaration of martial law. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
2 wins & 4 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(11 articles)
Win The Siege with Denzel Washington on Blu-ray (From TheHDRoom. 19 June 2009, 7:51 AM, PDT)
[DVD Review] The Siege
(From JustPressPlay. 16 June 2009, 1:42 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Still stands up moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Denzel Washington | ... | Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard | |
| Annette Bening | ... | Elise Kraft / Sharon Bridger | |
| Bruce Willis | ... | Major General William Devereaux | |
| Tony Shalhoub | ... | Agent Frank Haddad | |
| Sami Bouajila | ... | Samir Nazhde | |
| Ahmed Ben Larby | ... | Sheik Achmed Bin Talal | |
| Mosleh Mohamed | ... | Muezzin | |
| Lianna Pai | ... | Tina Osu | |
| Mark Valley | ... | FBI Agent Mike Johanssen | |
| Jack Gwaltney | ... | Fred Darius | |
| David Proval | ... | Danny Sussman | |
| Lance Reddick | ... | FBI Agent Floyd Rose | |
| Jeremy Knaster | ... | INS Official | |
| William Hill | ... | INS Uniform | |
| Aasif Mandvi | ... | Khalil Saleh |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Against All Enemies (USA) (working title)Blowback (USA) (original script title)
Martial Law (USA) (working title)
Untitled Ed Zwick Project (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
116 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColour:
ColourAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreCertification:
Netherlands:12 | Iceland:16 | Philippines:G | Brazil:14 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-re-rating) | Singapore:PG (original rating) (heavily cut) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Hungary:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) (cut) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:RFun Stuff
Trivia:
According to an interview that screenwriter Lawrence Wright gave to CBS in 2007, the film was a box office failure upon its theatrical release, "but it was the most-rented movie in America after 9/11." Wright also claimed that the initial release bombed because "Muslim and Arab protesters picketed the theaters. They were furious at being stereotyped as terrorists." moreGoofs:
Errors in geography: Sheik Ahmed Bin Talal is shown the be abducted in Lebanon, and a desert is shown. Lebanon is the only Arab country without a desert. moreQuotes:
Agent Frank Haddad: Hub, I think we're all eager to give our weekends up on this, I know I am... but it just occurs to me, has any one committed a crime here? I mean, assault with a deadly color...? moreSoundtrack:
First You Cry moreFAQ
Who played the man that delivered the pizza bomb (the guy who acted as a decoy)?more
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I remember hearing about this film before its release. It had caught a great deal of flack for its use of Arabs and Muslims in particular as violent extremists. Even at that time I knew that the protests against this film were nothing more than politically correct nonsense, as even then the only trans-oceanic terrorists that existed were of the fake-Muslim variety that today we hear about every hour.
When I saw the film, I was impressed by the fair nature of the film, in that it portrayed the truth: these extremists exist in the overwhelming minority of Muslims, and that it is unwise and unfair to paint them all with the same brush. With a very good script, excellent performances and exciting action pieces, I was impressed.
Jump ahead a few years, and we see what we have learned. This film was not just an intelligent story. It was a warning sign. It examined things that people did not want to talk about. It examined things that people thought it more politically correct to ignore. It portrayed events realistically and in fact far less devastating than what was possible. If there is one thing that can be learned by examining a film such as this in retrospective of recent events, it is that our species chooses to ignore that which it does not want to accept.
Those who do not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it. Perhaps there are other subjects we should stop being so PC about and actually talk about instead of worrying about "how it will look."