The War Tapes
Encyclopedia
The War Tapes is the first documentary film
of the 2003 invasion of Iraq
to be produced by the soldiers themselves. The film (released commercially in 2006) follows three New Hampshire National Guard
soldiers before, during, and after their deployment to Iraq about a year after the invasion. Their unit was Charlie Company
, 3rd Battalion
, 172nd Infantry
Regiment
(Mountain), which deployed from March 2004 to February 2005.
The three soldiers with cameras featured in the film are SPC
Michael Moriarity who signed up in a burst of patriotism
after 9/11 and asked to be shipped to Iraq
. His colleagues are SGT
Stephen Pink, who joined the National Guard to help pay for college, and SGT Zack Bazzi. Two other soldiers, SGT Duncan Domey and SPC Brandon Wilkins, also filmed their entire deployments for the film. In all, 17 soldiers were given cameras and recorded 800 hours of tape in Iraq. Stateside interviews with the soldiers and their families made up an additional 200 hours of tape. The "cast" was narrowed to three soldiers for the final feature length film. They were chosen in part because they were seen by the director and producers as the "main characters".
The film won the prize for Best International Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival
in May 2006 and also Best International Documentary at BritDoc in July 2006. The documentary was released for sale on DVD May 15, 2007. Moreover, it is possibly the most innovative result of the embedded reporter program. In this case the reporter did not go to Iraq
, but provided cameras to the soldiers, and provided direction on filming to them via instant messaging
and email.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
of the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
to be produced by the soldiers themselves. The film (released commercially in 2006) follows three New Hampshire National Guard
New Hampshire National Guard
The New Hampshire National Guard is a component of the New Hampshire Adjutant General's Department. It consists of the:*New Hampshire Army National Guard*New Hampshire Air National Guard*157th Air Refueling Wing-External links:**...
soldiers before, during, and after their deployment to Iraq about a year after the invasion. Their unit was Charlie Company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
, 3rd Battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
, 172nd Infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
Regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
(Mountain), which deployed from March 2004 to February 2005.
The three soldiers with cameras featured in the film are SPC
Specialist (rank)
Specialist is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the U.S. Army, just above Private First Class and equivalent in pay grade to Corporal. Unlike Corporals, Specialists are not considered junior non-commissioned officers...
Michael Moriarity who signed up in a burst of patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
after 9/11 and asked to be shipped to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. His colleagues are SGT
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Stephen Pink, who joined the National Guard to help pay for college, and SGT Zack Bazzi. Two other soldiers, SGT Duncan Domey and SPC Brandon Wilkins, also filmed their entire deployments for the film. In all, 17 soldiers were given cameras and recorded 800 hours of tape in Iraq. Stateside interviews with the soldiers and their families made up an additional 200 hours of tape. The "cast" was narrowed to three soldiers for the final feature length film. They were chosen in part because they were seen by the director and producers as the "main characters".
The film won the prize for Best International Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
in May 2006 and also Best International Documentary at BritDoc in July 2006. The documentary was released for sale on DVD May 15, 2007. Moreover, it is possibly the most innovative result of the embedded reporter program. In this case the reporter did not go to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, but provided cameras to the soldiers, and provided direction on filming to them via instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
and email.
External links
- The War Tapes official site/blog
- Interview with the filmmakers on the Tavis SmileyTavis SmileyTavis Smiley is a talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of...
show - Film sees war through soldiers' eyes, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 2 June 2006 - "The War Tapes": Soldiers Tell Their Own Iraq Stories, NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, July 30, 2006 - 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain) at GlobalSecurity.org