War Photographer

Customer Reviews:

Just buy it.......2007-07-02

There are a lot of words in other reviews and they say it better then I can... Seriously, Just buy it (or rent if you prefer but), Watch and Think.

The Ultimate Reality Documentary.......2007-05-08

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Near the end of this powerful film, James Nachtwey, the photojournalist profiled in it states what might happen if people could see what he has:

"What you see [in war or conflict] is unmitigated pain, injustice, and misery. It has occurred to me that if everybody could be there just once to see for themselves what white phosphorus [used in bombs, artillary shells, and mortar shells] does to the face of a child or what unspeakable pain is caused by the impact of a single bullet or how a ragged piece of shrapnel can rip someone's leg off--if everybody could be there to see for themselves the fear and grief just one time, then they would understand that nothing is worth letting things get to the point where that happens to even one person, let alone thousands."

He continues by stating why the war photographer's work is so important:

"But everyone cannot be there and that is why photographers go there, to show them, to reach out and grab them and make them stop what they're doing and pay attention to what is going on--to create pictures powerful enough to...shake people out of their indifference."

This is what this documentary does. It reaches out and grabs you through Nachtwey's photographs enabling you the viewer to see what he sees. Besides seeing pictures and moving images of pain, injustice, and misery, the viewer also gets to see poverty, suffering, violence, brutality, and famine. You also get a glimpse of the danger Nachtwey is exposed to on each assignment.

Besides brief comments by Nachtwey, there are also comments made by others throughout the film. Specifically, there are comments given by Chief International Correspondent for CNN Christiane Amanpour, two foreign editors, a Reuters cameraman, and a screenwriter. Make sure the subtitles are turned on as all comments are not in English.

Locations we follow Nachtwey to include The Balkans, Kosovo; Jakarta, Indonesia; Ramallah, Pallestine; New York City; Hamburg, Germany; and Kawah Ijen, Indonesia.

Finally, the DVD itself (the one released in 2003) is perfect in picture and sound quality. It has some extras that I found to be very interesting.

In conclusion, this is a powerful film. Near the beginning of this Academy Award nominated documentary Nachtwey says,

"In a war, the normal codes of civilized behavior are suspended."

After viewing this film, you'll actually see that this is definitely true!!

(2001; 95 min; wide screen; 18 scenes)

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An Inspirational Experience.......2007-03-27

This documentary was by far the most moving, piercing, inspirational piece of film or any media I have ever seen. Not only is the subject, James Nachtwey, deeply inspirational in his devoted, quiet, compassionate commitment to documenting the lives of the countless millions suffering today, but the film itself is extraordinary. Seeing the full context of the photographer's subject before the photo is taken (through a videocamera attached to the camera) makes the effect of Nachtwey's work, his life, and the lives of those he photographs that much more powerful. This is the one documentary I would recommend all of my friends watch. Truly inspirational.

One of the best films ever made about human nature.......2007-03-20

This is an amazing documentary. I enjoyed every moment of it. Being an amateur photographer and pasionate about photography I could only admire the human quality if James Nachtwey. In order to apreciate it, I also reccomend another video "The Death of Kevin Carter" to see how war photography destroys men, specially those who in normal circumstances are strong sucesful men. Instead Nachtwey is the exception: he's at his best as a human been when other people suffer.

Any soldier should also watch it. The same morals applies to the military. Amazing film.

Fantastic.... amazing........2007-03-19

Sure it has 5 stars across the board, but what exactly is being conveyed in a DVD like this? Just someone following around a famous photographer? Or is it more than that? It tells a story, albeit a hard to swallow one, it's about humanity, professionalism, and duty.

He has this little video camera attached to his regular camera, which follows him around, and you see exactly what he's seeing as he shoots. In other parts he has another video guy following him around, showing an area, and James deducing what is the most important piece of the scene to shoot. Cristiane Amanpore chimes in several times as do other experts in the field and they talk about his dedication to his job etc... in a few shots they show post processing on a some photographs....

Truly an excellent DVD. If you can't take true humanity though, it can be tough to watch at times.

Shooting War - World War II Combat Cameramen

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A great episode of history
Save your money.
Photographer's view of battle...
The best combat footage of WW2!

Shooting War - World War II Combat Cameramen
Starring: Tom Hanks , Stephen Ambrose , Russ Meyer , John Ford , and Arthur Mainzer
Director: Richard Schickel
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001NBLXG
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Customer Reviews:

A great episode of history.......2007-03-17

Shooting War is the incredible story of the Combat Cameramen during World War II. We always think about soldiers, civilians, and destroyed places when we hear the word 'war'. This time we can se a different side of war, told under the perspective of the cameramen. And their story is deep, sad and often tragic. But in the end, I can tell you that this men are heroes too. Their only weapons were cameras and tripods... And we didn't know about them until few years ago. I highly recommend this DVD.

Save your money........2005-10-14

This is NOT a video about WWII, but a series of interviews with combat cameramen relating their activities during the war. The video presented is incidental to that purpose. Much of the black and white film presented is actually easily available in its original color elsewhere and I already have it - in the form of numerous works that I have had for years. Some of the color they do show is of low quality and of scenes or activities that are just "filler". I get the impression the creators of this work picked it up cheap somewhere. To add to my disgust was the casual handling of accuracy, for example the claim that "7000 marines died on Iwo Jima" (vs. just over 5900 in reality). And what WWII-related work from our wonderful leftist elites in Hollywood (Spielberg et al) would be complete without a segment of whining drivel about the horrible immorality and pointlessness of using the atomic bomb? If this mediocrity is something you feel you just have to have, buy it used and don't pay more than five or six dollars.

Photographer's view of battle..........2005-09-06

I've had a great interest lately in studying both the history and background of WWII. This video came to my attention after I considered the difficulty presented to pro photographers who covered this war without the benefits of our modern equipment, and with the limitations of film. This is a very interesting account of the part photographers played in recording history. The anecdotal references do a service both to the combatants and the photographers. The details of the DDay challenges with regard to photographing the events and getting the film back to safety were enlightening. I highly recommend this video to any photographer and to those who are interested in learning how some of the more compelling photos (flag raising at Iwo Jima, for example) were captured.

The best combat footage of WW2!.......2005-02-06

I've been a military history buff all my life and I own dozens of documentaries, and this one has the best combat footage from WW2 (at least from the American point-of-view). The footage was all shot by U.S. combat cameramen who risked their lives (and gave their lives) so that we could have a permanent record of what our brave soldiers experienced during the war. From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima, from the invasion of Italy to the concentration camps in Germany, this unflinching documentary has amazing footage of some of the war's bloodiest battles. Some of the footage is well-known, taken from award-winning documentaries by John Ford and John Huston. But a lot of the footage I had never seen before. The most shocking footage comes from the brutal "island-hopping" battles in the Pacific, where cameramen recorded Japanese soldiers being burned out of caves, or shot while trying to flee the U.S. Marines. You can read about these bloody battles for years, but seeing the footage makes it clear just how chaotic and bloody the battles were. For any history buffs this documentary is a must!

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ABC News UpClose The War Photographers

Manufacturer: ABC News
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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