JackCharlie Wilson's War
January 7th 2008 04:45
Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 film about Democratic Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson, who conspired with a rogue CIA operative named Gust Avrakotos to launch an operation to help the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. The film is adapted from George Crile's 2003 book Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History. Directed by Mike Nichols, written by Aaron Sorkin, and starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, the film was nominated in 2007 for five Golden Globe Awards, including "Best Motion Picture." The film was released on December 21st in the USA. The Australian release date is January 24th, 2008.
Urged on by his staunchly anti-communist friend and romantic interest, Joanne Herring, Wilson leads the effort to provide United States funds indirectly to the Afghan Mujahideen. In the process, the film also reveals Wilson as a Congressman whose disdain for the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan is supplemented by his gregarious social life of women and partying.
Herring persuades him to visit the Pakistani leadership who complain about the inadequate support to oppose the Soviets and insist he visit a major Afghan refugee camp. Deeply moved by their misery and determination to fight, Wilson is frustrated by the regional CIA detachment's insistence on a low key approach against the Soviet despite his firm pledges for generous funding as a member of two major Congressional defense committees. To solve that problem, Wilson befriends the maverick CIA operative Gust Avrakotos and his understaffed Afghanistan group to find a better strategy, especially including a means to counter the Soviets' formidable gunship helicopter air support. As a result, Wilson's deft political bargaining for the necessary funding and Avrakotos' group's careful planning using those resources, such as supplying the guerrillas with FIM-92 Stinger missile launchers, turn the Soviet occupation into a deadly quagmire with their heavy fighting vehicles being destroyed at a crippling rate. This effort by Wilson ultimately evolves into a major portion of the US foreign policy known as the Reagan Doctrine, under which the U.S. assisted the mujahideen and other anti-communist resistance movements around the world. Controversial at the time, some now credit the policy with contributing to the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union and global communism, bringing about the end of the Cold War.
Despite the victory, Avrakotos warns that unless there is a serious effort to help Afghanistan rebuild back into a stable society, there could be dire and unpredictable repercussions for both that nation and the USA. Unfortunately, Wilson finds exceptionally little enthusiasm in the government for even the modest measures he proposes to heed this warning and his efforts are frustrated. The film ends with Wilson receiving a major commendation for the support of the US clandestine services, but his pride is sadly tempered by his fears of what unintended consequences his secret efforts could yield in the future.
The movie trailer for Charlie Wilson's War is below:
Cast:
Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson
Julia Roberts as Joanne Herring
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Gust Avrakotos
Ned Beatty as Doc Long
Om Puri as General Zia-Ul-Haq
Amy Adams as Bonnie Bach
Mary Page Keller as Mrs. Wilson
Emily Blunt as Jane Liddle
Shiri Appleby as Jailbait
Rachel Nichols as Suzanne
Christopher Denham as Michael G. Vickers
Other Info:
Genre: Biography / Drama
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Produced By: Tom Hanks
Written by: Aaron Sorkin
Distributed by: Universal Pictures Playtone
Release date: USA - December 21st, 2007; Australia - January 24th, 2008; UK - January 9th, 2008
Runtime: 100 mins
Budget: $US 75 million
Rating: US - R; for strong language, nudity/sexual content and some drug use.
*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Charlie Wilson's War.
**This movie poster is used here under fair use. It came from the same Wikipedia page as above.
Urged on by his staunchly anti-communist friend and romantic interest, Joanne Herring, Wilson leads the effort to provide United States funds indirectly to the Afghan Mujahideen. In the process, the film also reveals Wilson as a Congressman whose disdain for the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan is supplemented by his gregarious social life of women and partying.
Herring persuades him to visit the Pakistani leadership who complain about the inadequate support to oppose the Soviets and insist he visit a major Afghan refugee camp. Deeply moved by their misery and determination to fight, Wilson is frustrated by the regional CIA detachment's insistence on a low key approach against the Soviet despite his firm pledges for generous funding as a member of two major Congressional defense committees. To solve that problem, Wilson befriends the maverick CIA operative Gust Avrakotos and his understaffed Afghanistan group to find a better strategy, especially including a means to counter the Soviets' formidable gunship helicopter air support. As a result, Wilson's deft political bargaining for the necessary funding and Avrakotos' group's careful planning using those resources, such as supplying the guerrillas with FIM-92 Stinger missile launchers, turn the Soviet occupation into a deadly quagmire with their heavy fighting vehicles being destroyed at a crippling rate. This effort by Wilson ultimately evolves into a major portion of the US foreign policy known as the Reagan Doctrine, under which the U.S. assisted the mujahideen and other anti-communist resistance movements around the world. Controversial at the time, some now credit the policy with contributing to the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union and global communism, bringing about the end of the Cold War.
The movie trailer for Charlie Wilson's War is below:
Cast:
Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson
Julia Roberts as Joanne Herring
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Gust Avrakotos
Ned Beatty as Doc Long
Om Puri as General Zia-Ul-Haq
Amy Adams as Bonnie Bach
Mary Page Keller as Mrs. Wilson
Emily Blunt as Jane Liddle
Shiri Appleby as Jailbait
Rachel Nichols as Suzanne
Christopher Denham as Michael G. Vickers
Other Info:
Genre: Biography / Drama
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Produced By: Tom Hanks
Written by: Aaron Sorkin
Distributed by: Universal Pictures Playtone
Release date: USA - December 21st, 2007; Australia - January 24th, 2008; UK - January 9th, 2008
Runtime: 100 mins
Budget: $US 75 million
Rating: US - R; for strong language, nudity/sexual content and some drug use.
*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Charlie Wilson's War.
**This movie poster is used here under fair use. It came from the same Wikipedia page as above.
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