A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

(C) 2001, 2006 Sony Pictures/Sony Home Entertainment On February 10, 1999, the Atlantic Monthly Press published Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden, a staff writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer .  Based on a 29-part series of articles Bowden wrote for the newspaper in the late '90s, Black Hawk Down was the first in-depth book about Operation Gothic Serpent, the mission that pitted 150 Army Rangers, Delta Force operators, and helicopter crews from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) against thousands of Somali gunmen in the infamous First Battle of Mogadishu (October 3-4, 1993), which the Somalis refer to as Maaliniti Rangers (Day of the Rangers). The original hardcover edition. (C) 1999 Atlantic Monthly Press Bowden's book earned critical acclaim for its vivid description of the most ferocious fighting American forces were involved with since Vietnam; 19 U.S. servicemen were killed, 73 were wounded, and Michael Durant, a helic...

Pros:  Five (yes, five) different versions of the film; nice mix of extras Cons:  None Blade Runner: 30th Anniversary Collector’s Edition   Reviewer’s Note:  This review covers the 2012 Blu-ray box set and  not  the 1982 feature film or any of its follow-on versions. I also don’t own the five-disc DVD set from which the ’12 30th Anniversary Collector’s Edition is derived.    Although I’m a fan of both director Ridley Scott and actor Harrison Ford, I’ve inexplicably kept 1982’s  Blade Runner  at arm’s length. I didn’t rush to see the original theatrical cut when it premiered on June 25, 1982 nor for its run in theaters. I hadn’t yet seen director Scott’s  Alien  and wasn’t too enthused about “hard” science fiction movies. My idea of an enjoyable sci-fi flick at the time included such movies as  Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan  and space fantasies along the lines of  Star Wars  and its sequels. ...

(c) 1979 20th Century Fox Alien (1979) Directed by Ridley Scott Written by Dan O’Bannon, based on an original story by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shussett Starring; Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto, Harry Dean Stanton, Ian Holm, John Hurt In space no one can hear you scream. Released in the summer of 1979, director Ridley Scott’s  Alien  is the most effective blend of science fiction and horror since Howard Hawks’  The Thing from Another World  (1951). Set almost entirely aboard a commercial space tug owned by “the Company.”  Alien  borrows effectively from Hawks’ chiller about a Cold War era military-science team’s fight against a parasitic alien and Steven Spielberg’s  Jaws.  Its leisurely pace, laser-like focus on characterization, and Scott’s unerring instinct for creating rising tension help earn  Alien  its status as one of the greatest films ever made. A...