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Whistle Stopper - Charlie Wilson's War (Widescreen)
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List Price: $29.98
Our Price: $12.89
Your Save: $ 17.09 ( 57% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Ned Beatty
Directed By: Mike Nichols
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.
EAN: 0025195004848
Format: Widescreen
Label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Universal Studios
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2008-04-22
Running Time: 102
Studio: Universal Studios
Theatrical Release Date: 2007-12-21
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: How liberals fight wars
Comment: This is a film made by liberals for liberals who want to feel patriotic about fighting the last war. It should be noted that, at that time, most liberals were as squeamish about confronting soviet aggression as they are about confronting the Jihadists today. Ironically the actors, writer and director who made this film are uniformly liberal left and opposed to our Iraq policies, so it's hard to buy them as tough guys.
There is also no mention of the fact that Reagan was the one who approved those ever-increasing budgets.
Kudos should go to Congressman Charlie Wilson, one of a vanished breed of Democrat who took freedom and the need to protect it seriously enough to actually fight for it. The only one left today seems to be Joe Liebermann.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Film reviewers were right.
Comment: i have been reading reviews about"Charlie Wilson's Wars"since it first came out in America and then in Europe..All of them were mostly positive.As I live in Spain,I knew it would take a long time before I could see it here ,and then it would be dubbed in spanish.On top Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks beeing among my favourite actors plus of course that we have also Philip Seymour Hoffman and Mike Nichols as dirctor(Imagine that I have seen him with Helen May in Detroit around 1960),I preordered it as soon as it was available in DVD.Well,I certainly was not disappointed.All the way through it is fun,witty,very believable.The action develops like a slow menacing tidal wave(for the russians)On top you discover the real Charlie Wilson as an adorable scoundrel on the surface, but deep down a serious dedicated and profoundly honnest man.You have no idea how much and often. I have recommended it.
Bertrand Lewinson MD.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Secret War
Comment: "Charlie Wilson's War" is a political comedy about Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson (played wonderfully by Tom Hanks). In the 1980s he developed a scheme to funnel money and weapons to Afghanistan rebels to help fight the invading Soviet Union. Mr. Wilson is the man who knows how to get things done, by knowing the right men, and knowing how to play the political system. Helping him with the weapons is eccentric CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (played hilariously by Philip Seymour Hoffman), with Joanna Herring (Julia Roberts) providing political influence in the Middle East to get Charlie in the area he needs to see in Afghanistan.
As for the movie, it is great fun, funny and warm with sympathetic characters at its center. (One suspects that the characters may have been slightly sanitized for dramatic purposes.) Hanks is brilliant as womanizer and hard partying Wilson. Despite his flaws, Wilson is highly intelligent and committed to the cause. Hoffman's Avrakotos is great too, a smart guy who is burned out by the bureaucratic system. And of course Roberts turns in an elegant performance. The cast is excellent all the way around.
If there is a problem, it is not one the film makers did, it is one of history. Everyone knows that the weapons and money the U.S. gave the rebels were eventually used against American forces in the War on Terror. I in no way hold Mr. Wilson responsible; no one could have predicted what would happen in the 1980s. But it still puts a damper on the humor of the film.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Comment: Of course, I love just about anything that Philip Seymore Hoffman is in. But it's the entire cast, especially Tom Hanks as Charlie that makes this flik shine. Excellent movie.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Funny, Sexy, and Downright Interesting...
Comment: When director Mike Nichols is attached to a project, actors and studios listen. From The Graduate to The Birdcage, Nichols' eye for a specific brand of snappy and broad-ranging comedy is something to be cherished and respected.
That CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR is based on actual events also makes this story all the more interesting. Taking place in the office of Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks, The Da Vinci Code), we're taken on a wild ride of political manipulation that helps defeat communist Russia during the Cold War. Now one might think that such a fantastic thing as eliminating the communist threat would come from an upstanding and righteous man. Not so. Charlie's a womanizing, drinking, and drug-sniffing man who's responsible for a little known congressional district in Texas. But he's also a damn good looking guy, and he's caught the eye of southern socialite Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts, Charlotte's Web), the sixth richest woman in Texas. She implores Charlie to go to Afghanistan and witness the atrocities being committed upon that little-known nation in the name of communism. So Charlie goes and his life is turned around. He comes home and begins pressuring his constituents to place more money and military aid to the freedom fighters in Afghanistan.
With Charlie's ideas comes a gruff CIA agent named Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote) who's abrasive demeanor and beer-gut shape is in direct contrast to Charlie's. But the two learn to cope with one another and bring victory to the Afghan fighters.
The most notable performances in the film come not from Hanks, but from Hoffman and Julia Roberts. Philip Hoffman's whip-bang line delivery is astonishing and absolutely hilarious ("What is US strategy?" "Most strictly speaking, we don't have one. But we're working on it." "Who's we?" "Me and three other guys.") And Roberts' performance was quite a surprise. She played the soft but opinionated and strong Ms. Herring exceptionally well, giving one of her finest performances to date. I also enjoyed Amy Adams' (Enchanted) role as Charlie's personal secretary. She was always in the background and always right-on target with her beauty and wit. But even she couldn't stand up to the power that is Philip Seymour Hoffman (he definitely deserved the Oscar nod he got this year for his performance here).
This is a funny, sexy, and downright interesting story that few people probably know about. One can't help but wonder what new gem Nichols might be working on now and who will be in its cast.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this compelling and witty film from Oscar®-winning director Mike Nichols and Primetime Emmy®-winning writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing). Based on the outrageous true story Charlie Wilson's War shows how one congressman who loved a good time one Houston socialite who loved a good cause and one renegade CIA agent who loved a good fight conspired to bring about the largest covert operation in history.System Requirements:Running Time: 102 minutes Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/BIOGRAPHY Rating: R UPC: 025195004848 Manufacturer No: 61100566
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