In 1989, Brian De Palma at the top of his career after having just directed SCARFACE and THE UNTOUCHABLES, his two massive mainstream hits - decided to tackle the anti-war film CASUALTIES OF WAR, at a time just before the Gulf War had begun. The film made no disguises of it's message, a the title suggests the film showed how people's morality were lost on the battlefield as they became savages with the power of the gun and it attempted to de-glamorize the Vietnam and war itself that cinema was projecting at the time. It's a great film if you ever get chance to see it. Starring Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn, in what I believe is one of Fox's strongest performances.
Now, after the miserable failures THE BLACK DAHLIA, FEMME FATALE and MISSION TO MARS, De Palma is probably at the lowest point of his directing career (Remember, he was even going to direct a prequel to THE UNTOUCHABLES, and probably still will after this) and has fascinatingly decided to deal with the war issue once again. His next movie REDACTED, has been put together from YouTube clips, a French documentary, and fictional fragments from soldier's to create a digital film that shockingly tells the story of American soldiers who rape and murder an Iraqi girl. A rather strange but captivating trailer for the movie was released last week: It's a powerful trailer although it shows us absolutely nothing. I'm so intrigued by this picture, I'm dying to see how De Palma has put this together. The veteran helmer, now 67, tells us he hopes his film will be seen as his part in an attempt to stop the war on Iraq. There's a fascinating article and semi-interview piece over at Village Voice which you can read by CLICKING HERE which goes into this subject in depth and is well worth a read. De Palma has gotten huge praise from some quarters because of his innovative dealings with this subject matter and it's powerful message but from others he has seen screenings of his film suffer walkouts when the audience couldn't handle the graphic rape scene of a young Iraqi girl. You will be able to see REDACTED on a limited run next month in the U.S. (March in the U.K.) and like I say, it should make for some compelling viewing. I wouldn't miss it.
Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.
