Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

namashi_1 Mick Jackson's Critical Darling 'Live from Baghdad' is an Awesome watch. A brutal look at Iraq during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, comes a film that's hard to forget. And Michael Keaton, One Of THE Best Actors in Cinema, Is In Top Form! 'Live from Baghdad' Synopsis: A group of CNN reporters wrestle with journalistic ethics and the life-and-death perils of reporting during the Gulf War.The Persian Gulf War in 1991, was a human-study. It was calculative, manipulative & aggressive. Robert Wiener, Richard Chapman & John Patrick Shanley's Screenplay is Taut & Unforgettable. It delivers a path-breaking story & uses a brutal history piece as its wallpaper. Mick Jackson's Direction is Razor-Sharp. Cinematography is excellent. Editing is good. Performance-Wise: Michael Keaton as Robert Wiener, is masterful. Keaton sinks his teeth into the part & performs with flying colors. Helena Bonham Carter is magnificent, as usual. Paul Guilfoyle is first-rate. Michael Cudlitz is quite natural. Lili Taylor & Bruce McGill are adequate. On the whole, 'Live from Baghdad' is Bloody Good! Strongly Recommended!

LydiaHollowell If you like Michael Keaton and you're used to him being funny (which he is), you will be surprised and impressed at his ability to play it serious. The subject is serious, and what happened to the actual people this movie is based on, is really serious, and the ensemble in this movie work well together. They bring in excellent, very believable performances. Helena Bonham-Carter is superb and "bounces" off Keaton well. They have a wonderful "friendship"; someone to talk to in the midst of an upcoming war that no one can stop. The special effects are "dead on" and the viewer will feel as though they are there. David Suchet, the lovable and brilliant Hercule Perot(sp?), will amaze you, again, at his ability to play a role so different than so many he's done. His acting in this film is also "dead on" and you have to empathize with Suchet's character and Keaton's. They are caught in a situation where neither one wants to be. Enjoy this one. You will.

svs247 'Live from Baghdad' is a political movie in the sense that it asks very tough questions; however, its center lies not in politics but in people. It relates the story of Robert Wiener and his CNN team as they struggle to report the news from Baghdad in the six month antebellum period leading up to the Persian Gulf War of 1991. The team battles with tough Iraqi censorship, enormous political tension, and the reality of impending war. While still presenting the historical events of the time, Baghdad focuses on interpersonal relationships and intrapersonal struggles. Questions over the role of the media emanate from the various stories and struggles that the CNN team faces. The issues of censorship and propaganda, for example, plague the CNN team and their coverage. The use of the media as a diplomatic pawn befalls Wiener and his crew several times in the film. In many senses Baghdad is a media mood ring: different situations in the movie stress and display the various characteristics of the press from a governmental tool to diplomatic connection.The acting in this movie is superb. Keaton is a very strong actor in this film and in every sense epitomizes the gung-ho, balls-out attitude of the real Robert Wiener. In stark contrast, David Suchet, as Naji Al-Hadithi, presents the exquisiteness of his character with a sense of calculation and deliberation. He very much captures a cultured, borderline-aristocratic dignity that an Iraqi official in Saddam Hussein's cabinet might hold.The particular strength of this movie is not in the plot, the production or the characters, however--and in fact none of these really stand out as excellent--but in the broad questions it raises. At the heart of this film is the implied question as to the role of the media. To what extent should we censor? How much should we analyze? What does the public have the right to now and how far can the press go to get it? 'Live from Baghdad' is an incredible movie in the sense that it can raise these questions from an emotional and factual base.I give this movie an 8 out of 10 for its generally entertaining plot and tough press-related questions.

Topher-26 It was often publically proven that Naira, the girl who supposedly saw the babies die in Kuweit from the unplugged incubators (312 of them as confirmed by Amnesty International then) turned out to be the daughter of the Ambassador of Kuweit in Washington, DC. and never set foot in Kuweit in her life. (Amnesty International later realized their mistake).The movie suggests that the American journalists were kept from investigating further inside the hospital by the local Iraqi police. The whole thing being a lie, this scene makes obviously no sense.After the broadcast of this woman's "testimony" shocking the world population, George Bush Sr. got the authorization 2 days later to attack Iraq.Of course, the only kinds of journalists represented in the film are from CNN and FOX, notoriously known as being the most government-controlled media "news" companies of the "free world".Please do not let this film serve as a history book. It only serves the purpose of disinformation aimed at the masses. Praising a political film based on propaganda is more serious than voting for a comedy. A little research to verify the facts beforehand might be necessary.