12 January, 2025 Siobhan Marie Day 0 Comments 2 categories

Directed by Ridley Scott, Screenplay by Ken Nolan, Based on "Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War" by Mark Bowden, Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and Ridley Scott, Starring: Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Sam Shepard, with Cinematography by Sławomir Idziak, and Edited by Pietro Scalia, with Music by Hans Zimmer, Production companies: Columbia Pictures, Revolution Studios, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, and Scott Free Productions, Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing (2001)

Mission Gone Wrong…

Black Hawk Down is a 2001 war film directed and produced by Ridley Scott, and co-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, from a screenplay by Ken Nolan. It is based on the eponymous non-fiction book (1999) by journalist Mark Bowden, about the crew of a Black Hawk helicopter that was shot down during the Battle of Mogadishu. The film features a large ensemble cast, including Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Jason Isaacs, Sam Shepard, Jeremy Piven, Ioan Gruffudd, Ewen Bremner, Hugh Dancy, and Tom Hardy in his first film role. Orlando Bloom, Ty Burrell, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau also have minor roles.

Ridley Scott directing "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights

Jerry Bruckheimer & Ridley Scott on the set of "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights

Writer Ken Nolan attends the 54th Annual Writers Guild of America Awards March 2, 2002 in Beverly Hills, CA. Nolan is nominated for best screenplay for "Black Hawk Down." Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images

Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War is a 1999 book by journalist Mark Bowden. It documents efforts by the Unified Task Force to capture Somali faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid in 1993, and the resulting battle in Mogadishu between United States forces and Aidid's militia. One of the key events is the downing of two United States MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, from which the book derives its title, and the attempt to rescue their crews. United States forces included 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment; 160th SOAR; Delta Force; 24th Special Tactics Squadron; DEVGRU Navy SEALs; 10th Mountain Division; as well as Malaysian and Pakistani United Nations peacekeeping forces. The raid became the most intense close combat in U.S. military history since the Vietnam War. Although the overall mission to apprehend Aidid was officially codenamed Operation Gothic Serpent, the media colloquially termed the incident the Battle of Mogadishu as well as the Battle of the Black Sea.

Mark Bowden (/ˈbaʊdən/; born 1951)[1] is an American journalist and writer. He is a former national correspondent and longtime contributor to The Atlantic. Bowden is best known for his book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War (1999) about the 1993 U.S. military raid in Mogadishu, which was later adapted into a motion picture of the same name that received two Academy Awards. Bowden is also known for the books Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw (2001), about the efforts to take down Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, and Hue 1968, an account of the Battle of Huế.

Michael Durant's helicopter over Mogadishu. Mike Goodale rode on this one. Super Six-Four, one of the Black Hawks shot down, above Mogadishu. Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Ewan McGregor as SPC John "Grimesey" Grimes (based on SPC John Stebbins) in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Josh Hartnett as SSG Matt Eversmann in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Eric Bana as SFC Norm "Hoot" Gibson (based on SFC John Macejunas, SFC Norm Hooten, USMC Cpl Thanh Nguyen, and SFC Matthew Rierson) in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Tom Sizemore as LTC Danny McKnight in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights

William Fichtner as SFC Jeff Sanderson (based on SFC Paul R. Howe) in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Jason Isaacs as CPT Mike Steele in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Sam Shepard as MG William F. Garrison in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Jeremy Piven as CW4 Clifton Wolcott, pilot of Super 61 in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Ioan Gruffudd as LT John Beales in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Ewen Bremner as SPC Shawn Nelson in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Hugh Dancy as SFC Kurt "Doc" Schmid in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Tom Hardy as SPC Lance Twombly in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Orlando Bloom as PFC Todd Blackburn in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights

Ty Burrell as United States Air Force Pararescue TSgt Timothy A. Wilkinson in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as MSG Gary Gordon in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights

Ewan McGregor, Tom Guiry and Gregory Sporleder in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights

Black Hawk Down recieved a limited release on December 28, 2001, and had a wide release on January 18, 2002. Although criticized for inaccuracies, the film recieved postive reviews from film critics. Grossing $173 million worldwide against a production budget of $92 million, the film performed modestly. Black Hawk Down won two Academy Awards for Best Film Editing and Best Sound at the 74th Academy Awards. An extended cut of the film was released on DVD in 2006, the cut contains an additional eight minutes of footage, increasing the running time to 152 minutes. This extended cut was released on Blu-ray and in 4K on May 7, 2019.

UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 17: Ridley Scott (director), Josh Hartnett, Jerry Bruckheimer (producer) & Ewan Mcgregor, "Black Hawk Down" Movie Premiere Held At The Empire Cinema In Leicester Square, London Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images

HOLLYWOOD, : L-R Mike Minkler, Myron Nettinga and Chris Munro pose with their Oscars for best sound for the movie "Black Hawk Down" 24 March, 2002 at the 74th Academy Awards in Hollywood, CA. Photo credit should read Lee Celano/AFP via Getty Images

HOLLYWOOD, : Italian film editor Pietro Scalia holds the Oscar statue after winning the award for achievement in film editing for the movie "Black Hawk Down" 24 March, 2002 at the 74th Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Photo credit should read Mike Nelson/AFP via Getty Images

The 74th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories honoring films released in 2001. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Laura Ziskin and directed by Louis J. Horvitz.[3][4] Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the fourth time.[5] She first hosted the 66th ceremony held in 1994 and had last hosted the 71st ceremony in 1999.[6] Three weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on March 2, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Charlize Theron.[7] A Beautiful Mind won four awards, including Best Picture.[8][9] Other winners included The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring with four awards, Black Hawk Down and Moulin Rouge! with two, and The Accountant, For the Birds, Gosford Park, Iris, Monster's Ball, Monsters, Inc., Murder on a Sunday Morning, No Man's Land, Pearl Harbor, Shrek, Thoth, and Training Day with one. Despite a record length of four hours and twenty-three minutes, the telecast garnered nearly 42 million viewers in the United States.

Mark Bowden relied on a dramatization of participant accounts when writing the book, which are the basis of the film. SPC John Stebbins was renamed as fictional “John Grimes.” Stebbins name had been changed after Stebbins had been convicted by court martial in 1999 for the rape and forcible sodomy of his six-year-old daughter. The Pentagon, always sensitive about public image, decided to alter factual history by requesting the change Bowden said. Bowden wrote early screenplay drafts, before Bruckheimer gave it to screenwriter Nolan. The POW-captor conversation, between pilot Mike Durant and militiaman Firimbi, is from a Bowden script draft. To keep the film at a manageable length, 100 key figures in the book were condensed to 39. The movie also does not feature any Somali actors. Additionally, no Somali consultants were hired for accuracy, according to writer Bowden.

The two-time Oscar winning movie Black Hawk Down told the story of the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. A rare fact for this war movie was that all the combatants are depicted under their real names... All but one. The U.S. Army explicably insisted that one particular name literally be written out of the script. Staff Sergeant John “Stebby” Stebbins was awarded the Silver Star Medal for his gallantry in action, and also received the Purple Heart Medal for wounds sustained in combat. He is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas. Stebbins, a former baker from upstate New York, enlisted in the U.S. Army for a term of six years, with the full intent to experience combat. He graduated from the intense and physically demanding U.S. Army Ranger qualification course. The Ranger Regiment primarily handles direct action raids in hostile or sensitive environments, often killing or capturing high-value targets. However, due to his previously acquired keyboarding skills, Stebbins became a Rangers’ company clerk. He had to endure the mocking of his fellow soldiers, who nicknamed him "chief coffee maker" and "paper pusher". At the age of 28, Stebbins, at the time a Specialist 4, was sent to Mogadishu in December of 1992. Then U.S. President Bill Clinton deployed a Special Operations Task Force to Somalia in order to capture Somali warlord Mohammed Farah-Adid. There, Stebbins was the designated rear-echelon secretary again of this elite unit. He was not meant to participate in the raid. But a sequence of events would propel Stebbins into one of the bloodiest battles fought by U.S. troops since the Vietnam War. The low-ranking clerk was called up at the last minute to mount on this spectacular mission. It was a fight that would transform the frustrated secretary into another person. In one incident, Stebbins was seen opening fire at a woman running across a road, carrying a heavy basket. As she fell, rocket-propelled grenades emerged from the basket and rolled into the street. In another situation, Stebbins observed and shot another woman who acted as a spotter for several Somali sharpshooters. During the firefight, Stebbins was hit and wounded several times by gun fire but his heavy armoured vest prevented any damage to his vital organs. Survivors witnessed how he became a changed personality on the battlefield, screaming like a wild animal while firing “like a mad man.” Unfortunately, the heroism he displayed in combat did not translate into his home life after the battle. The transcript of the court-martial reveals that around October 1st, 1998, when Stebbins and his family used to live at Fort Benning, Georgia, he began sexually abusing his own 6-year-old daughter. He made her remove her clothes and lie face down on the bed. He admits that he raped her at least twice. His offenses were discovered on March 17th, 1999, after his wife separated and was living apart. Only then his daughter told the mother that she was mad at her father and that she hated him because “he did sex to me.” On June 8th , 2000, Stebbins was tried and convicted by a military judge sitting as a general court-martial. Chief Judge Gierke delivered the opinion of the Court that Staff Sergeant John Stebbins was found guilty of rape of a child under the age of twelve, in violation of Articles 120 and 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Thirty years’ imprisonment, a dishonourable discharge from the U.S. Army, a demotion to the lowest Army rank of E-1, and a $75,000 fine were their verdict. A confinement of an additional five years will occur if he fails to pay the fine. Due to this crime, the real-life John Stebbins became John Grimes, the only fictional character in the movie.

The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase The Pentagon is often used as a metonym for the Department of Defense and its leadership. The building was designed by American architect George Bergstrom and built by contractor John McShain. Ground was broken on 11 September 1941, and the building was dedicated on 15 January 1943. General Brehon Somervell provided the major impetus to gain Congressional approval for the project;[5] Colonel Leslie Groves was responsible for overseeing the project for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which supervised it. The Pentagon is the world's third-largest office building, with about 6.5 million square feet (600,000 m2) of floor space, 3.7 million square feet (340,000 m2) of which are used as offices.[6][7] It has five sides, five floors above ground, two basement levels, and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 mi (28.2 km)[7] of corridors, with a central five-acre (2.0 ha) pentagonal plaza. About 23,000 military and civilian employees work in the Pentagon, as well as about 3,000 non-defense support personnel.[7] In 2001, the Pentagon was damaged during the September 11 attacks. Five Al-Qaeda hijackers flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the western side of the building, killing themselves and 184 other people, including 59 on the airplane and 125 in the Pentagon.[8] It was the first significant foreign attack on federal facilities in the capital area since the burning of Washington during the War of 1812.[9] Following the attacks, the western side of the building was repaired, with a small indoor memorial and chapel added at the point of impact. The coordinated attacks, which killed 2,977 people, were the deadliest terrorist attack in history. In 2009, an outdoor memorial dedicated to the Pentagon victims of the September 11 attacks was opened directly southwest of the Pentagon.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer attends the Spanish premiere of his new movie "Blackhawk Down" January 24, 2002 in Madrid. Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

William Fichtner and screenwriter Ken Nolan filming "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Ron Eldard as CW4 Michael Durant, pilot of Super 64 in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Treva Etienne as Firimbi in "Black Hawk Down" (2001) Photo Credit: © 2001 Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Battle of Mogadishu, also known as the Black Hawk Down Incident, was part of Operation Gothic Serpent. It was fought on 3–4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, between forces of the United States—supported by UNOSOM II—against the forces of the Somali National Alliance (SNA) and armed irregulars of south Mogadishu.

In December 1993, Somali children play around the wreckage of a U.S. helicopter in Mogadishu. Alexander Joe/AFP/Getty Images

A U.S. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flies over Somalia in September 1993, a month before the battle of Mogadishu. Alexander Joe/AFP/Getty Images

Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in Somalia, 1993. Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted in Mogadishu, Somalia, by an American force code-named Task Force Ranger during the Somali Civil War in 1993. The primary objective of the operation was to capture Mohamed Farrah Aidid, leader of the Somali National Alliance who was wanted by the UNOSOM II in response to his attacks against United Nations troops. The operation took place from August to October 1993 and was led by US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). On 3 October 1993, the task force executed a mission to capture two of Aidid's lieutenants. The mission ultimately culminated in what became known as the Battle of Mogadishu. The battle was extremely bloody and the task force inflicted significant casualties on Somali militia forces, while suffering heavy losses themselves. The Malaysian, Pakistani, and conventional US Army troops under UNOSOM II which aided in TF Ranger's extraction suffered losses as well, though not as heavy. The intensity of the battle prompted the effective termination of the operation on 6 October 1993. This was followed by the withdrawal of TF Ranger later in October 1993, and then the complete exit of American troops in early 1994.[2][3][1] The repercussions of this encounter substantially influenced American foreign policy, culminating in the discontinuation of the UNOSOM II by March 1995.[5] At the time, the Battle of Mogadishu was the most intense, bloodiest single firefight involving US troops since Vietnam.

Nepalese UNOSOM II troops The United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia and took place from March 1993 until March 1995, following the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991. UNOSOM II carried on from the transitory United States-controlled (UN-sanctioned) Unified Task Force (UNITAF), which had been preceded by UNOSOM I. Notably, UNOSOM II embarked on a nation-building mission, diverging from its predecessors.[15] As delineated in UNSCR 814, the operation's objectives were to aid in relief provision and economic rehabilitation, foster political reconciliation, and re-establish political and civil administrations across Somalia.[16] UNOSOM II was a substantial multinational initiative, uniting over 22,000 troops from 27 nations. This operation marked the largest multilateral force ever assembled for peacekeeping, and at that time, it was the costliest UN operation.[16] Notably, it was the first UN mission authorized from the start to use military force proactively, beyond self-defense.[17] Four months into its mandate in June 1993, UNOSOM II transformed into a military campaign as it found itself entangled in armed conflict with Somali factions, predominantly against the Somali National Alliance (SNA) led by Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid. As the intervention progressed, military operations against the SNA took focus, relegating the task of political reconciliation, institution-building and humanitarian aid to a peripheral role.[18][15] Three months into the conflict, the US military would implement Operation Gothic Serpent to assist UNOSOM II against the SNA with special forces. Soon after, the infamous Battle of Mogadishu took place, signifying the end of the hunt for Aidid and military operations in Somalia.[19] The United States withdrew six months after the battle, and the remaining UN forces departed from Somalia in early 1995, concluding the operation.[20] UNOSOM II faced heavy criticism for alleged human rights abuses, violations of international law, and the use of excessive force, attracting scrutiny from a wide range of humanitarian organizations, academics and journalists.[21][22][23][24] Furthermore, the operation was widely criticized for an overemphasis on military operations, diverging from its original humanitarian intent.[25] The humanitarian impact and number of lives saved is disputed.

The Somali National Alliance (abbreviated SNA) was a major politico-military faction formed on 16 June 1992 by four different rebel groups that had been in opposition to the regime of former Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre. The SNA was the first major inter-clan and inter-factional political alliance and was considered to be among the most powerful factions of the Somali Civil War. The alliance would most notably face off against the second phase of the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM II) in the latter half of 1993. Following the 1991 split in the United Somali Congress (USC) between Mohamed Farah Aidid and his primary rival Ali Mahdi Muhammad and the routing of Barre's forces out of Somalia and into Kenya during 1992, a tentative military coalition that had existed between different rebel organizations would morph into the politico-military organization known as the SNA. The alliance would include Aidid's breakaway wing of the USC, the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), the Somali Southern National Movement (SSNM) and Somali Democratic Movement (SDM). The organization professed the goal of working toward forming a national reconciliation government and an eventual multi-party democracy. The SNA would ultimately become the core of the Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), formed in 2001, which would be incorporated into the internationally recognized Transitional National Government in 2002.

Black Hawk Down is the Featured Film Blog of the month for January, for the historic Battle of Mogadishu. You can expect to read a critique of the 2002 film that evaluates it against its critics for inaccuracies. You can also read a recommendation for the film with a look at the Battle of Mogadishu and the real-soldiers that fought in Somalia. There is also a review of Mark Bowden‘s book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, that the film was based on. For the interview, director Ridley Scott sits down with Charlie Rose to discuss how he followed the 1993 raid in Mogadishu by the U.S. military in his film, Black Hawk Down. There is also a Top Ten List to commemorate the film being a Featured Film Blog of the month, and for Black Hawk Down, the topic of the list is My Top Ten War Movies! And finally, as a Featured Film Blog of the month, you can watch the Official Trailer for Black Hawk Down, and then plan on renting it tonight on your preferred streaming platform!