Restrepo

Theatrical Release Date: 2010 06 25 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 829567074220

Studio: Virgil Films & Entertainment

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Adult Situations, Adult Language, Profanity]

Summary: Filmmakers Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington pay a visit to Afghanistan's Korengal Valley to spend a year with the Second Platoon, a besieged squadron who dubbed their stronghold Outpost Restrepo in honor of their fallen comrade PFC Juan Restrepo. An al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold, Korengal Valley sees some of the fiercest fighting in the War on Terror. At Outpost Restrepo, every shot fired is personal, and every target hit a gift to a fallen friend. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Culture & Society

Awards: Film Presented – Sundance Film Festival Film Presented – San Francisco International Film Festival Film Presented – Silverdocs Film Festival Film Presented – Seattle International Film Festival Film Presented – Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Film Presented – Traverse City Film Festival Best Documentary – Independent Spirit Awards Best Documentary – Independent Spirit Awards Best Debut Director – National Board of Review Best Documentary – National Board of Review Best Debut Director – National Board of Review Best Director - Documentary – Directors Guild of America Best Director - Documentary – Directors Guild of America Best Documentary – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Documentary – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Presented – Hot Docs International Film Festival

Features: Deleted Scenes
Extended Interviews
Updates on the Soldiers from Second Platoon, Battle Company
"Sleeping Soldiers" Photo Gallery
Public Service Announcements from IAVA, Operation Homefront and TAPS
Coming Attractions

Restrepo

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 12/07/2010

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 93 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Derek Armstrong

Restrepo is such a battlefield immersion, it almost works against itself. It almost makes a person forget it's even a documentary, creating an expectation to see everything you'd see in a Hollywood war movie, including people dying onscreen. In fact, a soldier operating out of the Restrepo outpost in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley does indeed die while the filmmakers' cameras are rolling nearby. It's just that Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger had too much respect for the soldier's dignity to include the footage in the final film. The filmmakers embed themselves with such gusto that it sets a new standard in shooting combat, but the majority of Restrepo is not about the surface-level thrill of bullets whizzing by the camera. Its heart and soul is to examine the unique circumstances of one of the most unforgiving battle fronts in American combat theater, and how soldiers with a range of different personalities respond to those circumstances. Because Hetherington and Junger also appreciate subtlety, they don't give us many "big moments" with these characters, moments orchestrated to manipulate us. Yet their small seeds of doubt, their minute indications of fear, and their palpable yearnings for home give these soldiers the kind of emotional depth most screenwriters work overtime to attain. Hetherington and Junger are smart to avoid taking their own position on the war, correctly recognizing that such a stance might hinder what they're trying to accomplish. And as much as they capture a disdain among troops for the enemies of America, they also show us the military's genuine attempts at positive outreach with ordinary Afghanis. The film has a tragic epilogue that occurs offscreen. Less than a year after Restrepo's theatrical release, Hetherington paid the ultimate price for his journalistic fearlessness, losing his life to a mortal shell in Libya. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: John Battsek  Executive Producer 
Sebastian Junger  Director 
Sebastian Junger  Producer 
Nick Quested  Executive Producer 
Tim Hetherington  Director 
Tim Hetherington  Producer 
Dan Kearney  Actor 
Lamonta Caldwell  Actor 
Kevin Rice  Actor 
Misha C. Pemble-Belkin  Actor 
Kyle M. Steiner  Actor 
Aron J. Hijar  Actor 
Joshua A. McDonough  Actor 
Brendan C. O'Byrne  Actor 
Miguel Cortez  Actor 
Sterling J. Jones  Actor 

Country: USA