Dirty Wars

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Dirty Wars

Released Jun 7, 2013

1h 26m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

84%

Tomatometer

70 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill traces the rise of the Joint Special Operations Command. He exposes covert operations to capture and kill people, but those agents do not exist on paper.

Critics Consensus

Some viewers may find fault with director Rick Rowley's filmmaking methods, but they aren't distracting enough to keep Dirty Wars from serving as a terribly compelling argument against elements of American foreign policy.

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Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

A tense, shocking US documentary that plays out like an episode of The Wire, though in this case it's not a war on drugs that's being fought (and lost), but the war on terror.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 29, 2013

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David Jenkins

Little White Lies

Government sanctioned atrocities and journalist Jeremy Scahill fight for top billing in this investigative doc.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 29, 2013

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

We should be shocked. But the camera is too busy making a hero of reporter-presenter Jeremy Scahill.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 28, 2013

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Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

Dirty Wars points to a series of terrible crimes, but rejects drawing any serious conclusions from them, leaving its audience suspended in mid-air.

Feb 27, 2021

Full Review

Jillian Steinhauer

Hyperallergic

These are small, intimate tragedies, so oddly suited to the cell phone camera, which is meant to capture what's going on in our lives.

Feb 3, 2020

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Ben Nicholson

CineVue

It's like a 1970s conspiracy thriller fronted by a voracious gumshoe -- only in place of laconic wit lies moral indignation.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 6, 2019

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Audience Member

I tell people who cannot find it in themselves to criticize anything former President Obama did to see this film. This is what establishment, centrist Democratic representatives are apparently okay with. Keep this in mind for our 2020 election year.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

With an eye-catching storytelling and an impeccable clarity in Scahill's thought process, it successfully helps put the war-opposing LibDems and the Republicans in the same basket. One issue it had is, I felt it heavily focussed on one side; the military side of why they did what they did is missing. Only one military general is on record expressing his views. So I just found only one side of war.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

Somber, Oscar-nominated documentary about the human toll resulting from the war on terror. It's all told through the eyes of journalist Jeremy Scahill (who also narrates), taking you along for all the frustrations and revelations of investigative journalism.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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Audience Member

Pretty straightforward film but also gets it's message across in an effective manner.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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Audience Member

How the US government is INCREASING terrorism across the world rather than reducing it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

i finally got up the strength to commit to watching this doc with Jeremy Scahill. it was tough to get through but it was a an important view. DIRTY WARS brings attention to the methods of JSOC as the US's unaccountable special ops who have unlimited funds, answer only to the white house and assassinate enemies with impunity anywhere in the world; spun from Afghanistan and Iraq. DIRTY WARS bolsters the narrative that america's war on terror is not only counter-productive but is the machine that creates more terrorists. as someone who has live through and for the past 25 yrs followed closely the US' involvement in the middle east, this doc is yet another brush to paint the picture that the american military industrial complex is the force for evil bringing devastation anywhere for profit and the expense of everyone.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

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Rick Rowley

Director

David Riker

Screenwriter

Jeremy Scahill

Screenwriter

Anthony Arnove

Producer

Jeremy Scahill

Producer

Brenda Coughlin

Producer

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Synopsis

Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill traces the rise of the Joint Special Operations Command. He exposes covert operations to capture and kill people, but those agents do not exist on paper.

Director: Rick Rowley
Producer: Anthony Arnove, Jeremy Scahill, Brenda Coughlin
Screenwriter: David Riker, Jeremy Scahill
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Big Noise Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 7, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $365.6K
Runtime: 1h 26m

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