Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS

R

Released May 19, 2017

1h 39m

Documentary

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10 Reviews

Tomatometer

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100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested explore the complexities of the war in Syria and Iraq as they gain access to clandestine organizations to offer a look at one of the most serious threats faced by the Western world. They chronicle Syria's descent into the unbridled chaos that allowed the rise of the Islamic State, better known as ISIS, and cover the catastrophe from multiple angles, featuring interviews with top experts from around the world.

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Audience Member

this movie is not accurate and filled with lies.. please listen to me .. in the credit it point the names of people "killed by Assad regime" .. including Ibraheel "Bob" Saadi .. Bob was my friend .. I was there that night .. we heard the shots that killed him and his friends .. he was killed by "the rebels" from "AL Hisn Citadel" .. movies that spread lies like this is a big part of why "Hell is on Earth" .. you can have all the oil you want . just stop pushing us to kill each other

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

American director so it's a fake movie. Would you not turn into a terrorist if a country invaded yours ? Simple question simple answer. Take this sh*t down.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Another Junger gem. A brilliantly researched documentary tracing ISIS to its roots. There's a number of interviews demonishing ISIS while the narration from Junger himself defends a lot of their ideologies and errors made by the U.S. against the Middle East. I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

You know the topic. Its on the news. But you will only truly understand it after seeing this video. I wish we had not dithered like Hamlet and done more to stop the suffereing. Must watch video.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

jonathan g

Well done contemporary documentary about an ongoing issue in the East/ particularly Syria. From the creators of 'Restrepo' - which I loved. The footage in this film is incredibly raw, moving, and insightful. A perspective few in the West have heard or seen. Worth watching to get a schooling on the situation. Rating: 7/10

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

If there is only one documentary that you can watch during the entire year, let it be this one! One of the best documentaries i have ever seen> The narration begins in 2011 and follows through the story of Syria and ISIS until 2017. Informative, shocking and a definite must watch!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Sebastian Junger

Director

Nick Quested

Director

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad

Self

Amr Al-Azm

Self

Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi

Self

Tareq Al-Hashemi

Self

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Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS: Trailer 1

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Lorraine Ali

Los Angeles Times

The 100-minute film does a phenomenal job detangling the numerous scenarios that led to Syria's civil war and current bloodbath, dispelling the notion that this conflict is too complicated for those not versed on the Middle East to understand.

May 18, 2017

Full Review

Glenn Kenny

New York Times

A mostly impressive array of experts ... adds to the merciless clarity of this tragic picture.

May 18, 2017

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Variety

"Hell on Earth" portrays the Syrian citizens, who live in a morass of civil war, with an emotional directness we can't turn away from, to the point that it's no longer possible to think of those citizens as "them." They are us, or could be.

Apr 30, 2017

Full Review

Grethe Kemp

City Press (South Africa)

Hell on Earth is not an easy watch - it's infuriating and harrowing, and the footage is raw and visceral - but it should be compulsory viewing.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 22, 2018

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James Wegg

JWR

Everyone is above the law

Rated: 4.5/5

Feb 17, 2018

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Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

The film argues that the people of the world are all connected. While there are certainly disasters when one nation involves itself in the civil war of another nation, there are also disasters which result from nations standing aside, doing nothing.

Rated: A

Dec 13, 2017

Full Review

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Synopsis

Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested explore the complexities of the war in Syria and Iraq as they gain access to clandestine organizations to offer a look at one of the most serious threats faced by the Western world. They chronicle Syria's descent into the unbridled chaos that allowed the rise of the Islamic State, better known as ISIS, and cover the catastrophe from multiple angles, featuring interviews with top experts from around the world.

Director: Sebastian Junger, Nick Quested
Producer: Tim Pastore, Matt Renner
Screenwriter: Mark Monroe
Distributor: National Geographic Documentary Films
Production Co: National Geographic
Rating: R (Some Disturbing Violent Images)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 19, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 13, 2017
Runtime: 1h 39m

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