Customer Reviews

The Siege

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(52)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

The Siege tells a hypothetical story about terrorist attacks on New York City by Islamic fundamentalists, and how an FBI department led by Special Agent Hubbard (Denzel Washington) tries to stop them. A CIA agent (Annette Bening) is also involved, and refuses to cooperate with the FBI, at least at first. When the attacks continue and the FBI and police are unable to stop them, President Bill Clinton imposes martial law and U.S. Army units under General Devereaux (Bruce Willis) occupy and isolate Brooklyn and round up all the young Arab men and place them in an internment camp. This leads to several consequences and to a final showdown that will not be revealed here.

The Siege was controversial already in 1998 when it was released: the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Council on American-Islamic Relations both protested strenuously and said the movie was offensive and discriminatory. After the 9/11-2001 terrorist attacks on the United States it can be seen that the movie was in some ways prescient: it practically predicted terrorist attacks on New York by Islamic fundamentalists, a fatal lack of cooperation between the FBI and the CIA, and the imposition of measures that reduced civil liberties for average Americans.

In fact, the key conflict in The Siege is not the conflict between the terrorists and the law enforcement agencies. The key conflict is an ideological one: On one hand there are those who believe that all possible means, including the use of torture and the detention and isolation of suspects with no access to legal process, can be necessary responses to a terrorist threat. On the other hand there are those who believe that use of torture and the reduction of civil liberties can never be justified, and that if one resorts to these measures then one has handed victory to the terrorists.

It is the emphasis of this ideological conflict that makes The Siege so thought provoking and leads me to award it five stars.

Others have panned The Siege as being too anti-military, claiming that the imposition of martial law is farfetched and the U.S. military depicted as too inhumane. Here it must be pointed out that in the hypothetical situation presented in The Siege there was an on-going series of terrorist attacks with no end in sight, a far different situation than that experienced on 9/11-2001.

It's interesting to note that the script for The Siege was written by Lawrence Wright, who later, in 2006, wrote a book, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, and won the Pulitzer Prize for it. This book is also highly recommended.

A few words about DVD extra material. The first DVD release (2000) includes a 13-minute special feature "The Making of The Siege", which is fairly interesting but nothing very special. There is a newer DVD release (2007) subtitled "Martial Law Edition" which includes two additional special features, "The Siege: Taking New York" and "The Siege: Freedom is History". Unfortunately I haven't seen this edition yet.

Highly recommended, at least if you want more than just action and drama and enjoy thought-provoking stories.

Rennie Petersen

In 1998 I could easily have glossed over this movie as yet another Hollywoodesque mega-treatment of a hackneyed racial slur. But now, after the you-know-what in 2001, the theme, the perspectives, the sheer predicament of things, and most importantly, the message of the movie are stunning in their frightening reality. Much of the city under "siege" could have been a doozy idea in 1998, but in 2003 it doesn't seem to be that distant a possibility. Could this have given Al Quaeda the ideas it needed for 911?

I am not sure why some reviewers rant about this being an anti-Islamic or anti-Arab propoganda. The movie shows a clear distinction between the good guys (Denzel's colleague in FBI is an Arab too) and the fanatics who plan to blow up buildings with no remorse all in the name of "allah". This film isn't about anti-ethnic sentiment, it's more about paranoia and hasty decision making brought about by reactionary leadership (such as the extant one, of course).

The story clicks on all of the present hot buttons such as terrorism in NYC, America's militant retaliation, and the futility of such belligerence in ridding the world of terrorism. It is unnerving to to think of how much our world has changed since this movie first came out so many years previously and that a film that was made to be entertaining and an escape from our real everyday life now is now a reminder of some very recent and real tragic events (7-11, US snipper shootings). It is no longer entertaining to watch because of it's subject matter (terrorism/random acts of killings), location (New York City), presentation (highly realistic news coverage soundbites), fly overs of NYC skyline with Twin Towers, visuals NYC finest rushing in to help the victims and the shot of the whole in the blown out building (troublingly similar to Ground Zero site as it looks now) etc, but still paints an alarmingly accurate of our world as it stands today.

The title of the movie could be a little better. "Siege" is such a hackneyed word in Hollywood. Perhaps it was the glam-bam marketing that did the movie in, but it is an absolutely riveting, thought provoking thriller that will stun you with its realism, and with its gutwrenching perspectives on the futility of war and terrorism, regardless of their form or endorsement. If such intellectual pontification is not your bag, this is still a non-stop edge-of-the-seat action. Highly recommended.

What if an Arab terrorist(or several?) attacked New York, escalating his bombing capabilities? How easy is it to turn people against one another with hate crimes and martial law? Does the end justify the means when General Devereaux(Bruce Willis) suspects all Arabs in New York and introduces a policy that's no better than Hitler's concentration camps? Just who is the bad guy? Well, this is a fantastic and highly dramatic story which could well come true . . . maybe it already has. Denzel Washington plays an FBI agent investigating the bomb attacks as New York is plunged into paranoia. First a bus, then a crowded theatre, and then the suicide bombers go for the FBI building. When Congress elect declaration of martial law, will it work? Watch for yourself. In my view, as well, I disagree with anyone that calls this movie racist. Go stay locked in your leftie student digs while your rich parents send you handouts! What the point is that when the actions of a few(it can apply to any social group) affect the well-being of the social/ethnic group as a whole, then it's a bad thing. The soundbites of New Yorkers calling for deportation and hatecrimes adds further imapct. All in all, a good, taut action thriller that also conveys many messages about the society we live in.

This movie came out before Americans ever really thought that terrorist attacks on our soil were a possibility. But it rings true and offers up many thoughts to ponder. Denzel Washington plays the FBI agent in charge of the investigation of the bombings that are destroying New York City. Annette Bening plays the CIA agent who is working towards the same end but from a different angle. The problem is, she is not being up front with the FBI and hiding her sources and much of her information. Do you think this is not possible even today? There has been much talk about the lack of communications between the agencies. While Denzel and Annette turn in fine performances it is Bruce Willis who steals the show. As the Army General who is eventually given the task of setting up the rules of martial law in New York City and taking control of the situation. Bruce's character argues against martial law and tries to explain to anyone who will listen that the U.S. Army is something that they do not want involved in this. That the army is not a swift sword but a massive blunt device that can not surgically remove the problem. But no one heads his message and when he is ordered to take control he does so with brute force. Setting up "concentration camps" of Arab Americans and shutting down the exits from the city with tanks. Tanks in New York City! Is it far fetched to think it is possible if the terrorism gets worse on our soil, that we could set up these types of camps?

Again and again we see the different views of how to proceed from the FBI, CIA and U.S. Armed Forces. A study in our government and their reaction in a small way. This movie was an eye opening when it came out but unfortunately written off as nonbelievable by too many.

Buy this movie, rent this movie, borrow this movie, but see this movie. You will be glad you did.

As I am half Lebanese myself, I do not agree with the many claims that this movie is racist. First of all, it gives a glimpse of the Islamic and Arab community in New York City and shows some positive aspects of their culture, and second, the protagonist has a Lebanese partner. I think that many Arabs who did find this movie racist were more worried about the subject manner. Most Arabs living in America are very patriotic, often to the point where they loathe seeing negative aspects of the American government as much as many European Americans. This was a movie that tried to show, in addition to terrorism, exactly what the American government is capable of when it feels threatened by a particular ethnicity or political persuasion; as exemplified by the internment camps which were created for Shiite Moslems and the scene where the suspected terrorist is tortured and shot. These acts were not an attempt by the movie-makers to say that they approve of it but to show the extremities to which military officials can be driven. In the aforementioned internment camp scene a moment is even taken to address Arab pride, as Tony Shaloub's character throws his badge at Denzel Washington's character and says, "Tell them I'm not their sand-ni**er anymore."

Those who want to criticize racist movies need only look to The Delta Force or Rules of Engagement. But The Siege is a movie which truly takes all aspects of the terrorism issue into consideration, except perhaps what provokes it.

I went into The Siege with high hopes for a thinking person's aaction thriller, and what I got contained too little in either thought or thrills, leaving a film which straddles the line too uncomfortably for its own equilibrium. The unidimensional quality of Bruce Willis's governmental presebts completely sabotaged the human rights aspect of the film, while Denzel Washington's cerebral FBI agent never really captured the soul of an action hero.

What did impress me were the set pieces -- the bus scene, the actual stadium sequence -- and two performances. Annette Bening did a credible job as someone who has begun to believe their own cover story, but best of all was Tony Shalhoub as the Arab-American FBI agent, who brought dignity, anger and humor to an underwritten part.

Two more comments. The reviewers who feel that the film is racist because of its portrayals of Arabs/Muslims are missing the point. The film shows quite clearly that those who lump all members of an ethnic group together because of the actions of a few individuals are terribly wrong-headed. It is unfortunate that Arab terrorists have become a common foil for heroic Americans in action films, but with the demise of the Communist menace, Hollywood has to take what it caan get. And face it -- there are Arab terrorists, Russian thugs, Hispanic gang members and Italians involved in organized crime. Showing them does not necessarily imply that all members of that ethnic group have those qualities, any more than Psycho was meant to imply that all momma's boys were psychopaths. Arab Americans should rejoice at this film, in my opinion, because it contains sympathetic characters on thaat group, which is all too rare. A film where the only Arab characters are terrorists or thieves or foul and corrupt wardens would be objectionable, but this one does not suffer from that fault.

And second, Wesley Snips was not in this movie.

Watching the 1998 THE SIEGE in 2007 and then rolling through all the reviews of this film from the time of release to the present is a lesson in the power of the cinema. The obvious initial response was less about the film as a film than about the manner in which the FBI, CIA, Military, Terrorists, and public responded to the unimaginable: shouts of protests about 'glorification of occult terrorists', the Hollywood idea of the impossible happening, and the criticism of the fine cast of actors who steeped into roles 'beyond swallowing' are all here in these reviews.

Now, six years after 9/11 reviewers are taking a different view, though most still find the film pompous and obnoxious. Offensive versus defensive. And after viewing the movie as a movie it is gratifying to know that people feel strongly and are vocal about the depiction of the 'war against terrorism' we continue to lose. Movies that make people think and talk are valuable, and in that light the film is more successful than initially considered.

Yes, there are gaping holes in the script and the plot and the concept, but as a little thriller it maintains our attention throughout and offers some fine moments from actors such as Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Tony Shalhoub, Bruce Willis, Sami Bouajila, Ahmed Ben Larby, Aasif Mandvi among others. And then there are the panoramas of New York City under siege with the Twin Towers standing mightily in the cityscape... It begs the question: if scriptwriter Lawrence Wright and director Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Courage Under Fire, Glory, Leaving Normal, Legends of the Fall, etc) were thinking along these lines and finding flaws in our intelligence forces, why weren't the leaders in Washington, DC in tune with 'absurd possibilities'? It makes one think - and that is the best thing about this film. Grady Harp, January 07

After Tuesday, September 11, and what happened at the World Trade Centers, now the reviewers who panned this as a "fantasy" may have second thoughts. Whoever wrote this brilliant movie mirrored our current crisis so closely that is is horrifyingly scary and on target. They talk of knocking out "cells" and how terror operates in our country's borders. Annette Benning is brilliant as the CIA agent with ambivalent sympathies. Denzel Washington, working with Director of "Glory," Edward Zwick,with Washingtom winning a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for that great Civil War drama, gives a powerful performance. But the details-my God if any movie was prophetic it is "The Siege." Now that we are seemingly headed full tilt into a full-scale war, have we learned anything? This movie was made in 1998 and last Tuesday, September 11, 2001, mirrors the sagas and themes so closely that it is uncanny. Rent this movie if you have only one movie to rent, rethink what you have learned about terrorists and controlling them. In the day and age of worthless movies of little content, this movie stands tall in every department. What is so sad is that many watched it and thought it was a "fantasy." The World Trade Center no longer exists. Thousands of people are missing and the ruins are still smoking as I write these words in tears and sorrow. We have met the enemy and he is us. See this movie, show it to your kids, for it is a powerful object lesson of the horrible turns history can take.It is no fantasy, my fellow Americans.May God bless us all.

The Siege is basically a "terrorists come to Brooklyn" movie. It stars Denzel Washington as leader of a FBI team investigating terrorist cells in NYC, Annette Bening as a sly and shifty CIA agent. Bruce Willis as the two-star Army general who brings his troops to town, and Tony Shalhoub as Washington's Arab-American partner (nice job, Tony).

So what happens WHEN things start blowing up? The FBI works flat out in stopping the bad guys. There are jurisdictional issues with other agencies. Shadowy folk remain shadowy. There are power plays. People want the ear of the president. And there are victims, heros, and villains. This movie has them all.

The plot had a convincing build-up, but the conclusion was a bit anti-climatic. The final cell was a bit too Hollywood, with everybody showing up at just the right time... and in the unoccupied public baths?

However, this movie is worth viewing for those first 80 minutes.

I used the title "My second time buying this movie" since for some reason the one that I had in my DVD collection just disappeared so I had to buy this movie again. Great performance by Denzel (he is one of my favorite actors) with Tony Shalhoub, and Annette Bening was a really convincing in her roll as a CIA Agent in this movie (I can tell that she did her homework for this movie). I am not used to see Bruce Willis as a bad guy, especially as an Army General, but he did a great performance and he still showing that he can do almost any roll in any movie. The only bad thing in this DVD is that is does not have special features in it.