Customer Reviews

Somalia - Good Intentions, Deadly Results (Black Hawk Down Official Companion) [VHS]

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Like most people, I really enjoyed reading "Blackhawk Down," and was excited to find out about the accompanying video. However, I would only recommend this to the most devoted fan. There's not much new information in the video. There is some actual video and audio from the operation, but they are short and extremely poor quality. Most of the video is of the primary building, with dark blobs moving that you assume must be men. Even the maps shown on the video are poor in quality and lacking nearly any detail. What you do get that is perhaps worthwhile are interviews with a few Rangers, a few Somalis, and a member of Delta Force, and a few decent images of Somali people and militias on the ground. Most amusing moment: a Somali technical speeding along as a militia member tries to dismount and goes for a tumble. :-)

After seeing The History Channel's excellent recent documentary on Black Hawk Down, I didn't know what to expect from this video. However, although I didn't learn a lot of new things, this video was worth the money for the interviews with the combatants (both sides) and the combat footage (from the command & control helicopter, though a bit murky) and news footage--all of which really add to the printed pages of Black Hawk Down.

A great documentary, but the "never before seen" video clips and radio messages are nothing spectacular, and you probably seen them all before if you've ever looked into this incident. The whole American's in Somalia chapter of our history in one video. Overall a good documentary.