Master filmmaker Errol Morris turns his keen eye to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in this intense and provocative documentary. Using interviews with the soldiers that appeared in the now infamous torture photos, Morris strings their stories together with vivid reenactments and striking digital technology for a wrenching look at the events at the prison. With his trademark straight-into-the-lens interview style, it is chilling to see the familiar faces of Lynndie England and Sabrina Harmon as they try to articulate their experiences. The lawlessness and confusion in the prison quickly become evident, and as their stories unfold, the film slowly strips away the many puzzling questions that surround the incidents, exposing a much larger truth about corruption within the US military, corruption that appears to reach far beyond the handful of soldiers that took the fall for the scandal.

Morris's reenactments are extremely vivid, and often shot in a beautifully cinematic style. While these techniques make for riveting filmmaking, they are sometimes considered controversial by documentary purists, and some might criticize his detailed recreations of such deeply disturbing events. However, others might deem the reenactments necessary to really bringing home the reality of what happened. Regardless of his methods, Morris does a masterly job of untangling such a complex, twisted story. He shines a glaring light on one of America's most shameful moments and, more importantly, exposes how little we truly know about our military's methods.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40
Keep Case
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English, French, Portuguese
Subtitles - Chinese, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Alternate Scenes (9)
Audio Commentery - Errol Morris, Director

Distributor Notes: Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Errol Morris: Filmmaker

Errol Morris: Filmmaker
Julie Ahlberg: Producer, FOG OF WAR (2003)

Danny Elfman: Score composer

"Films such as NO END IN SIGHT, STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE, and GHOSTS OF ABU GHRAIB serve as a necessary counterbalance to the manufactured reportage of the mainstream media..."
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "[H]aunting and troubling....STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE's subject matter, and what it says about the war in Iraq, is eye-opening. It may be the most disturbing film you'll see in a long time."
"A blockbuster of a documentary....STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE is a big, provocative and -- it goes without saying -- disturbing work..."
"[F]ocus is really the heart of Morris' unsettling film which strikes a remarkable balance between art and disturbance, between beauty and pain."
"Morris, using a welter of photographs, constructs a day-to-day sense of how Abu Ghraib descended into a medieval hell." -- Grade: A-
"STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE resituates Abu Ghraib in the realm of the gothic....Characteristically, Morris does not finger pointing; there is rope enough here for most of the interviewees to hang themselves."
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here is an emotive score by Danny Elfman and imaginative visual input from Kyle Cooper."
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "Morris works with a deliberately limited set of means: his interviews, data-conveying graphics, reenactments, and the photos themselves....[These methods] construct a remarkably compelling narrative..."