Black Hawk Down (2001)

123 elite U.S. soldiers drop into Somalia to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord and find themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily-armed Somalis. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Ridley Scott
Written By: Mark Bowden, Ken Nolan
Starring: Tom Sizemore, Ewan McGregor, Sam Shepard, Kim Coates, Jeremy Piven, William Fichtner, Zeljko Ivanek, Josh Hartnett, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana, Ron Eldard, Tom Guiry
Genres: Drama, Action, War, History
Where to Stream
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Black Hawk Down belongs to 54 collections
1. IMDb Top 250 Complete (collaborative: moderated by Jorg - 23 stars)
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Browse the full list of collections
Stars | User | Rating | |
12 | ![]() |
Shmendrek | 1 10th |
Negro zombie attack! No motive is necessary for these Negro zombies as they assail our heroes. Why should they have a motive? America rules!
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7 | ![]() |
overrated | 16 9th |
I liked how at the end it went "19 Americans died. Oh, and a few thousand Somalis but who's counting them?" Also dug the casual shitting on the U.N. troops who in reality saved them.
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5 | ![]() |
Difontaine | 45 13th |
Peow! Boom! "GO GO GO!" BOOM! "BLACK HAWK DOWN!" "STOP SHOUTING" "I CAN'T!!!!!!"" Imagine a sensitive account of complicated politics in Africa involving a military defeat for the USA and a complete reworking of US foreign policy. Now scrap all the thinking bit and turn it into almost computer game footage of SHIT BLOWING UP. And them sneaky Africans shooting at OUR BOYS. Then despair at Hollywood, rinse and repeat.
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5 | ![]() |
nandorizzi | 10 6th |
Again the United States do not lose the opportunity for demonstrating his ideological hypocrisy.
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4 | ![]() |
doctor7 | 94 97th |
An excellent action film done only as Ridley Scott can. It's relentless once the action starts. I think one of Bana's final lines completely sums up the tone of the film. "It's about the man beside you." And that's all the movie's about. It's not out to make a political statement. It's goal is to show you soldiers in a modern war setting and it completely succeeds.
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4 | ![]() |
jimmynmu | 64 45th |
Good battle scenes, but there's nothing else. It also has a pretty mediocre script, including many corny lines.
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4 | ![]() |
Paxton | 70 63rd |
If all you watched was modern warfare movies you'd think helicopters were the least reliable means of transportation available. Between this, Zero Dark Thirty and Lone Survivor, I'm starting to think Jan-Michael Vincent was a fraud.
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3 | OctaneDose | 80 61st |
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A very well-made war film that's accurate historically as well as being true to the experience of the soldiers who lived through the event itself.
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3 | ![]() |
BillyShears | 45 15th |
AMERIKKKA
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3 | pompousass | 60 85th |
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It delivers a mixed experience, even, you might say, a mixed message: harrowing yet spectacular action, unglamorous yet gorgeous, rugged yet slick. The director is Scott, so the spectacular, the gorgeous, the slick are givens; the harrowing, the unglamorous, and the rugged must be counted as bonuses, neither to be taken for granted nor taken lightly. (The damage done to the bodies of some of the soldiers goes well beyond indignity.)
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3 | ![]() |
maakal | 4 0th |
A zombie flick featuring actual humans. Sickening, and absolutely irresponsible
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2 | ![]() |
Magb | 65 30th |
Good battle scenes, but the movie didn't make a very strong impression on me.
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2 | ![]() |
djross | 25 7th |
Barbarians defeat humans on Planet Teal.
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2 | skycaptain | 80 68th |
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One of the most realistic depictions of combat ever put on the screen.
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2 | ![]() |
Stain | 90 86th |
Easily Ridley Scott's best film. Harrowing military adventure that turns into a nightmare. You won't forget this one anytime soon
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2 | joyous | 90 90th |
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Based on a true story, this film tells the tale of soldiers fighting to stay alive after a plan gone terribly wrong. The only character truly "visible" in this film belongs to Josh Hartnett who gives perspective in the heat of battle. It's a tear jerker, emotionally draining, and moves at such a pace that it brings the audience to the battle. But what it does most of all is tell a story that needs to be told, about how the worst in mankind can sometimes bring out the best in men.
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2 | ![]() |
MistyMorn | 100 77th |
Probably my all time favorite war film... For those who might think BHD went hollywood with the graphic display of fighting, explosions, etc., one would only need to research the actual accounts from those who survived this mission. Great film....
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2 | Darianp | 94 80th |
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Very good war movie. Surpringly moving.
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2 | Silver | 6 56th |
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Being too loud to be a total snorefest, this movie desperately needs a director's cut containing only the two Black Hawk crashes and ~20 minutes of highlights from the occasionally breathtaking action sequences. Mr. Bruckheimer can keep the completely uninteresting overall conflict and the hollow characters for something more appropriate - possibly a collaboration with Mr. Bay. Btw, dear Mr. Zimmer, there was no need to fill a movie by Mr. Scott with outtakes from a movie by Mr. Malick.
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2 | ![]() |
Zozan | 5 5th |
As ok as this one looks as a movie I am sickened by the justification attempts of American terror on world. I guess I am supposed to be sorry for the 19 American soldiers who died and be happy that they killed a thousand Somalians: I guess I am supposed to believe that those soldiers was sent there to deliver food and peace and umm.. democracy too may be? To teach them savage natives the ways of humanity?? Fuck off, will ya...
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2 | ![]() |
leekenn | 75 55th |
You couldn't ask for much more from this type of film. The action is thick and fast, and yet the film still finds time to be touching, tragic and thoughtful. A carefully poised, well executed action flick.
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l0venjak | 88 75th |
the athmosphere, that is created, is probably the deepest ive ever seen in movies about modern war (WWII not included, ofcourse). it really makes you think.
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2 | ![]() |
PerryStroika | 50 17th |
The movie flounders on the fact that the real life incident it's based on doesn't seem that glorious. The "bad guys" don't have enough stature to make this a real confrontation. The greatest military in the world faces off against a third world militia, loses 18 guys and leaves a small city's worth of body bags behind them? Woo hoo! America, Fuck Yeah! You might as well try making a movie about Zap Brannigan's defeat of the Retiree people of the Assisted Living Nebula.
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gwynbleidd | 56 7th |
Not recommended unless you like 2h30m of gunshots.
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1 | JohnnyDime | 95 98th |
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A must see for war movie fans.
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1 | DuaneNeitzel | 95 93rd |
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Read the book and watch the movie again!
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1 | Pieridae | 72 19th |
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The sound of constant gunfire and not much else.
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1 | ![]() |
grimace98 | 0 0th |
Killing innocent civilians makes you a hero. For reals.
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1 | ![]() |
Dorkovsky | 2 11th |
How what is essentially a two hour gun battle could be as boring as dirt just amazes me.
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1 | ![]() |
BBBD | 75 46th |
Once the action starts, it doesn't let up. This movie will really make you hate Somalians. USA! USA! USA!
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1 | MunchForever | 70 34th |
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It's brutal and it really happened. I got pretty tired of all the gunfighting and the movie slowly started losing it's edge after about halfway through.
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1 | ![]() |
Grit | 67 71st |
While it certainly puts on a good performance and, mainly thanks to some good direction, displays the chaos of war well I can't help but feel it lacks substance behind all the booming explosions. For a start the portrayal of the Americans as heroes against barbaric savages is heavily emphisised, something which is certainly not entirely true. Although this might not have captured my imagination as I expected it to, excepting the "left behind" aspect, it's still a film worthy of recommendation.
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martryn | 77 69th |
After repeated viewings of this movie, and being able to recognize the characters amid the chaos of this story, I can honestly say that this is a solid film. Maybe not as good as the non-fiction book by Bowden, but solid.
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1 | ![]() |
Spunkie | 40 24th |
Even mindless propaganda doesn't get more dimensionless than this, yet technically incredible. Call of Duty:MW 2 rips almost every scene from here.
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1 | ![]() |
Anomaly | 50 18th |
Great action scenes, but they end up wearing out their welcome after a while and the long running time doesn't help with that. The depiction of Somalians is disgustingly one-sided and villainizes them in a borderline jingoistic way, and all of the characters look like each other so it's hard to tell who's who. Not something I'd like to watch again.
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1 | ![]() |
frederic_g54 | 6 35th |
(2nd viewing) It's a Jerry Bruckheimer production with an average shot length of less than 3 seconds, so the human angle was bound to be lacking, despite Scott's best (read: misguided) intentions. Great cast and obviously well-made but I lost interest fairly quickly once the action kicked in.
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1 | WoozyB | 85 73rd |
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Extremely well shot and paced, the confusing nature of conflict comes through, but the main message seems to get lost in all the horror of the incident.
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1 | ![]() |
emtilt | 50 25th |
Just an average war movie.
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1 | ankit | 30 4th |
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Propaganda
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1 | ![]() |
KasperL | 85 93rd |
I was blown away by the action. It's been a decade since I've seen it, and I'm thinking that upon a rewatch I'd probably have a bit of a problem with how Ridley Scott presents war as well-choreographed entertainment.
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1 | ophirh | 92 67th |
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Great reliving of the hell that happend in Mogadishu
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1 | ![]() |
Jeb | 90 79th |
Amazing and brutal potrayal of war, and captures it perfectly.
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1 | fgbowen | 100 65th |
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This is REALLY a great expose on the Black Hawk Down incedent, as well as War itself. I am not an expert on either, but I know good film, when I see it.
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1 | Marco_Polo | 70 58th |
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Scary, harrowing, suspenseful.
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1 | ![]() |
Piglet | 60 29th |
A pro-US look at the war in Somalia.
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1 | Giuseppe | 61 16th |
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The action is terrific. The characters are cardboard cut-outs. The role of non-American forces in the battle is reduced to that of glorified bus drivers. Somalis are unanimously vilified, portrayed in an almost racist and jingoistic fashion. All in all, it's pretty much in line with what you'd expect from a third-rate American war film. Only that this one happens to have very high production values and an ensemble cast. It's still third-rate.
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1 | ![]() |
FrederikA | 65 59th |
If you can stomach the many war movie clichés and some rancid dialogue, this is a thrilling and intense experience. And if you want to enlist in the army after watching it, you need your head checked. Also: Even though it almost drowns underneath the constant gunshots and explosions, this is one of Zimmer's best scores.
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1 | ![]() |
DavidBlast | 40 28th |
Equal parts "Give this to my mother... ", "Get me back in there" coupled with war aesthetics from another world, makes this for American war propaganda at it's most "seen before". If you MUST watch it, enjoy the almost zombie-like moments, when the coloured mob attacks and kills stranded chopper-pilots.
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1 | ![]() |
kgbelliveau | 80 52nd |
Epic scenes in comparison to other films of this nature, lacking in the fundamental need to have a character worthy of a truly emotional and engaging action plot. While it doesn't create the atmosphere and tension like other films because there are zero memorable aspects to the characters and the way they are portrayed. Loses points for massively failing to give me a character worthy of resonating with.
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Cinema_Asia | 70 56th |
This has some great urban firefight scenes and action set pieces but it has nearly zero substance outside of that. It manages to flag wave despite the whole "military as a pointless meatgrinder" theme which weakens any weight the film might have had. Overall it's a decent action movie but don't expect anything profound aside from cool delta force sniper and helicopter insertion scenes.
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Authorman | 10 7th |
The Glorious White Race save the Slavering Hoarde from their slavering ways, mostly with bullets.
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dunbar | 60 25th |
This is a war movie that sets out to be a lot of gunfire with little backstory towards the nature of US involvement in Somalia and little motivating details for why the Somali's defended their presence with such fierce aggression. Here there is one human force liberating a country full of barbarians. Whether this is an attitude of war is questionable, but it shouldn't be applauded when it makes it into a film. War movies are supposed to have matured beyond evil Nazis, Commies etc. etc.
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hellboy76 | 65 45th |
It might have helped if I could remember a single character or something about them. A lot of shooting and yelling and explosions but really lacking in character development.
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ribcage | 70 58th |
You could redub all mentions of the Somalis to the Americans calling them zombies and without changing a single scene have a zombie movie. Although most zombies have more humanizing characteristics than the Somalis got here. But who am i to nitpick about that and American hero worship when i love a damn good pulse pounding action film. Scott determines to gives us a slice of life at war and brings us as close as cinema can get. Hardy and his buddy were great comedic relief.
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1 | ![]() |
Leonardis | 82 40th |
Ridley Scott probably realized that this would be low on character development, so he decided to make the film longer. Black Hawk Down's acting is good (at times) and it's an excellent look at war.
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metalhank | 61 46th |
Technically a well made film, it's just a little too much ra-ra-usa for me. This is a great movie to watch if you have a kick-ass home theater. When the bullets start whizzing by you it's quite amazing, and the chopper scenes are really cool as well.
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Average Percentile 53.97% from 10059 Ratings | ![]() |