DVD
REVIEW: MY TRIP TO AL-QAEDA
9/09/12
How much do we really know
about al-Qaeda and their motives? In MY TRIP TO AL-QAEDA,
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright states that
"the number of Muslims that have died at the hands of
al-Qaeda in Iraq alone far exceeds the total of Americans that
died on 9/11" - a fact that might surprise many Americans.
Who are these people behind the Islamic fundamentalist movement
and why are they terrorizing the entire world?
MY TRIP TO AL-QAEDA directed by
Academy Award winner Alex Gibney (Mea Maxima, Culpa, Taxi to the
Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room), features
Wright as he recounts his experiences in the Middle East while
researching his bestselling book, The Looming Tower: al-Qaeda
and the Road to 9/11.
In his latest feature-length
documentary, Gibney incorporates Wright's interviews with those
tied to al-Qaeda with selected scenes from Wright's one-man play
of the same name. The film includes archived television clips
and commentary from Wright about his interviews in Europe and
the Middle East and his struggle to maintain objectivity as a
journalist in the wake of 9/11.
An official selection of 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, MY TRIP TO AL-QAEDA offers a crash course in modern Islamic fundamentalism. Wright’s footage and interviews range from the radicalization of future al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri after he and other Egyptians were imprisoned for the 1981 assassination of Egyptian president Anwar El Sadat, to the rise of Osama Bin Laden (son of a wealthy Saudi contractor) after he fought the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s, to America’s current dilemma as a superpower in danger of overextending its military presence in a region filled with militants who prefer death over life. MY TRIP TO AL-QAEDA blends portions of Wright’s play with backstage chats, archived television clips and footage of Wright’s interviews of people with ties to al-Qaeda and the Islamic fundamentalist movement.
VIDEO:
Widescreen
AUDIO:
Dolby Digital
5.1 and 2.0 and DTS Surround Sound
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