The Siege (1998) USA
The Siege Image Cover
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Director:Edward Zwick
Studio:20th Century Fox
Writer:Lawrence Wright, Lawrence Wright
Rating:3.5 (114 votes)
Rated:R
ASIN:B00005221K
UPC:0024543010913
Price:$14.98
Awards:2 wins & 4 nominations
Genre:Drama
Release:2000-12-26
IMDb:0133952
Duration:116
Picture Format:Anamorphic Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:2.35:1
Sound:Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Languages:English, French
Subtitles:English, Spanish
Features:Feature Audio Commentary by Producer/Director Edward Zwick and Executive Producer Peter Shcindler
The Siege: Taking New York
International TV Special (1998) - "The Making of The Siege"
Streaming:iTunes
Edward Zwick  ...  (Director)
Lawrence Wright, Lawrence Wright  ...  (Writer)
 
Denzel Washington  ...  Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard
Annette Bening  ...  Elise Kraft/Sharon Bridger
Bruce Willis  ...  Major General William Devereaux
Tony Shalhoub  ...  Agent Frank Haddad
Sami Bouajila  ...  Samir Nazhde
Ahmed Ben Larby  ...  Sheik Achmed Bin Talal
Mosleh Mohamed  ...  Muezzin
Lianna Pai  ...  Tina Osu
Mark Valley  ...  FBI Agent Mike Johanssen
Jack Gwaltney  ...  Fred Darius
David Proval  ...  Danny Sussman
Lance Reddick  ...  FBI Agent Floyd Rose
Jeremy Knaster  ...  INS Official
William Hill  ...  INS Uniform
Aasif Mandvi  ...  Khalil Saleh
Comments: On November 6th our freedom is history

Summary: A high-profile action/exploitation thriller set in the present, "The Siege" is really a fantasy that extrapolates from major terrorist attacks. Denzel Washington is FBI special agent Hubbard, "Hub" to his friends, whose anti-terrorist task force must track down the terrorist cells responsible for a spate of bombings in New York. His partner is an FBI agent of Arabian extraction (played convincingly by Tony Shalhoub), proving not all Arabs are bad guys--a point the film should be lauded for making again and again. Thrown into the mix is a CIA spy (played almost kittenish at times by Annette Bening), whose ties to the terrorists appear to be at the center of the conflicts. When the bombings escalate out of control, the President institutes martial law, sending in General Devereaux (played with impenetrable countenance by Bruce Willis) with tanks and troops to ferret out the terrorists. Echoes of Japanese-Americans in internment camps ring out as Arabs, including the son of the Arab-American FBI agent, are herded into a stadium. Periodic audio-montages of "man in the street" sentiments anchor the material in the present and show how serious and relevant the material is. But finally what we have is a taut and entertaining popcorn movie, giving itself the humanistic nod when it can. "--Jim Gay"