thedrifter
08-16-06, 09:52 AM
Iraq through the troops’ eyes
August 16,2006
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Mike Moriarty has seen unimaginable things.
A former specialist with the New Hampshire National Guard, Moriarty spent a year in Iraq protecting convoys from roadside bombs, fighting insurgents and trying to stay alive.
He filmed all of it.
Moriarty’s story is part of a new documentary called “The War Tapes,” filmed by soldiers in Iraq. It’s an attempt to show the public the war through the eyes of those fighting it. The film opens Friday at Carmike 16 in Jacksonville.
Director Deborah Scranton said she hopes the film can help Americans connect with the experiences of the armed forces in Iraq.
“There’s a big disconnect between those who know a soldier or a Marine or a sailor or airman and those who don’t,” she said. “They are there in our name. We are a country at war, and they are still there. But you can go days in this country without even having the war prick your conscience. I hope to bridge that disconnect.”
Scranton conceived the film after she had an offer to embed. Instead, she wanted to give the soldiers the cameras. She pitched the idea to 180 soldiers with Charlie Company, 3rd of the 172 Infantry Regiment as they readied for their deployment. Ultimately, 21 soldiers filmed for the project.
Moriarty didn’t want to participate.
“At first, I wanted no part of it,” he said. “I dreaded the thought of it. We had bigger things to deal with at the time.”
But he said he was eventually won over by Scranton’s previous project about World War II veterans. Even then, he wanted to stop filming many times.
“It was a lot of work, it was a lot of aggravation at times,” Moriarty said of the filming process. “You’ve got enough to do, especially as a gunner … It was a pain in the butt a good portion of a time. But I knew in the end it would tell our story.”
The film focuses on three soldiers — Moriarty, Sgt. Stephen Pink and Sgt. Zack Bazzi — as they live their daily lives in a war zone, recording combat, various interactions with Iraqis and their own private thoughts. They carried the cameras everywhere, recording the entire year they spent in Iraq at Camp Anaconda in Balad, a volatile area of bomb-ridden roads.
More than 800 hours were filmed by the soldiers, all of it done on their own.
“I never told them what to say,” Scranton said.
“The whole idea was for the story to be through their eyes. It was for me to listen and to make sure what they were saying ended up being in the film.”
Moriarty said he liked the end product, but thought it had some left-leaning biases in the editing.
“It’s a fair and somewhat balanced film,” he said. “It’s definitely an accurate story in that it does show the extremes the soldiers experience. It does show soldiers are thinking human beings with different opinions, but at the end of the day we will do our job.
“It does have a bit of a political twist to it. That was slightly disappointing to me.”
The film opened for a preview screening on Monday in Jacksonville, but only a handful of residents turned out to see it. George Rothermel, a retired master gunnery sergeant, came to see it because it was about Iraq. At the beginning of the screening, the Vietnam veteran was greeted with a private showing.
“A military town and only one person shows up to the movie?” he said. “Holy smokes.”
And folks missed out, he said.
“I thought it was really good,” he said after the screening. “It showed you, ‘Hey, it’s life. Not every day is combat.’ I think it’s very well put together. The language is tough, but most military guys talk that way.”
William and Jennifer Harmon of Jacksonville came to the theater Monday to watch “Clerks 2” but wandered into “The War Tapes” when they found out about it.
“It should be on regular TV,” William said. “Everyone should see it. (It was) no Hollywood mock-up. There was no political right behind it. It was the truth.”
“I liked how the guys were able to complain and be honest and yet still be able to serve their country,” Jennifer said. “I seriously liked the reality of it.”
Area residents will get another chance to see the movie starting Friday. Moriarty will attend two screenings Friday — at 7:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. — and will answer audience questions after each showing.
Since Marines and sailors who have fought in Iraq are sure to be thick in the audience, Moriarty said he hopes the movie is a good representation of what they saw themselves.
“I want them to be able to say this movie is a pretty close representation of their experiences,” he said. “I would like them to leave this film and tell their families, ‘If you want to know what I did, go see ‘The War Tapes.’ ”
Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 229.
Ellie
August 16,2006
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Mike Moriarty has seen unimaginable things.
A former specialist with the New Hampshire National Guard, Moriarty spent a year in Iraq protecting convoys from roadside bombs, fighting insurgents and trying to stay alive.
He filmed all of it.
Moriarty’s story is part of a new documentary called “The War Tapes,” filmed by soldiers in Iraq. It’s an attempt to show the public the war through the eyes of those fighting it. The film opens Friday at Carmike 16 in Jacksonville.
Director Deborah Scranton said she hopes the film can help Americans connect with the experiences of the armed forces in Iraq.
“There’s a big disconnect between those who know a soldier or a Marine or a sailor or airman and those who don’t,” she said. “They are there in our name. We are a country at war, and they are still there. But you can go days in this country without even having the war prick your conscience. I hope to bridge that disconnect.”
Scranton conceived the film after she had an offer to embed. Instead, she wanted to give the soldiers the cameras. She pitched the idea to 180 soldiers with Charlie Company, 3rd of the 172 Infantry Regiment as they readied for their deployment. Ultimately, 21 soldiers filmed for the project.
Moriarty didn’t want to participate.
“At first, I wanted no part of it,” he said. “I dreaded the thought of it. We had bigger things to deal with at the time.”
But he said he was eventually won over by Scranton’s previous project about World War II veterans. Even then, he wanted to stop filming many times.
“It was a lot of work, it was a lot of aggravation at times,” Moriarty said of the filming process. “You’ve got enough to do, especially as a gunner … It was a pain in the butt a good portion of a time. But I knew in the end it would tell our story.”
The film focuses on three soldiers — Moriarty, Sgt. Stephen Pink and Sgt. Zack Bazzi — as they live their daily lives in a war zone, recording combat, various interactions with Iraqis and their own private thoughts. They carried the cameras everywhere, recording the entire year they spent in Iraq at Camp Anaconda in Balad, a volatile area of bomb-ridden roads.
More than 800 hours were filmed by the soldiers, all of it done on their own.
“I never told them what to say,” Scranton said.
“The whole idea was for the story to be through their eyes. It was for me to listen and to make sure what they were saying ended up being in the film.”
Moriarty said he liked the end product, but thought it had some left-leaning biases in the editing.
“It’s a fair and somewhat balanced film,” he said. “It’s definitely an accurate story in that it does show the extremes the soldiers experience. It does show soldiers are thinking human beings with different opinions, but at the end of the day we will do our job.
“It does have a bit of a political twist to it. That was slightly disappointing to me.”
The film opened for a preview screening on Monday in Jacksonville, but only a handful of residents turned out to see it. George Rothermel, a retired master gunnery sergeant, came to see it because it was about Iraq. At the beginning of the screening, the Vietnam veteran was greeted with a private showing.
“A military town and only one person shows up to the movie?” he said. “Holy smokes.”
And folks missed out, he said.
“I thought it was really good,” he said after the screening. “It showed you, ‘Hey, it’s life. Not every day is combat.’ I think it’s very well put together. The language is tough, but most military guys talk that way.”
William and Jennifer Harmon of Jacksonville came to the theater Monday to watch “Clerks 2” but wandered into “The War Tapes” when they found out about it.
“It should be on regular TV,” William said. “Everyone should see it. (It was) no Hollywood mock-up. There was no political right behind it. It was the truth.”
“I liked how the guys were able to complain and be honest and yet still be able to serve their country,” Jennifer said. “I seriously liked the reality of it.”
Area residents will get another chance to see the movie starting Friday. Moriarty will attend two screenings Friday — at 7:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. — and will answer audience questions after each showing.
Since Marines and sailors who have fought in Iraq are sure to be thick in the audience, Moriarty said he hopes the movie is a good representation of what they saw themselves.
“I want them to be able to say this movie is a pretty close representation of their experiences,” he said. “I would like them to leave this film and tell their families, ‘If you want to know what I did, go see ‘The War Tapes.’ ”
Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 229.
Ellie