However, some critics on the left have questioned whether Hollywood is lionizing a bloodthirsty soldier who called Iraqis “savages” and wrote in his book that his “only regret is that I didn’t kill more.”įor weeks, audiences have been seeing a riveting trailer for the movie that shows Cooper as Kyle, his rifle and scope trained on two Iraqi civilians in Fallujah who may or may not be trying to bomb a U.S. This (movie) is a positive portrayal,” said CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter. “Most of the conversation about what happened with our country in Iraq is negative. His funeral procession stretched for 200 miles. Military History,” spent months on the best-seller lists.Īs portrayed by Bradley Cooper in the movie, Kyle was about as stereotypically American as they come: A God-fearing good ol’ boy from Texas who loved hunting, rodeos, his family and his country.Īfter Kyle died in 2013, thousands filled Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas for a memorial service. His 2012 memoir, “ American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. While characters in other recent combat movies such as “Zero Dark Thirty” have been loosely based on actual people, “American Sniper” is based on a firsthand account by a Navy SEAL who served four tours in Iraq.Ĭhris Kyle was already a legend in military circles thanks to his 160 confirmed kills (he said he had many more unconfirmed, or unwitnessed ones). ![]() But now, they’re at least open to being entertained by it.” Wrote Iraq veteran and film producer Paul Rieckhoff, in a recent column for Variety: “Most of America is tired of hearing about Iraq. theaters three to four years after the 1975 fall of Saigon. Although Hollywood movies about that war were made while it was still being fought, the most acclaimed Vietnam war dramas – “The Deer Hunter,” “Coming Home,” “Apocalypse Now” – began hitting U.S. We saw a similar pattern after the Vietnam War in the 1970s. troops out of harm’s way, audiences may finally be receptive to a movie that no longer hits too close to home. involvement in Iraq formally ended, and we have some distance on it. ![]() We’re finally ready for a movie about the Iraq War So why has “American Sniper” – distributed by Warner Bros., which is owned by Time Warner, the parent company of CNN – struck a chord when so many other modern-day war movies have not? Army bomb-disposal team in Iraq, earned only $17 million in North America over its entire run.īradley Cooper talks 'American Sniper' and veteransĪnd until now, audiences have mostly stayed away from films about the unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But Oscar love doesn’t always translate to popular success – “The Hurt Locker,” the 2009 best picture winner about a U.S. ![]() The movie has no doubt benefited from good timing: It hit 3,500 theaters the day after nabbing six Oscar nominations, including best picture. All of which has Hollywood executives, and a lot of other people, scrambling to understand why. “American Sniper” has the look of a bona fide cultural phenomenon. Its audiences include large percentages of women and older viewers, two groups that don’t typically flock to the multiplex. The movie is drawing huge crowds across the moviegoing and political spectrum, from left-leaning cities to conservative small towns. ![]() “American Sniper,” Clint Eastwood’s film about Navy SEAL marksman Chris Kyle, stunned just about everyone by earning $107 million over its first weekend in wide release – an unprecedented haul for a downbeat, R-rated drama released in the middle of winter.
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