Watch Only the Dead For Free

One of my all time favorites.

Just what I expected

Better than most people think

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Let's keep this simple, if you're squeamish don't watch this. If you're judgemental of people don't watch this.Using live footage the journalist goes deep into Iraq revealing footage never seen before received directly from Nationalists and then terrorists.He express the emotions of the soldiers and himself a very do and meaningful way that makes him question himself hence my comments about being judgemental.Sit down, don't get distracted and be ready

I saw Michael Ware on Real Time before this film came out, and his state made me interested to see this film – since essentially it is a document of his time in Iraq from the start of the GW Bush war, through the rise of the insurgency. The footage that this gives us is not only impacting in terms of what he shot, but also the access he got to footage filmed by the jihadists themselves. It perhaps goes without saying that this film is a brutally hard watch, with a lot of footage which is violent and upsetting in nature.In this way it is an engaging watch though, because it very much feels like we are in the center of this terrible darkness, and to see the roots of it is to understand the endless cycle with no easy way to break it. Again, it is not pleasant to watch this, but it is engaging in that bleakness. Unfortunately, the film itself is not particularly good. As a documentary it is too focused on Ware, while at the same time not really being focused on him. The narration is heavily used to keep all this footage together, which in and of itself is a problem. This weakness is more noticeable because the narration is not great in its dialogue – it feels forced and overwrought at times; with Ware many steps ahead of the viewer. Unfortunately this weakness in form and delivery does stay with the film and the viewer, and it prevents it being a good documentary, even if the footage is shocking and engages on that level.

'Time' magazine reporter Michael Ware was sent to Iraq in 2003 to cover the allies take down of Saddam Hussein. The Americans made short work of getting to Baghdad and toppling the regime. In the power vacuum that was created many factions emerged with differing and often extremist ideologies and soon insurrection became rife.Ware was keen to see the war from both sides and went out of his way to contact the insurgents. This he was able to do after gaining the trust of a number of players. He was then used to 'promote' videos of their attacks and other deeds. He soon became involved with one of the most brutal of these insurgents - Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. In this film he chronicles what he did in a linear format which also relates how the conflict grew and developed, this goes on for some seven years.The footage is often extremely upsetting; showing the aftermath of suicide bombings, torture and beheadings. He has managed to get some very gritty footage and he did put his personal safety on the line on more than one occasion. The question that is left slightly hanging is whether he was abetting their crimes or merely reporting what occurred. He does mention the ethical conflict but some will find it inadequate. However, that is not the point of the film. This is a true account of what one man did in a war that many will say was totally unjustified. I found it upsetting, moving, heart breaking, visceral and sad. This is a film you will not be able to say you 'liked', it is a film that people should see, the true face of war is often air brushed by the media – this is anything but and as such is a film I can recommend.

This is the most confronting and in your face film I have ever seen. Documenting 7 years living in Iraq as a war correspondent for TIME and CNN, Michael (an Aussie) tells an amazing personal story of how he was nearly beheaded, worked to tell both sides of the Iraq war and his personal struggles. I watched a screening where Michael did a Q&A afterward, his insightful, concise and articulate depiction of what he went through, the PTSD, the stories he told and his analysis of Middle East, make this one of the best films. He does the American soldiers justice in this film, it is not a Hollywoodised depiction of the glory of war! This is real war.