WAR joins HURT on DVD front

Earlier this week on Tuesday, January 12, upstart distributor Summit Entertainment released to DVD and Blu-ray their critically acclaimed war drama, THE HURT LOCKER, simultaneously with home-video acquisition BROTHERS AT WAR, a documentary by Decatur, IL, native Jake Rademacher briefly released to theaters last March by Samuel Goldwyn Films. While the former, directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty as American soldiers trained to defuse homemade bombs in Iraq, has received plenty of notice, possibly not enough has been said about the latter. Brave soul Rademacher willingly followed his brothers, Captain Isaac Rademacher and Sergeant Joseph Rademacher, into the line of duty in Iraq, hoping to better understand through his lens the life choices made by these men in the name of their country.

We’ll allow the official Web site to detail the history of Rademacher’s project and the story of his family for the time being; those who want to cut to the chase can find Summit’s press release right here. As far as impressions, politics, and implications, I’ll refrain from throwing down my two cents until I’ve seen BROTHERS AT WAR in its entirety. Leading up to the original theatrical run, it seemed that early coverage came primarily from pro-military and right-wing news outlets, along with whoever happened to interview executive producer Gary Sinise at the time and the expected hometown press from the Decatur Herald-Review and elsewhere. It will be interesting to hear and read what all quarters of America have to say now that it’s more accessible. You can take your first peek below if you have yet to watch the film.

~ Jason Pankoke

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