Product Description

Paralyzed from the chest down after serving in Iraq for just one week, 25-year-old Tomas Young is forced to deal with the realities of war each and every day. For Tomas, learning to cope with his disability meant finding his voice to speak out against the war in Iraq.

Directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro and set to the haunting vocals of Eddie Vedder, the multi award-winning BODY OF WAR splits its time between Tomas s arduous daily reality in Kansas City, MO, and the legislative processes that led up to the invasion of Iraq in 2002.

Senatorial speeches and a running tally of pro-war votes are interspliced with intimate footage of Tomas as he navigates through the acute physical and emotional impacts of his injury. A testament to the power of parallel images, the film adeptly juxtaposes the sanitized vantage point of Washington with raw personal experience. In the end, this contrast forces viewers to question the motives, methods, and ever-rising cost of the conflict in Iraq.

A deeply moving and bracingly honest film, BODY OF WAR narrates a story that must be heard a story of courage, conviction, and resistance.

DVD Features: Eddie Vedder Music Video No More; MSNBC interview with Phil Donahue; CSPAN coverage of the House and Senate debates; Deleted Scenes; Theatrical Trailer; Filmmaker Biographies

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17751 in DVD
• Brand: NEW VIDEO GROUP
• Released on: 2008-10-28
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 87 minutes

Amazon.com
At the center of Body of War is Tomas Young, a smart, determined guy who enlisted in the military the day after he saw President Bush stride through the ruins of the World Trade Center. He expected to be sent to Afghanistan to get the people who attacked his country; instead, he was shipped to Iraq, where he took a bullet through the collarbone a week after arriving and was paralyzed for life from the chest down. Young's subsequent struggle to be heard, by speaking out and questioning why U.S. soldiers went to Iraq, is chronicled in this film. Directors Phil Donahue (yes, talkshow host Phil Donahue) and Ellen Spiro cast a wider net, which is where the film begins to feel a little scattered, even if their cause is a fervent one. The Senate vote on authorizing the Bush plan for Iraq is a running theme, with the names of the voters emblazoned on the screen (this would be an even more effective drumbeat if it weren't drowning in overbearing music). Meanwhile, West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, an old political hand with a checkered past, emerges as the voice of Constitutional sanity. His soaring speeches leading up to the crucial vote are excerpted at length, so it's no surprise that he and Tomas Young should eventually meet. But whatever the film's ambitions, its finest moments are in following Young and bluntly assessing (with considerable physical detail) his status. Original songs by Eddie Vedder are judiciously placed and passionately delivered. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

How many deaths will it take?
As I write this in August 2008, the documentary BODY OF WAR has yet to find wide release in movie theaters. I saw the film at an independent screening that included an appearance by director Phil Donahue. According to Mr. Donahue, because of previously unsuccessful films dealing with the current Iraq war/occupation distributors passed on this story of Tomas Young, an American soldier a bullet paralyzes.

The fate of BODY OF WAR reflects the reason the failed Iraq conflict continues. Most Americans know there is no good explanation for invading and occupying Iraq. Yet too few protest and even fewer appear willing to even see a movie about it. Tens of thousands die and millions suffer but it does not seem to affect Americans enough for the tragedy to end.

America invaded Iraq because many in Congress and other positions of power turned blind eyes and deaf ears to the Bush administration's lies. Today almost everyone wants it to stop, yet those same men and women in authority let the violence carry on. As long as too many Americans seemingly do little more than wish the Iraq disaster would go away, it won't.

Thus it is no surprise to see BODY OF WAR passages depicting the poor health care Tomas Young and other Iraq veterans receive from the government. Just as George W. Bush doesn't want the public to see coffins with a return address "Iraq," Congress and he give the wounded soldiers as little attention as possible. Bush and Congress continue spending billions on death and destruction but Mr. Young receives such insufficient help from the country he served, it falls on his wife and mother to get him through the day. And while no force is stronger than a woman's love, BODY OF WAR shows us even that can't pick up the slack for an American government that won't take care of the individuals it sends to war.

At the June 25, 2008, BODY OF WAR screening I attended, Phil Donahue said Tomas Young was struggling with his health. Here's wishing Mr. Young the best and hoping it will not take one more death for BODY OF WAR to find the audience it deserves - and for American soldiers to finally come home.

See BODY OF WAR.

A brave and broken hero
"We're gonna find the evildoers, and smoke 'em outta their hole!"

Just after the tragic events of 9/11, President Bush tries to rally the troops and prepare the country for war. Fueled by patriotism, Tomas Young calls his recruiter, anxious to do his part for America.
After being trained, he becomes startled as he soon learns he's getting shipped to Iraq instead of Afghanistan. And once there, his life quickly gets shattered. An Iraqi bullet left him paralyzed from the chest down.
He's eventually shipped back home to Kansas City, MO, given a medal, and quickly forgotten about by the people that sent him overseas. It's a terrible shame.

This documentary concentrates on his life after the injury. It's a shocking, eye-opening experience. Tomas speaks out against the war, while struggling severely with his injury and the mental burden he's forced to carry. He joins VATW(Veterans Against The War) and beckons our political leaders for answers.

Body of War is directed by Phil Donahue. It includes a powerful soundtrack by Eddie Vedder.
Plus, it shows real footage of Senators, such as McCain and Mrs. Clinton, speaking for the war cause just after 9/11.
One very interesting note, several Black leaders spoke out against the war in Iraq, warning us of the financial crisis and unfounded reasons behind such actions. Their voices went unheard.

A must-see documentary that will really hit home. STAY STRONG TOMAS!!

Not JUST an Anti War Film
I have seen this film three times and am dismayed that so few will have the chance to see it because some suit declared it not commercial. I took my children to see this film and it really affected them.
This is not just another anti-war film, it is the story of what happens to our veterans when they get home and about the unsung heroes in life. Everyone who supports veterans should feel an obligation to see this film. Everyone who believes that there are no more honest decent politicians owe it to themselves to allow Senator Robert Byrd to crush our callousness. Everyone who thinkss they would never sit idlely by while evil was done in their names, allow this film to make you think again. If you love America, PLEASE PLEASE SEE THIS FILM AND PASS IT ON TO SOMEONE ELSE.