Control Room (2004)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Audio Audio Commentary-Jehane Noujaim (Director) & Hani Salama (Producer/Cinemato.) Audio Commentary-Josh Rushing (Central Command Press Officer_ Audio Commentary-Hassan Ibrahim &Samir Khader (Al Jazeera Senior Producers) Theatrical Trailer Deleted Scenes Notes-About Al Jazeera Web Links Trailer-Startup.com, Letters To Ali, Shifting Sands, The Corporation Trailer-Osama, Safe, Going Upriver
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	86:32 (Case: 84)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (67:57)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Jehane Noujaim
Studio Distributor	Magnolia Pictures Madman Entertainment	Starring	Joshua Rushing Samir Khader Hassan Ibrahim
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	?	Music	Thomas DeRenzo Hani Salama Julia Bacha

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.75:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English English for the Hearing Impaired French Spanish Arabic	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Whatever your take on the war in Iraq, the hunt for terrorists and WMDs, or the foreign policies followed by the Bush Administration, chances are that almost all of the material you have used to make up your mind about this conflict has come from media organisations based in the West. CNN, Fox News, BBC, ABC, Australian commercial television news, or the various print media circulated around the country would surely make up a substantial chunk of the information source for most of us. A look from the other side is almost impossible, unless you trawl the Internet or have a friend abroad.

    By now everyone with even a passing interest in the war in Iraq will have heard of the Arab satellite news channel Al Jazeera. First going to air in November 1996, the station is now watched by more than 40 million people in the Arab world. It was established to provide Arab viewers with a more free and independent source for news than some of the state run media organisations many of the countries of the Middle East provided. It was staffed primarily by former employees of the just-disbanded BBC Arabic television service, with all the journalists strong believers in the staunch BBC ethos of balance and fairness in their news reports.

    The network is based in Doha, Qatar (you just have to watch the first deleted scene where the dumbstruck news reporter is forced to mimic his station anchor and pronounce "Qatar" as "Gutter"!) and has actually been censored in many of the more repressive Arab countries. Interestingly, the network's sister website at AlJazeera.net is among the top 50 most visited sites in the world.

    As well as providing news to the Arab world, it is a station that has attracted plenty of controversy. The Bush administration calls it "The mouthpiece of Osama Bin Laden", due to their willingness to air Osama propaganda videos, and it has attracted the ire of many around the world with its eagerness to show vision of civilian deaths and injuries and coalition POWs during the war (the rest of the world pretends this just doesn't happen). Of course we see very little of Al Jazeera in Australia, other than what the other television networks choose to show us, so it is therefore refreshing to finally get a look at the war in Iraq from a slightly different perspective.

    Control Room is a film that offers that and a whole lot more. It shows a true behind-the-scenes look at the station and how it and others from around the world have truly battled every day to bring us some sense of the chaos that is the war in Iraq. The film is most importantly a fair and balanced piece of work. Director Jahene Noujaim takes no sides (helped probably due to her dual American/Egyptian heritage) as she interviews some of the key people working at the station, plus others involved in delivering and shaping the message we see every night on our television sets.

    There are some truly interesting characters in the film. Hassan Ibrahim is a veteran journalist who has a Saudi upbringing but is also fluent in the ways of the west. He now works for Al Jazeera after many years with the BBC Arabic service and it appears as if he likes nothing better than engaging someone in a long and passionate political argument. The target of his initial ramblings is Cpt. Josh Rushing, the US Marine Press Office at Central Command in Qatar. This unfortunate man is charged with delivering the US military line on action in Iraq and putting a positive spin on any situation. This is severely tested the day after the US accidentally bombs three media outlets in Iraq (including Al Jazeera), which culminates in the death of one of the station's reporters.

    If anything is learnt from this captivating behind the scenes look at the workings of a large media outlet, it is how difficult it is for any of them to remain completely objective reporting on a conflict that fires much passion and hatred. It is almost funny to think that the gung-ho American Fox News claim themselves to be "fair and balanced" while many in the US see Al Jazeera as biased towards Iraq. Conversely those involved with Al Jazeera state they strive to be fair and balanced against the tide of the biased western news services.

    An excellent film and further proof that any film that lifts the lid on the workings of the media is essential viewing for all.

Video

    The video transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.75:1. This is slightly different to the theatrical aspect ratio (and the one indicated on the packaging) which was 1.85:1. It is also 16x9 enhanced.

    With much of the camera work filmed on the run with hand held digital tape-based equipment, don't expect too much in terms of pristine, vibrant, or colourful film-like images here. The film is split between what appears to be hand-held footage and archival Al Jazeera news footage. There is grain evident in many of the shots with poor lighting, but there is no low level noise.

    Colours aren't exactly what I'd call vibrant, but the style of film and the content matter presented doesn't really call for heaps of bright colour.

    There are no compression or film-to-video artefacts. Film artefacts are also absent with much of the film shot on tape.

    There are a couple of subtitle options. I sampled the English variety during much of the commentary track and found them pretty accurate.

    This is a dual layered disc that is RSDL formatted with the layer change occurring at 67:57.

Video Ratings Summary

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Audio

    This documentary comes equipped with no less than four soundtracks including an amazing three commentary tracks. The main film is serviced solely by a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track in English with substantial Arabic dialogue scattered throughout. This Arabic dialogue is supported by English subtitles.

    This is a soundtrack dominated by interviews and talking heads, so it really doesn't need anything special. There is some reasonable separation of sound effects across the front speakers, mostly notably the music. Dialogue is clear and there are no audio sync problems.

    There is a little music that supports the on screen action.

    With the film stuck with two channels there is no surround channel or subwoofer usage.

Audio Ratings Summary

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Overall

    The quantity of extra material contained on this disc is excellent and a real indication of the importance of the subject matter.

Main Menu Audio

Audio Commentary - Jehane Noujaim (Director) and Hani Salama (Producer)

    The main commentary track is by director Jehane Noujaim and producer Hani Salama. Noujaim is of American/Egyptian heritage and is an intelligent, articulate speaker who has plenty to say about her film, a film that she obviously put a lot of effort into. An excellent commentary that adds much to the film viewing experience.

Audio Commentary - Capt. Josh Rushing (Central Command Press Officer)

    Marine Captain Josh Rushing was the Central Command Press Officer who is featured prominently in the film as an interviewee. His commentary is interesting enough though a little limited in scope since he really only knows his side of the story.

Audio Commentary - Hassan Ibrahim and Samir Khader (Al Jazeera Producers)

    Al Jazeera senior producer/reporters Hassan Ibrahim and Samir Khader (both of whom are featured in the film) know pretty much everything there is to know about the satellite channel and its impact in the Arab world. A fascinating commentary with plenty of information packed into it. The urbane and highly intelligent Hassan Ibrahim would make a particularly interesting dinner party guest.

Theatrical Trailer

    A pretty decent trailer that immediately rams home what this documentary is about in just 2:12.

Deleted Scenes

    Deleted scenes that offer more bang for your buck than the main feature! Some 29 deleted scenes covering all manner of topics. Extended or additional interviews with many of the people in the film (more than 22 minutes with Cpt. Josh Rushing), several scenes which didn't make the final cut and a few Al Jazeera promotional spots. All up these run for a staggering 97:10.

Notes

    A couple of static screens of text summarising the history of the Al Jazeera satellite news channel.

Web Links

    Internet links to the United States Central Command, the English version of Al Jazeera and Madman Cinema.

Trailers

    Trailers for several other Madman titles including Letters To Ali, Shifting Sands, The Corporation, Osama, Safe, Going Upriver and another film by Control Room director Jehane Noujaim, Startup.com.

    Other than the fact that the bonus trailers are different on the Region 1 and Region 4 discs, it appears they are virtually identical.

    Documentaries like Control Room have always been important, but they have taken on an altogether new importance in the information-hungry world in which we find ourselves in 2005 when every news service puts some sort of spin on their output to increase ratings. Together with the likes of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War On Journalism they show an often unsuspecting consumer a side to the media that many in charge of these money-making machines try to keep well hidden. Control Room is even more important in enlightening the public by showing the war in Iraq from a  seldom seen perspective including footage you are unlikely to have seen before. It is about as fair and balanced as you can get without a trace of sensationalism anywhere.

    The video and audio quality are fine for the style of presentation, while the wealth of extras are a highlight.

    All up a pretty decent quality DVD.

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