Turski Rambo vadi dušu Amerima

[Ghoul]

Turski Rambo vadi dušu Amerima

Turkish Rambo-spy takes on USA
Jim Emerson / February 2, 2006
The Turkish Daily News announces the release of the film "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq," opening today (February 3, 2006) in Turkey: "Americans beware! It's payback time and Polat Alemdar is on the way. What's more, he means business. Serious business. He's clean, but mean -- not to mention merciless. James Bond, Arnie and Bruce all in one. And to top it all he was kissed by Sharon Stone recently, so his manhood is not in question. That makes him 'a Turk' through and through.
"His motto puts things in perspective, anyway: He who ponders his end can't be a hero. These are orgasmic words for the ultra-right. As for his mission, this is a straightforward one: To avenge the indignity suffered by the Turkish special forces personal arrested and hooded in Sulaimaniya [Kurdistan, Northern Iraq]..."

"Valley of the Wolves: Iraq" stars Necati Sasmaz (as the vengeful Turkish espionage action hero Polat Alemdar), Gary Busey (as a prison doctor who administers torture), and "Titanic" bad guy Billy Zane (as the American ultra-villain, rogue soldier Sam William Marshall -- a name that could hardly be made to sound more symbolically American). It's the most expensive Turkish movie ever made (about $10 million), the blood-soaked, action-packed, patriotism-rousing feature-film extension of a blockbuster Turkish television show that has reflected (and, no doubt, has helped inflame) anti-American rage throughout the region.

The movie reportedly begins with a version of "The Hood Incident" mentioned above, something most Americans probably aren't aware of, but which has become a national scandal, and festering wound to domestic pride, in Turkey. As an an Associated Press story describes it:
The latest in a new genre of Turkish popular culture that vilifies the United States, a Turkish movie shows American soldiers in Iraq crashing a wedding and pumping a little boy full of lead in front of his mother.

They randomly machine-gun dozens of people to death, shoot the groom in the head and drag those left alive to Abu Ghraib prison — where a Jewish-American doctor cuts out their organs, which he sells to rich people in New York, London and Tel Aviv. [...]

[The film] opens with a true story: On July 4, 2003, in northern Iraq, troops from the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade raided and ransacked a Turkish special forces office, threw hoods over the heads of 11 officers, and held them in custody for more than two days. The Americans said they had been looking for Iraqi insurgents and unwittingly rounded up the Turks because they were not in uniform.

Still, the incident damaged Turkish-U.S. relations and hurt Turkish national pride. Turks traditionally idolize their soldiers; most enthusiastically send their sons off for mandatory military service.
The AP story says the movie "veers into fiction after the opening scenes." As if that's any consolation. (In other words, the wedding massacre is fiction.)

Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports on another popular anti-American tale in, the best-selling Turkish novel "Metal Storm," that imagines a U.S. invasion of Turkey. The Post story, too, makes reference to the "Hood Incident" as a catalyst for anti-American sentiment, and contains this revealing passage:
When Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, in Ankara last month, asked Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to rein in criticism of a longtime ally, Gul pointed out that Turks are irked by how they are portrayed in the U.S. media.

Cagri Kaya, a graduate student at Ankara's Bilkent University, offered an example in an interview. "I was watching '24,' and one of the terrorists was Turkish," Kaya said. Compounding the offense, Kaya added, was a sloppiness that lumped Turks with the Arabs they had ruled in Ottoman times: "He spoke Arabic, not Turkish, and looked like he was Saudi."
I wonder if many Americans even noticed, or cared about, that seemingly minor inaccuracy. Elsewhere, evidently, others did. The Post story (from April, 2005) also recounts one notorious story that appears to have made it into "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq":
Mainstream newspapers here routinely mock U.S. troops in Iraq, and many feature breathless but unsubstantiated reports of American atrocities there, including mythical accounts of troops harvesting organs from dead civilians.
And, the official web site for "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq" promotes the movie this way:
A record breaker on Turkish TV for three seasons and now a phenomenon, "Valley of the Wolves" is now preparing to shake the world with the movie...

The story begins with a true story: "The Hood Event"... On 2003, the 4th of July, allied American forces come to the unofficial, half-secret Turkish headquarters consisting of eleven people. The Turkish soldiers suppose that this an ordinary visit from their allies. But this time it is different. In the changing conjuncture, America wants to be the only power "calling the shots." To them, there is no place for Turks in the region any more...

That day, eleven soldiers are deported with hoods on their heads with no respect to their soldiership dignity and in front of the region's people...

It's all truth up to this point in the movie...
So, the Turkish response to "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq" -- on television and in anticipation of the new movie -- appears to be rooted in several things, including: 1) wounded pride over an assault on their soldiers' dignity (the "Hood Incident" in particular); 2) general "blowback" in response to American conduct of the war in Iraq; 3) long-standing fear and paranoia about Kurdish autonomy; 4) a reaction against stereotypes of Turks in American media -- and, no, they still haven't forgotten or forgiven "Midnight Express." (BTW, one of the best movies of 2005 was a Turkish film called "Head-On" that exhibits a particular fondness for American and European popular culture.)

But given that Turkey has traditionally been our closest ally in the region, and a rare example of secular democracy in the Middle East, I can't simply dismiss these expressions of virulent anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism as inevitable "collateral damage." To me, they're incredibly disturbing (and "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq" sounds at least as offensive and despicable as "Midnight Express" -- or "Mississippi Burning"). I visited Istanbul and Bursa with a Turkish friend in 1997 and was surprised to find the question most asked of me as an American was some version of: "Why did George Bush (Sr.) leave Saddam in power? He is a terrorist and he is right next door!" It's shocking and deeply troubling to imagine how much attitudes have evidently changed in just a few years.

Back to the Turkish Daily News article by Semih Idiz, which I want to quote at some length:
It's not surprising, therefore, that the Americans portrayed in the film, again judging from the films trailers, are morally speaking the ugliest and most reprehensible creatures to be found on the planet. Put another way, they make Graham Greene's ugly American appear like Mary Poppins' male cousin. [...]

There's little doubt that the multi-million-dollar film -- with all its Hollywoodesque stunts and special effects -- is going to be a big hit. And not only in Turkey and throughout the region, but also in any and every nook and cranny to which anti-Americanism has spread. [...]

It's also clear that what can't be done in real life is attempted to be achieved in this way in the sphere of fiction. In other words, this is sublimated vengeance. One can rest assured that Turks who bear a grudge against the U.S. over northern Iraq will come out of the film deeply satisfied and with a feeling of having been avenged.

They will also come out of the film hating all things American even more. Whether they will be able to differentiate between fact and fiction, however, is another matter. Chances are that the simpler the mind involved, the more this film will be accepted as fact.

But is this all specific to Turkey? Not so by a long shot. Let me explain: I'm sure there are American officials who have been bracing themselves for this film for some time and who wish it was somehow banned or prevented from being screened. After all, they know perfectly well the effect it's going to have and how it's going to harm their increased efforts at public diplomacy in Turkey and the region. [...]

[When "Midnight Express" was released in Turkey] Ankara was told time and again at the time by one country after another in the West that to even think of having that film banned was unthinkable in a democracy, which is correct. So Turkey had to sit down and eat humble pie in the face of a clear, calculated and racist exercise aimed at defaming Turks, which clearly used the public ignorance and historic prejudices present in the West concerning this country to make the film so successful.

In this sense one could even, with some stretch of the imagination, say that Polat Alemdar is also avenging "Midnight Express"....
Idiz ends his piece with what seems to be a paraphrase of the famous vengeance-vowing final title of Melvin van Peebles' 1971 "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song": "So brace yourself you Americans! Polat Alemdar and his henchmen are coming to kick the big A, and they mean business."

There's a lot to chew on there. To be sure, "Rambo: First Blood II" was (to choose one example) just such an exercise in "sublimated vengeance" -- an attempt not so much to rewrite history as to re-write national mythology and inflate national pride by retroactively and metaphorically "winning" the war in Vietnam. In that sense, "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq" may be just another nationalistic fable that will succeed (or not) in the free market -- not only the box-office but the marketplace of ideas... and propaganda. Will people buy it? Are they already buying it? Is the world ready to buy America as the Big Villains, the way we used to portray the Soviets or the apartheid-enforcing South African bureaucrats? Or am I reading too much into what may just be another action movie that exploits jingoistic myths (and thereby cheapens genuine feelings) about patriotism and soldiers' honor?

Obviously, we'll have to wait to see how this plays out. But AP offered contrasting Turkish reactions to "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq":
"The scenario is great," Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas told The Associated Press after the film was shown at a posh opening gala Tuesday night. "It was very successful. ... a soldier's honor must never be damaged."

But Topbas and other Turks at the premiere weren't too concerned about how the movie would be perceived in the United States.

"There isn't going to be a war over this," said Nefise Karatay, a Turkish model lounging on a sofa after the premiere. "Everyone knows that Americans have a good side. That's not what this is about."
In the meantime, it sounds like we can be certain that Polat Alemdar will not suffer any moral qualms about his bloody mission -- like, say, the covert assassins in Steven Spielberg's "Munich." Oh, and that his manhood is not in question.

[col. von Strohm]

Sunce ti sto je ovo jako!!! Cim ga nabavis javi!!! )) Ja to moram da vidim! Ne verujem da ce ga biti u nasim bionjama, pa ne vredi da cekamo - cim budes spustio sape na divx javljaj!!! ))))

Inace onaj film o kojem smo pricali [iranski ] se zove:

"Deca neba"
Bacheha-Ye aseman (1997)
Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118849/

Ta stvar je NEVIDJENA!!!  Obavezno ga nadji i pogledaj.

[Aleksandar Žiljak]

Da, i sad su se Ameri našli na debljoj strani filmske batine (gdje su do sad bili svi ostali, bez obzira na boju kože, vjeru ili političko opredjeljenje) i šta sad hoće? Mislili su da ih nitko nikad neće pljuvat?

[Kastor]

Neko mi reče da je na premijeri u Berlinu bilo navijanja kao na utakmici!

"Mis'im, ako možete da potvrdite tu informaciju."

[smrklja]

čiato sam u novostima o nekom turskom filmu u kome je glavni negativac američki doktor u iraku i koji je pogledalo blizu pola miliona ljudi  u nemačkoj uglavnom turaka valjda je to taj.

[Ghoul]

Turkey's Valley of the Wolves: Iraq, an action drama that depicts U.S. troops in Iraq committing multiple atrocities, is setting new boxoffice records in its homeland. The movie has sold more than three million tickets since its February 3rd release, according to Turkish tracking agency Kenda. The current record-holder for ticket sales in Turkey is G.O.R.A., which drew four million admissions in 2004.

Valley of the Wolves will maybe reach five million, a Kenda representative said. The film also has sold about 228,000 tickets on its opening week in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, where it is being released by specialist distributor Maxximum Films. It is our best result yet, said Maxximum head Anil Sahin. The film is due to roll out in several other territories, including the U.K., in the coming weeks.



SAJT FILMA JE OVDE:
http://www.valleyofthewolvesiraq.com/high/main.html

[Ghoul]

detaljniji info, sa zabavnim slikama, ovde:
http://www.valleyofthewolvesiraq.com/web/about.htm

[Kastor]

Sve mi se više čini da je ovaj film gledljiv i bez osvrtanja na političke konotacije.

Mada...nadao sam se da su se Turci dosta potrudili oko vizuelne uverljivosti, ali...da li umišljam ili  na ovim skrinovima vojnici u američkim uniformama izgledaju kao...tamnoputi Turci!?

[col. von Strohm]

... da li umišljam ili  na ovim skrinovima vojnici u američkim uniformama izgledaju kao...tamnoputi Turci!?

A kako treba da izgledaju americki vojnici? Meni izgledaju bas k'o sto treba. I portorikanci i meksikanci meni izgledaju kao turci... barem izgledaju mi kao oni turci koje sam upoznao kada sam pre par godina bio na moru. A americka pesadija se uglavnom i sastoji od "pripadnika manjinskih zajednica"...  

Ja jedva cekam da vidim neki film u kojem glavni junak, kao "good guy", ubija americke vojnike koji su "bad guy"-ovi.  

Nadam se da ce i nasi filmotvorci nauciti nesto iz ovog primera i snimiti akcioni film u kojem dobri srbi mlate sve ostale i to BEZ IZJEDNACAVANJA svih strana koje nasi filmski radnici toliko vole. Pa jos ako ne bude smaracina... E to bih bre otisao da gledam ne jednom nego dvaput!!!   Ali vec znam da ti "bizgov"-i nece nista shvatiti i da cu takav film gledati o kur#u mesecu...  

Inace svidja mi se sto turci nikad nisu oprostili amerima za "Ponocni ekspres".      

[Truba]

boga vam za koga vi navijate  

(ovo pitam dok slušam pjesmu born in the USA)

[Ghoul]

boga vam za koga vi navijate  

kud svi turci, tu i mali mujo  

[col. von Strohm]

ja navijam jedino i iskljucivo za sve ljude dobre volje koji su voljni da ubiju ponekog amerikanca zarad opste dobiti celog civilizovanog sveta. bas zato se jako dobro slazem sa borjnim arapima i turcima sa kojima povremeno dolazim u kontakt. cesto se cak desava da oni nakon razgovora samnom pocnu da preispituju svoja saznanja o ratovima na balkanu i o tome ko su u stvari bili "dobri momci" uprkos cinjenici da smo mi masovno ubijali i jos masovnije silovali neke koji su se zvali "muslimani" a sada se zovu nekako drugojacije. sve je to vrlo zbunjujuce za njih.  

a tek koliko bi bilo zbunjujuce jos kada bih ja promenio pricu i poceo da hvalim ameriku nakon sto sve zemlje balkana udju u eu, a srbi iz inata odbiju i zatraze clanstvo u usa? pa onda jos i ja zapevam born in d ju-es-eeeeEEEEeeeeEEEeeej... amaAAAan!

[Kastor]

A kako treba da izgledaju americki vojnici?

Lepi, plavokosi, kao što reče Ghoul na jednom drugom topicu.

A americka pesadija se uglavnom i sastoji od "pripadnika manjinskih zajednica"...  

Da mi nisi rekao...
Problem je  ako su izbegli zabavan kliše i predstavili Amerikance kao plavokose šabane (jedan metak ubija desetoricu, dobacuju se granatama, bačenim nožem zaustavlja tenk i sl.), već pokušali da igraju na uverljivost filma u kome muslije sređuju dotične... Ja tu onda nemam za koga da navijam.  

Ja jedva cekam da vidim neki film u kojem glavni junak, kao "good guy", ubija americke vojnike koji su "bad guy"-ovi. ?

Aj', progutaću Turke pošto je prvi put...

boga vam za koga vi navijate

Ja za Zvezdu.

[col. von Strohm]

Ja evo uvek spremno priznajem svoju gresku i rado dozivljam katarzu i druge stvari koje ne znam sta su, a o kojima su mi pricali nato-pacifisti i clanovi gej kluba "Goran Svilanovic".   Upravo u tom duhu cu javno da se izvinim svima koje sam povredio tokom svojih verbalno-literarnih ratno-huskackih zlocina na ovom forumu i da priznam da sam pogresio:

Nije trebalo da zapovedam da se seku zelene ruke!... ne cekaj, uopste nisam to hteo da kazem. Ehem, htedoh reci:

U parvu si. Ameri treba da budu plavusani! Jeste da to njihovi vojnici inace nisu, ali mi bi vise uzivali kada bi u filmu bili plavusani. Ni ja ne bih mnogo uzivao dok turci ubijaju portorikance i meksikance pa taman da imaju svih pedeset dve zvezdice iscetane na crveno-belo-prugastom celu.  

Inace odusevljava me i sto je criminal mastermind hirurg koji je ni manje ni vise nego jevrein! E malo i oni negde da budu svabe u dotiranom filmu! A najbolje od svega je sto tog doktora igra Gary Busey kojeg ja inace gotivim, ali od poslednjeg fejs-lifta koji je ocajno odradjen covek izgleda tako da strasno da bih ga pustio da glumi samo u planeti majmuna ili eventualno obe naslovne uloge u "King-Kong Meets Godzila".  

[smrklja]

Pre nego što je sinhronizovana verzija trebalo da krene u distribuciju Nemci su zabranili film zato što je rasistički i usmeren protiv Zapada pišu današnje Novosti.

[Ghoul]

cekaj bre, kako sad to, pa ja sam cito da je u nemackoj film vec belokbaster, da ga turci gledaju vise puta itd.

mozda su govorili o turskoj verziji, bez sinhr, sto znaci da ce samo nemci ostati uskraceni za ovo remek delo?

[smrklja]

Tačno je da su ga Turci u Nemačkoj odgledali u velikom broju a kada je trebalo da bude distribuirana verzija sinhronizovana na nemački predsednik bavarske vlade je valjda izdejstvovao zabranu a najveća distributerska mreža je odbila da ga emituje.

[Kastor]

Nemci su zabranili film zato što je rasistički

Interesantan obrt sudbine.

[Tex Murphy]

Da nije tužno, bilo bi smiješno.

[Kastor]

Ma ko ih j***e. Ionako ta njihova sinhronizacija, bez koje ne bi umeli ni dupe da obrišu, uništi pola filma. Ne daj Bože da se potrude da pročitaju nešto sa ekrana/platna ili da nauče neki drugi jezik.

[Ghoul]

šta mislite, da li će OVAJ projekat da bude RASISTIČKI:

SECOND IN COMMAND, a new Jean-Claude Van Damme flick that will hit DVD in May

Jean Claude plays an official who's just been appointed as Second In Command to the U.S. Ambassador at an American Embassy in a small, turbulent Eastern European nation (MALA, UZBURKANA, ISTOČNOEVROPSKA... SRBIJICA?   ).When local insurgents attempt a coup d'etat (PALA VLADA!), the nation's President takes refuge inside the embassy (ZAR MI IMAMO TAKVU PIČKICU ZA PRECEDNIKA?).The embassy is then besieged by the well-armed insurgents.The U.S. Ambassador is killed in the ensuing action (BAR NEŠTO DOBRO OD TOGA!), an now it's up to Jean Claude and the embassy's small detachment of U.S. Marines to fend off the attackers.

Now go check out the trailer where you can smile with glee when you hear Jean-Claude say (I'm not kidding here), "Give them hell Kenny. That's an order." Priceless.

TREJLER - OVDE: http://www.videodetective.com/player.asp?publishedid=944073&src=big

i neka vas ne zbuni što se zemlja u pitanju zove Moldavija... to je samo da se Vlasi ne dosete...