Soundtrack to War (2005 Video) User Reviews

Enjoyable bit of rough documentary.

[iron_viking · 7/10 · 18 September 2007]

I got onto this documentary after I heard an interview with Gittoes on Triple J (a decent Australian radio station). I finally got around to getting it out and wasn't disappointed.

The film has a rough feel about it, Gittoes getting quite up close, but as I saw it, not very personal, making it really more about the music than anything, he even states himself its more of a musical. If you want to see some free-styling, country, patriotism, American rhetoric mixed with some true idealism, I would recommend this to you. There are some legitimate emotional moments, ordinary Americans (though they are military personnel) giving it their effort and relating their experiences through music.

Iraq plays a nice backdrop, demolished and very candid, which I think makes a good background giving the interviews and performances some background for the audience to relate to.

Good film worth your time, though don't expect to sit there and go over it every little bit as a life changing experience.

Soundtrack to Extinction? Risky project but very well executed!

[samxxxul · 7/10 · 21 November 2020]

Beginning by asking the question that we usually ask our friends, " What kind of music are you into?" George Gittoes presents a strong viewpoint of the sound that resonates with the soldiers in Iraq. It's quite exciting hearing the soldiers and the local band members to speak their heart and mind on the topic. This is an appropriately titled documentary (ironic also), it's not easy to look at the war-torn background and its debris as a symbol of tragedy, where everything is forbidden. Fundamentally 'Soundtrack to War' asks questions of power of Music and its influence. On the surface, the movie is about how the soldiers feel in Iraq. Deeper, it is asking what the future holds for them and the uncertainty of their lives? The documentary then sets out to show, very convincingly, that inner conflicts of the soldiers and how they take Music as a therapy and a soundtrack when doing chores or in the battlefield. I was mesmerized and enthralled by this documentary. I wanted it to just go on and on. And by using plenty of close-up, eye level shots in various interviews with the soldiers and locals, the viewer can not deny that the director establishes credibility with both the natural, framing of the shots and the inner feelings of the individuals interviewed. It is evident that George Gittoes fell in love with soldiers and their stories as he conversed with them. The soldiers open up to the camera and rap, talk about their favourite metal bands, artists and they also show themselves to be very real, down-to-earth, fun-loving people--witty, too. We can't help but feel deeply for and enjoy the hell out of them. This wonderful documentary is a treasure, particularly for music fans and for anyone with interest in art.