Black Hawk Down is a 2001 American drama war film depicting the Battle of Mogadishu, a raid integral to the United States' effort to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The film is based on the book of the same name by Mark Bowden, which chronicles the events of the battle. It was co-produced and directed by Ridley Scott, the director of Gladiator (2000). The film features a large ensemble cast, including Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner and Sam Shepard. The film won two Oscars for Best Film Editing and Best Sound at the 74th Academy Awards. The film was received positively by mainstream critics but was not as warmly received by Somali nationals.
In Somalia, famine and civil war have gripped the country, resulting in over 300,000 civilian deaths and a huge United Nations
peacekeeping operation. With the bulk of the peacekeepers withdrawn,
the Somali militia have declared war on the remaining UN personnel. In
response, United States Army Rangers, Delta Force, and 160th SOAR are deployed to Somalia to capture Mohammed Farrah Aidid, self-proclaimed president of the country. Outside Mogadishu, Rangers and Delta Force operatives capture Osman Ali Atto (George Harris),
a warlord selling arms to the militia of Aidid. Shortly thereafter, a
mission is planned to capture Omar Salad Elmi and Abdi Hassan Awale
Qeybdiid, two of Aidid's top advisers. The US forces include experienced
men as well as new recruits, including PFC Todd Blackburn (Orlando Bloom)
and a desk clerk going on his first mission. When his Lieutenant is
removed from duty as the result of a seizure, Staff Sergeant Matthew
Eversmann (Josh Hartnett) is placed in command of Ranger Chalk Four, his first command.
The operation is launched and Delta Force successfully captures
Aidid's advisers inside the target building, but the Rangers and
helicopters escorting the ground-extraction convoy take heavy fire,
while SGT Eversmann's Chalk Four is dropped a block away by mistake.
When Blackburn is severely injured after falling from one of the Black Hawk helicopters, three Humvees led by SGT Jeff Struecker (Brian Van Holt) are detached from the convoy to return Blackburn to the UN-held Mogadishu Airport. SGT Dominick Pilla (Danny Hoch)
is shot and killed just as Struecker's column gets underway, and
shortly thereafter Black Hawk Super-Six One, piloted by CWO Clifton
"Elvis" Wolcott (Jeremy Piven), is shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade
(RPG) and crashes deep within the city. Both pilots are killed, the two
crew chiefs are wounded, and one Delta sniper on board escapes in
another helo that makes it back to base. The ground forces are rerouted
to converge on the crash site, but the Somali militia throw up
roadblocks, causing LTC Danny McKnight's (Tom Sizemore)
Humvee column to lose its way, while sustaining heavy casualties.
Meanwhile, two Ranger Chalks, including Eversmann's unit, reach
Super-Six One's crash site, setting up a defensive perimeter to await
evacuation with the two wounded men and the fallen pilots. In the
interim, Super-Six Four, piloted by CWO Michael Durant (Ron Eldard) is also shot down by an RPG, crashing several blocks away.
With CPT Mike Steele's (Jason Isaacs)
Rangers pinned down and sustaining heavy casualties, no ground forces
can reach Super Six Four's crash site, nor reinforce the Rangers
defending Super Six One. Two Delta snipers, SFC Randy Shughart (Johnny Strong) and MSG Gary Gordon (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau)
are inserted by helicopter to Super Six Four's crash site, where they
find Durant still alive. The crash site is eventually overrun, Gordon
and Shughart are killed, and Durant is captured and taken to Aidid.
McKnight's column gives up the attempt to reach Six-One's crash site,
and returns to base with their prisoners and the casualties. The men
prepare to go back to extract the pinned down Rangers and the fallen
pilots and MG Garrison (Sam Shepard) orders the 10th Mountain Division, including Malaysian and Pakistani forces, to mobilize as a relief column.
As night falls the Somali militia launch a sustained assault on the
trapped Americans at Super Six One's crash site. The militia is held off
throughout the night by strafing runs and rocket attacks from AH-6J Little Bird helicopter gunships of the Nightstalkers,
until the 10th Mountain Division's relief column is able to reach the
site. The wounded and casualties are evacuated in the vehicles, but a
handful of remaining Army Rangers and Delta Force operatives are forced
to run from the crash site back to the stadium, in the UN Safe Zone.
The closing credits detail the results of the raid: 19 American
soldiers were killed, with over 1,000 Somalis dead. Durant was released
after 11 days of captivity. Delta snipers Gordon and Shughart were the
first soldiers to be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. On August 2, 1996, Aidid was killed in a battle with a rival clan. General Garrison retired the following day.
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