Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down (2001) — watch online on iFILM. Director Ridley Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer adapted journalist Mark Bowden's account of the bloodiest American firefight since Vietnam. Cast: Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Tom Hardy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Orlando Bloom.

Mogadishu, October 3, 1993. A U.S. Ranger and Delta Force operation planned to last thirty minutes spirals into an eighteen-hour battle through the city's narrow streets. Two UH-60 helicopters go down, units are cut off from each other, the wounded pile up faster than medevac can reach them. Sergeant Eversmann (Hartnett) tries to hold his inexperienced squad together while Delta operator Hoot (Eric Bana) moves like the battle is a chess problem he's already solved.

Scott keeps the camera close and the action relentless — all 144 minutes of it. The film took two Academy Awards for editing and sound mixing. What stays with you isn't the spectacle but the weight of each individual soldier trying to make the right call when there are no good options. Stream Black Hawk Down online on iFILM.