Control Room
Seen it?2004 | 84 min | Documentary, War
Sunday Safe Betearly ratingWhy it’s a Sunday Safe Bet
Critics loved it (95% on Rotten Tomatoes), though it had almost no lasting buzz and soft box office. A safe bet when you want something reliable.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for the curious and history buffs. If you loved For Sama or 20 Days in Mariupol, start here.
- The mood
- Intense, eye-opening.
- The pace
- Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 24 min.
- What might put you off
- Nothing much for most grown-ups.
A chronicle which provides a rare window into the international perception of the Iraq War, courtesy of Al Jazeera, the Arab world's most popular news outlet. Roundly criticized by Cabinet members and Pentagon officials for reporting with a pro-Iraqi bias, and strongly condemned for frequently airing civilian causalities as well as footage of American POWs, the station has revealed (and continues to show the world) everything about the Iraq War that the Bush administration did not want it to see.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsVery strong
95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 79 on Metacritic
- AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Box office & staying powerBelow par
$3 million worldwide; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactWeak
About 6K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Jehane Noujaim
- Samir KhaderSelf - Senior Producer, Al Jazeera
- Josh RushingSelf (as Lt. Josh Rushing)
- Hassan IbrahimSelf - Reporter, Al Jazeera
- Abdul Jabbar Al-KubeisiSelf - Iraqi Dissident
- Nabeel KhourySelf - Spokesman, US State Department
- David ShusterSelf - Correspondent, MSNBC
- Tom MintierSelf - Correspondent, CNN
- Muafak TawfikSelf - Translator, Al Jazeera
- Omar Al-IssawiSelf - Correspondent, Al Jazeera
- Jihad Ali BalloutSelf - Media Relations, Al Jazeera