Standard Operating Procedure
A blockbuster of a documentary, director Errol Morris’s Standard Operating Procedure, produced by Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann with Julia Sheehan, is set to release this summer. The movie has a rich cast with Joshua Feinman, Zhubin Rahbar, Merry Grissom, Cyrus King and Sarah Denning playing.
Standard Operating Procedure is a documentary about the War in Iraq. It details an examination of the unintended consequences of the Iraqi war with a focus on events at Abu Ghraib prison which began to appear in the media in 2004. The prison soon became notorious for the shocking photos of the abuse and torture. The suspects of these acts are soldiers who believed they were defending democracy, but unfortunately found themselves stuck in a nightmare.
Rotten Tomatoes reports that director Morris took two years to research the horror behind the walls of the Abu Ghraib prison.
After winning the Oscar for 2003’s THE FOG OF WAR, director Errol Morris turns to Abu Ghraib prison for this documentary. STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE uses two years of research to explore the horror behind the notorious photographs taken at the prison in Iraq and how the torture depicted wasn’t an isolated incident.
According to USA Today, the biggest question raised in this haunting and troubling documentary is whether the dehumanizing treatment inflicted upon prisoners was a crime by “a few bad apples” or a standard operating procedure. All those interviewed claim that it was the latter.
Morris spoke with five of the seven indicted soldiers. He integrates the visuals, some of which are much more graphic than those seen in the media, with the soldiers’ recollections of what was going on outside the frame. Interviews reveal a casual, even flip attitude. A few are contrite, several are bitter. One speaks of a general telling them not to be afraid “to treat prisoners like dogs.” Others try to put in context what seems inexplicable.
Before the movie is released, here is the official trailer.