Stars: Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Tony Shalhoub

Director: Edward Zwick

Summary: When the U.S. military abducts a Muslim leader, New York City becomes the target of several terrorist attacks in this gripping political thriller ripped from newspaper headlines.

When the U.S. military abducts a Muslim leader, New York City becomes the target of several terrorist attacks in this gripping political thriller ripped from newspaper headlines. Denzel Washington stars as Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard, the head of the FBI terrorism task force who is charge of investigating the bombings. Ironically, Hub's partner, Frank Haddad (Tony Shalhoub), is Arab-American and must fight for his family's rights as the citizens of New York become increasingly paranoid about the Arab-American population. Elise Kraft (Annette Bening) is an undercover CIA official and Middle East expert who is also investigating the terrorist attacks and joins Hub and Frank as they search for the terrorists. As Hub, Elise, and Frank work to uncover the source of the terrorism, the city erupts in escalating madness, spiralling out of control until the government sends in General William Devereaux (Bruce Willis), who takes over the city and declares martial law. Ultimately, the government seizes the male Arab-American population of New York in makeshift internment camps in this incredibly relevant and cautionary thriller that examines the real dilemma of how a democratic society can uphold the rights of its citizens while under military protection. Director Edward Zwick's film features excellent performances from an all-star cast and includes real footage of President Clinton addressing the problem of terrorism.

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A high-profile action/exploitation thriller set in the late 20th century, The Siege is really a fantasy that extrapolates from major terrorist bombings, such as the one at the World Trade Centre. Denzel Washington is FBI special agent Hubbard, "Hub" to his friends, whose anti-terrorist task force must track down the terrorist cells responsible for a spate of bombings in New York. His partner is an FBI agent of Arabian extraction (played convincingly by Tony Shalhoub), proving not all Arabs are bad guys--a point the film should be lauded for making again and again. Thrown into the mix is a CIA spy (played almost kittenish at times by Annette Bening), whose ties to the terrorists appear to be at the centre of the conflicts. When the bombings escalate out of control, the President institutes martial law, sending in General Devereaux (played with impenetrable countenance by Bruce Willis) with tanks and troops to ferret out the terrorists. Echoes of Japanese-Americans in internment camps ring out as Arabs, including the son of the Arab-American FBI agent, are herded into a stadium. Periodic audio-montages of "man in the street" sentiments anchor the material in the present and show how serious and relevant the material is. But finally what we have is a taut and entertaining popcorn movie, giving itself the humanistic nod when it can. --Jim Gay, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1998
Release Date:	September 24, 2007
Runtime:	111 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	0017301054
Keywords:	Action, English, Edition, Siege, Adventure, Definitive
Genre:	Action/Adventure