Search - Inside Iraq: The Untold Stories DVD on DVD

Powerful film, true to life and not biased.

Wendy St Clair Pearson | Denver, CO | 08/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mike Shiley is an adventure traveler and all around life enthusiast that has turned his passion into his life's work and mission - and that is obvious from the moment this film starts.

In Sept 2003 he got a flack jacket, faked a press pass, and against the advise of just about everyone he knew, hopped a plane to Iraq. From the moment he arrives he's in danger. Yet alone with only his camera and the essentials, he prevails and makes friends everywhere he goes.

He spent many months making his way through the country, talking with people, hearing their stories, and filming it all. He spent time with civilians, the Iraqi military and the US Military. Everywhere he went, he got gripping footage, opinions, and a slice of life as people saw it. It was extremely real and very sad. The outcome is AMAZING.

Places and people are shown as they are - it is the first footage I've seen where I could actually begin to comprehend how life has changed since the war began and see what impact its had on the people.

Above all, this film is about people. He did not politicize or show a skewed version of things. Just the facts - and in many ways these facts speak volumes that no mainstream media, military personnel, local Iraqi or political analyst could ever match alone.

I recommend it VERY HIGHLY. Buy it now if you want to see what is really happening in Iraq."

Outstanding work, required viewing for military officers

Y. Karl | Scandinavia | 04/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mike Shiley's film is a rich account made by a corageous US citizen, posing some of the best questions to date about the utility of lethal force and how to achieve the strategic aims in Iraq. This film puts most of US network war reporting to shame, and beats all of it hands down.

This should be required viewing in military academies and colleges."

Media Reviews of Inside Iraq

Michael D. Shiley | 12/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Below are media and university reviews for Inside Iraq: The Untold Stories.

MEDIA REVIEWS
Those who are strongly for or against the Iraq war won't find their positions unequivocally supported by this film. Which is what makes it worth seeing.
The Portland Tribune

Shiley's film is an incredible guided tour of the Iraq that has yet to be adequately portrayed in mainstream American media. The result is an emotionally complex film that provides perspective on a complex reality that the government has worked to simplify, and the media has done little to clarify.
Willamette Week (Portland, OR)-Movie Review

It's a journey worth taking, but better him than you. He poked into things that journalists and others don't usually stop to examine, and he emerged with a highly personal travelogue that sheds a light on a complex and volatile situation.
The Oregonian Living Section

Shiley deserves credit for going to Iraq twice by himself (both times for a month) and trying to get stories he believes are worth showing.
San Francisco Chronicle

Shiley captures quite a lot of intriguing footage - and makes an important point about just how out of control the situation in Iraq has gotten..."
San Francisco Bay Guardian

What an amazing, powerful film and presentation. In essence, you provided us with a comprehensive behind the scenes tour, no snap-shot news reports, no "approved" footage, no political speak press conferences, just the simple and unfortunate reality that for everyone involved war is hell..
University of Wisconsin

Shiley's footage presented stories of survival amidst extreme strife, the human stories that are not seen for the very most part on the nightly news.
"...well attended and compelling..."
Purdue University

I think the questions you raised last night are part of the conversation we should all be having, and I think it is really admirable that you did the work to help us to have it. Keep it up!
Harvard Alumni Association

I applaud you for undertaking this difficult and creative work. I think this film has a future as an important source of information for citizens who are confused about the US 'project' in Iraq.
Reed College, Portland, OR"

Loved this unbiased look at Iraq

Daisy | Lafayette, Colorado United States | 02/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I attending a showing of this movie after which the director talked about the film and answered questions. The whole thing was wonderful. Mike Shiley did an excellent job of remaining unbiased. He's not a journalist in real life, he's an adventure traveler. The guy went into Iraq as a freelancer so he wasn't beholden to, or financed by, anybody. He pointed his camera around the country and talked about what he saw. He was personable and funny in a way that 'real' journalists aren't. Several times during the showing we the audience laughed out loud. I very much enjoyed getting a look at the Iraqi people. They are an attractive bunch, if I may say so. The children are darling little things, the young men and women are total hotties, and the older people look like people I'd like to get to know. We interviewed some soldiers and officers, rode in a tank on an "Intimidate and Harrass" mission, talked to some Kurds, got a glimpse of the easily accessible porn and armament, saw the results of a car bomb that detonated before its intended time. We watched a couple guys dig out land mines planted by Saddam and met some of the victims of the mines. We saw that the major force is most people's lives is simple economics - you need to be able to feed your family. As long as the insurgency pays better, more people will be insurgents. I found this show fascinating and highly recommend it."