One of Ridley Scott‘s most accomplished films, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, has officially landed on free streaming. The intense combat drama released in 2001 arrived during a defining stretch for Scott, following Gladiator and reinforcing his command of ambitious, large-scale filmmaking. It was not only a critical hit, as shown by its Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but also a favorite with audiences. Furthermore, it won two Oscars for Film Editing and Sound at the 2002 ceremony and remains among Scott’s strongest historical works.
Featuring a star-studded ensemble cast, the war epic dramatizes the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, when an American military raid spiraled into an extended firefight after helicopters were shot down. Rather than building around one conventional hero, Scott follows a group of soldiers whose individual roles gradually become part of the same desperate effort to survive. That film is Black Hawk Down, and it is currently available to stream for free in the United States on the free ad-supported streaming service Fandango at Home Free, since October 1, as part of the recently announced Halloween lineup.
‘Black Hawk Down’ Is a Brutal War Masterpiece Worth Watching
Based on journalist Mark Bowden’s 1999 nonfiction book,Black Hawk DownstarsJosh Hartnett,Ewan McGregor,Eric Bana,Tom Sizemore,William Fichtner,Jason Isaacs, andSam Shepard.
Tom Hardy is also featured in his first film role. The screenplay is byKen Nolan, tracking elite American soldiers sent to capture lieutenants serving Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid during a United Nations peacekeeping operation. Using Black Hawk helicopters to lower the soldiers onto the ground, an unexpected attack by Somalian forces brings two of the helicopters down immediately. From there, the U.S. soldiers must struggle to regain their balance while enduring heavy gunfire.
From its limited release in December 2001,Black Hawk Down earned nearly $180,000. The film, made with a $92 million production budget, later earned close to $749,000 from its expanded release in January 2002. It ultimately grossed $28.6 million in its first wide-release weekend, placing it No. 1 at the box office, and went on to amass $108.6 million domestically and $64.4 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $173 million.
Black Hawk Downstreams for free on Fandango. Stay tuned to Collider for future streaming updates.
