In 2001, director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) released Black Hawk Down, a gritty war film depicting the events of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia. Featuring a star-studded cast, the unflinching portrait of the realities of war went on to earn critical acclaim and two Academy Awards. In his adaptation of Mark Bowden’s 1999 book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, Scott took the testimonials of a vast number of US troops who lived through the battle and compressed them into a storyline suited for the length of a cinematic release.
Now, the new docuseries Surviving Black Hawk Down turns the camera on the actual soldiers — and the Somali people — who survived the Battle of Mogadishu, allowing them to tell audiences exactly what happened in their own words. Produced by Ridley Scott Associates and directed by Jack MacInnes, the series features interviews, reenactments, and shocking footage captured on the ground before, during, and after the bloodshed, providing a multifaceted perspective on a day that forever changed the lives of everyone involved.
The three-part series comes out on Netflix on Feb.10.
Take a look at the gripping series in the trailer below:
Beginning in the 1980s, increasing political unrest within Somalia led to a violent civil war, with conflict continuing to the present day. In 1992, food shortages and severe drought combined to create a devastating famine that resulted in the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers. When coalition forces began to target warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid, however, relations between the occupying US forces in Mogadishu and the local Somalis soured. On Oct. 3, 1993, when an American task force was sent out to capture two of Aidid’s lieutenants, his militia retaliated, managing to take down two Black Hawk helicopters that had been assisting from above. With each downed helicopter, soldiers were dispatched to recover the men who had been inside each aircraft, turning what had been a military strike operation into a rescue mission.
The three-episode docuseries features interviews with members of the Army Rangers and Delta Force, the special operation units that worked together on Oct. 3, 1993. Residents of Mogadishu are also featured throughout, including militiamen who fought against US forces, local women who found themselves trapped in a war zone with nowhere to hide, and a party photographer turned war documentarian who was prompted to bring his camera to the front lines out of a personal sense of duty to capture the reality of what was happening to his home.
Check back for more updates and interviews with the team behind the docuseries.
