The Hurt Locker (2008)

R
105 min
Drama
October 10, 2008

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Movie Details

Latest 'The Hurt Locker' News

82nd Academy Award Winners!

Brian B.Mar 7, 2010

The Hurt Locker sweeps this year's award show to take Best Picture and Best Director!

LIVE! Chat About Oscar Winners as They're Announced!

Brian B.Mar 7, 2010

Get your two cents in about this year's Academy Award winners as they happen. Watch LIVE red carpet footage now!

The Hurt Locker Producer Nicolas Chartier Banned from Oscar Ceremony Celebration

Mar 2, 2010

The producer is being penalized after negative emails he wrote about Avatar to Academy members came to light.

The Hurt Locker Producer Apologizes for Anti-Avatar Oscar Related Emails

Mar 1, 2010

Producer Nicolas Chartier is in some hot water over emails he sent that violated Academy rules.

The 2010 Writers Guild of America Awards Winners

Feb 21, 2010

The Hurt Locker and Up in the Air take home the feature film awards.

The 82nd Annual Academy Award Nominations Are In!

B. Alan OrangeFeb 2, 2010

Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead the Oscar race with 9 nominations each.

2010 Writers Guild of America Nominations Announced

Jan 11, 2010

Avatar, Star Trek and The Hangover are among the nominated films.

Directors Guild Nominations Announced

Jan 7, 2010

James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow among the nominees.

2010 Producers Guild Nominations Announced

Jan 5, 2010

Take a look at the film and long-form television nominations.

Avatar, The Hurt Locker Sweep in Critics Awards

Cat ParkerDec 13, 2009

Inglourious Basterds also rakes in multiple awards.

Gotham Independent Film Awards Nominations Announced

Oct 19, 2009

The Hurt Locker and Big Fan both lead the pack with three nominations apiece.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: The Hurt Locker Cast and Crew Interviews

B. Alan OrangeJun 25, 2009

Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, and director Kathryn Bigelow discuss the most intense thriller of the summer.

New The Hurt Locker Trailer Premieres!

Apr 15, 2009

Here's a brand new look at the new Kathryn Bigelow film.

NYCC 2009: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Jeremy Renner Spills the Deal on Hurt Locker

Feb 9, 2009

The star of the film reveals details about the new film from Kathryn Bigelow.

Critics Score

97%

Release Date

October 10, 2008

Director

Kathryn Bigelow

Writer

Mark Boal

Cast

Official Website

thehurtlocker-movie.com

The Hurt Locker Synopsis

"The Hurt Locker," winner of the 2008 Venice Film Festival SIGNIS Grand Prize, is a riveting, suspenseful portrait of the courage under fire of the military’s unrecognized heroes: the technicians of a bomb squad who volunteer to challenge the odds and save lives in one of the world’s most dangerous places. Three members of the Army’s elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad battle insurgents and each other as they search for and disarm a wave of roadside bombs on the streets of Baghdad—in order to try and make the city a safer place for Iraqis and Americans alike. Their mission is clear—protect and save—but it’s anything but easy, as the margin of error when defusing a war-zone bomb is zero. This thrilling and heart-pounding look at the effects of combat and danger on the human psyche is based on the first-hand observations of journalist and screenwriter Mark Boal, who was embedded with a special bomb unit in Iraq. These men spoke of explosions as putting you in “the hurt locker.

Acclaimed director Kathryn Bigelow brings together groundbreaking realistic action and intimate human drama in a landmark film starring Jeremy Renner ("Dahmer," "The Assassination of Jesse James"), Anthony Mackie ("Half Nelson," "We Are Marshall") and Brian Geraghty ("We Are Marshall," "Jarhead"), with cameo appearances by Ralph Fiennes ("The Reader"), David Morse (“John Adams”), Evangeline Lilly (“Lost”) and Guy Pearce ("Memento"). "The Hurt Locker" is produced by Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Greg Shapiro and Nicolas Chartier. The screenplay is written by Mark Boal ("In the Valley of Elah," story). Barry Ackroyd, BSC ("United 93," "The Wind That Shakes the Barley") is director of photography. Production designer is Karl Juliusson ("K19: The Widowmaker," "Breaking the Waves"). Editors are Bob Murawski ("Spider-Man 2," "Spider-Man 3") and Chris Innis. Costume designer is George Little ("Jarhead," "Crimson Tide"). Music is by Academy Award Nominee Marco Beltrami ("Knowing") and Buck Sanders ("3:10 to Yuma"), and sound design by Academy Award Nominee Paul N.J. Ottosson ("Spider-Man 2," "Spider-Man 3").

In the summer of 2004, Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) of Bravo Company are at the volatile center of the war, part of a small counterforce specifically trained to handle the homemade bombs, or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), that account for more than half of American hostile deaths and have killed thousands of Iraqis. The job, a high-pressure, high-stakes assignment, which soldiers volunteer for, requires a calm intelligence that leaves no room for mistakes, as they learn when they lose their team leader on a routine mission.

When Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) cheerfully takes over the team, Sanborn and Eldridge are shocked by what seems like his reckless disregard for military protocol and basic safety measures. And yet, in the fog of war, appearances are never reliable for long. Is James really a swaggering cowboy who lives for peak experiences and the moments when the margin of error is zero – or is he a consummate professional who has honed his esoteric craft to high-wire precision? As the fiery chaos of Baghdad threatens to engulf them, the men struggle to understand and contain their mercurial new leader long enough for them to make it home. They have only 38 days left in their tour, but with each new mission comes another deadly encounter, and as James blurs the line between bravery and bravado, it seems only a matter of time before disaster strikes.

With a visual and emotional intensity that makes audiences feel like they have been transported to Iraq’s dizzying, 24-hour turmoil, The Hurt Locker is both a gripping portrayal of real-life sacrifice and heroism, and a layered, probing study of the soul-numbing rigors and potent allure of the modern battlefield.