Persepolis is the poignant story of a young girl in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It is through the eyes of the precocious and outspoken 9-year-old Marjane that we see a people's hopes dashed as fundamentalists take power--forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands. Clever and fearless, Marjane outsmarts the "social guardians" and discovers punk, ABBA, and Iron Maiden. Yet when her uncle is senselessly executed and as bombs fall around Tehran in the Iran/Iraq war, the daily fear that permeates life in Iran is palpable. [Sony Classics]

Occupied France, 1942. Gilles (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) is arrested by SS soldiers alongside other Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. En route to the camp, he narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, as one of the soldiers’ superior officers is “looking for a Persian,” and has promised additional rations to the soldier who delivers. Gilles is then assigned a literal life-or-death mission: to teach Farsi to Head of Camp Koch (Lars Eidinger), who dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran once the war is over. Through an ingenious trick, Gilles manages to survive by inventing words of “Farsi” every day and teaching them to Koch. The unusual relationship between the two men sparks jealousy in other prisoners and particularly the SS guards towards Gilles. Meanwhile Koch’s suspicions grow every day, and Gilles struggles with the unfairness of his privileges compared to his fellow prisoners, while fighting to maintain his secret and survive.

Wladyslaw Szpilman, a brilliant Polish pianist, a Jew, escapes deportation. Forced to live in the heart of the Warsaw ghetto, he shares the suffering, the humiliation and the struggles. He manages to escape and hides in the ruins of the capital. A German officer comes to his aid and helps him to survive. (Focus Features)

A young recruit in Vietnam faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.

In the tense 72 hours before D-Day, and with the fate of the free world hanging in the balance, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Captain James Stagg face an impossible choice—launch the largest and most dangerous seaborne invasion in history or risk losing the war altogether.

Inspired by real events, documentary filmmaker Saverio Costanzo's feature debut is a minimalist psychological drama about a Palestinian family of seven suddenly confronted with a volatile situation in their home that in many ways reflects the larger ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel. (Typecast Releasing)

A sheltered young high society woman joins the United States Army on a whim and finds herself in a more difficult situation than she ever expected.

Thomas "Tommo" Peaceful (George MacKay) is the youngest of three brothers from a small village in England. The Peaceful brothers always do everything together, and there is an especially close bond between Tommo and his older brother Charlie (Jack O'Connell). That bond is tested when they fall in love with the same girl. However, when Tommo and Charlie are shipped off to Belgium to fight in World War One, the ultimate display of bravery, sacrifice and brotherly love shines through, revealing the beauty of humanity amidst the brutality of battle.

In a world where journalism is under attack, Marie Colvin (Rosamund Pike) is one of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time. Colvin is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the frontlines of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless, while constantly testing the limits between bravery and bravado. After being hit by a grenade in Sri Lanka, she wears a distinctive eye patch and is still as comfortable sipping martinis with London’s elite as she is confronting dictators. Colvin sacrifices loving relationships, and over time, her personal life starts to unravel as the trauma she’s witnessed takes its toll. Yet, her mission to show the true cost of war leads her—along with renowned war photographer Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan)—to embark on the most dangerous assignment of their lives in the besieged Syrian city of Homs.

A portrait of Ben Ferencz, the last surviving Nuremberg Trial prosecutor, who continues to wage his lifelong crusade in the fight for law and peace.

An epic tale of doomed passion, mistaken identity and the terrible personal cost of political resistance. (Palm Pictures)

Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk offers an intimate, first-hand perspective on life under siege in Gaza, captured through video calls between director Sepideh Farsi and 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist and poet Fatma Hassona. Combining raw immediacy with deep humanity, the film captures daily life during the conflict through the eyes and unwaveringly optimistic presence of Fatma, a talented photographer whose generation is trapped in an endless cycle of war, famine, and resistance. Her conversations with Farsi bring us into the heart of the conflict, even while their physical distance underscores the dire situation inside Gaza.

From the classic novel by Graham Greene comes a murder mystery centered on a love triangle set against the French Indochina War in Vietnam circa 1952. (Miramax)

Bosnia, July 11th 1995. Aida is a translator for the United Nations in the small town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army takes over the town, her family is among the thousands of citizens looking for shelter in the UN camp. As an insider to the negotiations Aida has access to crucial information that she needs to interpret. What is at the horizon for her family and people - rescue or death? Which move should she take? [Super LTD]

A railroad worker (Jackie Chan) and his ragtag group of freedom fighters find themselves on the wrong side of the tracks when they decide to ambush a heavily armed military train filled with desperately needed provisions. Unarmed and outnumbered, they must fight back against an entire army using only their wits.

John Rambo is released from prison by the government for a top-secret covert mission to the last place on Earth he'd want to return - the jungles of Vietnam.

An adaptation of William Shakespeare’s King Lear, Ran considers the disastrous consequences of Lord Hidetora Ichimonji’s (Tatsuya Nakadai) decision to split his kingdom among his three sons.

Set during the Mexican-American War, this is the story of a group of American soldiers that are trapped in the Sierras in the midst of a terrible blizzard when one of the soldiers (Carlyle) snaps and becomes a cannibalistic maniac.

He had everything and wanted nothing. He learned that he had nothing and wanted everything. He saved the world and then it shattered. The path to enlightenment is as sharp and narrow as a razor's edge.

Red Cliff opens as power hungry Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao seeks permission from the Han dynasty Emperor to organize a southward-bound mission designed to crush the two troublesome warlords who stand in his way, Liu Bei and Sun Quan. As the expedition gets underway, Cao Cao's troops rain destruction on Liu Bei's army, forcing him into retreat. Liu Bei's military strategist Zhuge Liang knows that the rebels’ only hope for survival is to form an alliance with rival warlord Sun Quan, and reaches out to Sun Quan’s trusted advisor, war hero Zhou Yu. Vastly outnumbered by Cao Cao’s brutal, fast-approaching army, the warlords band together to mount a heroic campaign – unrivaled in history – that changes the face of China forever. A massive hit in Asia and the most expensive Asian film production of all time, Red Cliff is a breathtaking war epic that marks the triumphant return of John Woo. (Magnolia Pictures)

Red Tails begins its story with World War II in full swing. As the war continues to take its toll on Allied Forces in Europe, the Pentagon brass, desperate to protect their dwindling numbers of bombers look to an option previously considered unthinkable. At long last they give The Tuskegee Airmen the chance to prove themselves in battle and forever put to rest the misplaced belief that blacks lacked the courage, discipline and intelligence to be fighter pilots. Against all the odds, with something to prove and everything to lose, these intrepid young airmen take to the skies in awe inspiring displays of bravery and heroism to fight for their country and with it, the fate of the free world. (20th Century Fox)

A fictional story inspired by true events, Redacted is a unique cinematic experience that will force viewers to radically reconsider the filters through which we see and accept events in our world, as well as the power of the mediated image and how presentation and composition influence our ideas and beliefs. A profound meditation on the way information is packaged, distributed, and received in an era with infinite channels of communication, Redacted uses a variety of created source material--video diaries, produced documentary, surveillance footage, online testimonials, news pieces--to comment on the extreme disconnect between the surface of an image and the reality of ideas and the truth, especially in times of strife. Centered around a small group of American soldiers stationed at a checkpoint in Iraq, Redacted alternates points of view, balancing the experiences of these young men under duress, as well as the perspective of members of the media, with the viewpoint of the local Iraqi people, and illuminates how each have been deeply affected by the current conflict and through their encounters with each other. The charged apotheosis of Brian De Palma's filmmaking career, Redacted caps off a body of work that has explored the politics of image-making and reception more fully than any living filmmaker. (Magnolia)

When an Egyptian-born chemical engineer disappears on a flight from South Africa to Washington, his American wife desperately tries to track him down. Meanwhile, a CIA analyst at a secret detention facility outside the U.S. is forced to question his assignment as he becomes party to the man's unorthodox interrogation. (New Line Cinema)

Sarah, an Israeli café owner living in West Jerusalem, has a clandestine relationship with Saleem, her Palestinian bread vendor, who lives in East Jerusalem. When their spouses discover the affair, two lives – already divided by politics, culture, class, and marital commitments – are made infinitely more complicated. A not uncommon betrayal takes on an entirely sinister new twist as Israeli and Palestinian authorities misread the writing on the wall. Based on true events. [Dada Films]

Based on the true story of an American pilot, Dieter Dengler is shot down during a top-secret mission. Taken hostage, he endures unimaginable conditions at the hands of cruel captors in a makeshift POW camp. Dengler's iron will to survive guides him and fellow prisoners in a meticulously planned, death-defying escape, only to discover the harsh realities of an unforgiving jungle beyond the camps walls. (MGM)

Before he was the world-famous mime Marcel Marceau, he was Marcel Mangel, an aspiring Jewish actor who joined the French Resistance to save the lives of thousands of children orphaned at the hands of the Nazis. As a young man growing up in Nazi-occupied Europe, Marcel (Jesse Eisenberg ) has no intention of getting involved in the war – his pursuits include impersonating Charlie Chaplin in burlesque clubs, painting backdrops for his plays, and antagonizing his obstinate father. His life is thrown into upheaval when he is recruited into the French Resistance, putting his acting skills to the ultimate test in teaching orphaned Jewish children how to survive in the horrifying reality of the Holocaust.

A feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soliders in Afghanisatn'ss Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, Restrepo, named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the US military. This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley: there are no interviews with the generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 90-minute deployment. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you. (Passion Pictures)

A look behind the barricades of the besieged city of Homs, where for nineteen-year-old Basset and his ragtag group of comrades, the audacious hope of revolution is crumbling like the buildings around them.

Moving between the political sphere and everyday life on the streets of Baghdad, this documentary offers a unique glimpse into the resilience of Iraqis as they struggle to sustain their lives and to fight off a sense of despair and defeat. (Arab Film Distribution)

Henry Strauss (Jason Robards) returns to Stuttgart, Germany to confront his past and learn the fate of an old friend. The visit prompts strong memories of a young Hans Strauss (Christien Anholt) meeting Konradin von Lohenburg (Samuel West) and forming a close friendship despite their differences in class, ethnicity, religion, and politics. Strauss strives to reconcile his nostalgic yearning for that friendship with everything torn asunder by the Nazis' rise to power.

A trapper and his young son get pulled into the American revolution early as unwilling participants and remain involved through to the end.

The classic Shakespearean play about a murderously scheming king staged in an alternative fascist England setting.

Shakespeare's powerful tale of the wicked deformed King and his conquests, both on the battlefield and in the boudoir.

A bloody chapter of Civil War history in 1861, with friends fighting friends in vicious guerrilla warfare along the Kansas/Missouri border. This is the story of a 16-year-old boy, Jake (Maguire) who joins the First Kansas Irregulars.

After the Civil War, Cord McNally searches for the traitor whose treachery caused the defeat of McNally's unit and the loss of a close friend.

Christian Bauer's film "The Ritchie Boys" tells a story that's never been told before. It begins in Camp Ritchie, Maryland, the birthplace of modern psychological warfare, and it ends with the defeat of Germany in May of 1945. After D-Day the Ritchie Boys became a decisive force in the war. Nobody knew the enemy, his culture and his language better than they. Their mission: ascertain and break the enemy's morale. (Tangram)

Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange battle evil landowners among the breathtaking landscapes of the majestic Scottish Highlands in this riveting adventure of courage, love and uncompromising honor. (MGM)

Rock in the Red Zone is an intimate portrayal of life on the edge in the war-torn city of Sderot. Once known for its prolific rock scene that revolutionized Israeli music, for thirteen years the town has been the target of ongoing rocket fire from the Gaza strip. Through the personal lives and music of Sderot's diverse musicians, and the personal narrative of the filmmaker, who ends up calling the town home, the film chronicles the town's trauma and reveals its enduring spirit.

In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

A Jewish woman travels to Germany to seek out the Aryan woman who sheltered her mother during the Holocaust.

Retired Marine Colonel and attorney Hays Hodges (Jones) defends his old friend and comrade-in-arms Col. Terry Childers (Jackson), a highly decorated 30-year Marine veteran, who has been court-martialed for ordering his troops to fire on a hostile crowd storming the U.S. embassy in Yemen which results in the deaths of many civilians.

A U.S. sub commander, obsessed with sinking a certain Japanese ship, butts heads with his first officer and crew.

The film reveals the story of how herds of wild horses came to Namibia's vast desert -- and what it says about humans in their relationship to animals.

Fedor Alexandrovich is a radioactive man. He was four years old in 1986, when he was exposed to the toxic effects of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown and forced to leave his home. Now 33, he is an artist in Ukraine, with radioactive strontium in his bones and a singular obsession with Chernobyl, and with the giant, mysterious steel pyramid now rotting away 2 miles from the disaster site: a hulking Cold War weapon known as the Duga and nicknamed the "Russian Woodpecker" for the constant clicking radio frequencies that it emits. In Gracia's documentary/conspiracy thriller, Alexandrovich returns to the ghost towns in the radioactive Exclusion Zone to try to find answers - and to decide whether to risk his life by revealing them, amid growing clouds of Ukraine's emerging revolution and war.

Without hostile intent, a Soviet submarine runs aground off New England. Men are sent for a boat, but many villagers go into a tizzy, risking bloodshed.

In 1975-79, the Khmer Rouge waged a campaign of genocide on Cambodia?s population. 1.7 million Cambodians lost their lives to famine and murder as the urban population was forced into the countryside to fulfill the Khmer Rouges' dream of an agrarian utopia. In S21, Panh brings two survivors back to the notorious Tuol Sleng prison (code-named "S21"), now a genocide museum where former Khmer Rouge are employed as guides. (First Run Features)

An aircraft factory worker goes on the run after being wrongly accused of starting a fire that killed his best friend.

A film based on Jean Devaivre's book chronicling his own experiences as a French filmmaker living during the time of Germany's WWII occupation of France.

A dramatic, intense and heroic WWII film about members of the Greatest Generation struggling to be both good men and good soldiers. (Excel Entertainment Group)

An American photojournalist gets caught in a political struggle at El Salvador in 1980.

When Lord Murashige Araki rises up against the tyrannical Nobunaga Oda, he finds himself besieged within the walls of his own castle. Isolated, he is confronted with a series of mysterious crimes that shatter the fragile order of his court, plunging the fortress into fear and suspicion. Based on Honobu Yonezawa's novel.

Set in Iraq in 2003, Sand Castle follows a group of American soldiers in the early days of the second Gulf War. Bearing witness to the heat and the horror is the inexperienced Private Matt Ocre (Nicholas Hoult), who, together with several fellow soldiers, is ordered to the outskirts of Baqubah to repair a water pumping station damaged by U.S. bombs. But, as Ocre discovers, in an atmosphere where resentment and anger fester, trying to win the hearts and minds of the locals is a task fraught with danger. It’s here, in the streets, squares and schools that he discovers the true cost of war. [Netflix]

A dramatization of the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima.

During the WWII D-Day invasion, a squad of soldiers led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) is sent into Normandy to find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), and return him to his mother in America. She has already lost three other sons in this war.

Steven Spielberg's epic drama tells the compelling true story of German businessman Oskar Schindler (Neeson) who comes to Nazi-occupied Poland looking for economic prosperity and leaves as a savior. (History in Film)

In post-war Berlin, an American private helps a lost Czech boy find his mother.

A Secret follows the saga of a Jewish family in post-World War II Paris. François, a solitary, imaginative child, invents for himself a brother as well as the story of his parents` past. But on his fifteenth birthday, he discovers a dark family secret that ties his family`s history to the Holocaust and shatters his illusions forever. Adapted from Philippe Grimbert`s celebrated truth-inspired novel, Memory. (Strand Releasing)

An epic action thriller set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. (Icon Entertainment)

Seraphine vividly recounts the tragic story of French naïve painter Séraphine Louis aka Séraphine de Senlis (1864-1942), a humble servant who becomes a gifted self-taught painter. Discovered by prominent critic and collector William Uhde, she came to prominence between the wars grouped with other naïve painters like Henri Rousseau only to descend into madness and obscurity with the onset of the Great Depression and World War II. (Music Box Films)

Brad Pitt stars in the soaring adventure and incredible true story of an Austrian prisoner of war who is transformed by his friendship with the young Dalai Lama.  (Sony)

With the war to end all wars looming, a young army "doughboy" Robert Conroy has his life forever changed when a little dog with a stubby tail wanders into camp as the men of the 102nd Infantry Regiment train on the grounds of Yale University. Conroy gives his new friend a name, a family, and a chance to embark on the adventure that would define a century. Despite lacking formal military working dog training, Stubby the dog and his human companions find themselves in the trenches of France and on the path to history. French Infantryman Gaston Baptiste befriends the duo and accompanies them along their epic journey through harsh conditions and incredible acts of courage. For his valorous actions, Stubby is recognized as the first canine ever promoted to the rank of Sergeant in U.S. Army history.

A troubled Iraq War veteran struggling to reintegrate into society sets out on a cross-country journey with the hope of reuniting with his young son.

In a kingdom ruled by a young and unpredictable king, the military commander has a secret weapon: a “shadow”, a look-alike who can fool both his enemies and the King himself. Now he must use this weapon in an intricate plan that will lead his people to victory in a war that the King does not want. [Well Go USA]

In the throes of World War II, Captain Maude Garrett (Chloë Grace Moretz) joins the all-male crew of a B-17 bomber with a top-secret package. Caught off guard by the presence of a woman on a military flight, the crew tests Maude’s every move. Just as her quick wit is winning them over, strange happenings and holes in her backstory incite paranoia surrounding her true mission. But this crew has more to fear…lurking in the shadows, something sinister is tearing at the heart of the plane. Trapped between an oncoming air ambush and an evil lurking within, Maude must push beyond her limits to save the hapless crew and protect her mysterious cargo.

In 1993, the United Nations dispatches Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire to far off Rwanda to oversee a fragile cease-fire. A brilliant, workaholic officer and charismatic commander, Dallaire encounters the shabby reality of a typical UN peacekeeping operation: under-funded, overbureaucratic, and cobbled together from military units from dozens of countries, each with a slightly different agenda. Meanwhile, the peace agreement between the rebels, led by the minority Tutsi ethnic group, and the French-supported government dominated by the Hutu majority group, turns out to rest on shaky ground. When an unknown group shoots down the Rwandan President’s plane, the storm breaks and a secret but long-planned genocidal campaign against the Tutsi minority begins with a night of terror in Kigali. A reporter remains in-country and follows General Dellaire as he is forced to deal with far-away superiors and the studied indifference of the world’s great powers while trying to take decisive action to stop the genocide of over 800,000 innocent civilians. (Regent Releasing)

Set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1963. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of silence and isolation. Elisa's life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.

This documentary examines the resistance to the Vietnam war within the military.

During the last desperate days of WWII, a solitary prospector (Jorma Tommila) crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-earth retreat in northern Finland. When the Nazis steal his gold, they quickly discover that they have just tangled with no ordinary miner. While there is no direct translation for the Finnish word “sisu”, this legendary ex-commando will embody what sisu means: a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination in the face of overwhelming odds. And no matter what the Nazis throw at him, the one-man death squad will go to outrageous lengths to get his gold back – even if it means killing every last Nazi in his path.

Returning to the house where his family was brutally murdered during the war, “the man who refuses to die” (Jorma Tommila) dismantles it, loads it on a truck, and is determined to rebuild it somewhere safe in their honor. When the Red Army commander who killed his family (Stephen Lang) comes back hellbent on finishing the job, a relentless, eye-popping cross-country chase ensues - a fight to the death.

The Six Triple Eight is inspired by the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas in WWII. Given an extraordinary mission and united in their determination, these unsung heroes delivered hope and shattered barriers.

A man named Billy Pilgrim tells the story of how he became unstuck in time and was abducted by aliens.

A US Marine sniper is partnered with a SWAT member to take out rebel leaders in the jungles of Panama.

After suffering a senseless tragedy at the hand of invading soldiers in the Donbas region in 2014, a former Ukrainian physics teacher renounces his peaceful way of life and seeks revenge. Upon joining the military and earning a coveted spot as a sniper, he sets his sights on an elite Russian sniper whose elimination could change the tide of the conflict.

Writer Harry Street reflects on his life as he lies dying from an infection while on safari in the shadow of Mount Kilamanjaro.

An African American officer investigates a murder in a racially charged situation in World War II.

A Vietnam vet (Richard Pryor) returns home from a prisoner of war camp and is greeted as a hero, but is quickly forgotten and soon discovers how tough survival is in his own country.

October 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from the camp and forced to assist the Nazis in the machinery of large-scale extermination. While working in one of the crematoriums, Saul discovers the corpse of a boy he takes for his son. As the Sonderkommando plans a rebellion, Saul decides to carry out an impossible task: save the child’s body from the flames, find a rabbi to recite the mourner’s Kaddish and offer the boy a proper burial.

The true story of Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine is brought to thrilling life in Germany's official Foreign Language Film selection for the 2005 Academy Awards. Sophie Scholl stars Julia Jentsch in a luminous performance as the young coed-turned-fearless activist. Armed with long-buried historical records of her incarceration, director Marc Rothemund expertly re-creates the last six days of Sophie Scholl's life: a heart-stopping journey from arrest to interrogation, trial and sentence. (Zeitgeist Films)

A remote German farm harbors generations of secrets. Four women, separated by decades but united by trauma, uncover the truth behind its weathered walls.

When LeBron James and his young son Dom are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I., LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs, Lola Bunny and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the A.I.’s digitized champions on the court: a powered-up roster of professional basketball stars as you’ve never seen them before. It’s Tunes versus Goons in the highest-stakes challenge of his life, that will redefine LeBron’s bond with his son and shine a light on the power of being yourself. The ready-for-action Tunes destroy convention, supercharge their unique talents and surprise even “King” James by playing the game their own way.

The slave Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic.

War correspondent Elsa Cassanova is taken hostage by the Taliban. Faced with her imminent execution, a Special Forces unit is dispatched to free her. In some of the worlds’ most breathtaking yet hostile landscapes, a relentless pursuit begins between her kidnappers and a group of soldiers who risk their lives to bring her home alive. (Entertainment One)

When two escaping American World War II prisoners are killed, the German P.O.W. camp barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.

Stalingrad is an epic look at the battle that turned the tide of World War II. A band of determined Russian soldiers fight to hold a strategic building in their devastated city against a ruthless German army, and in the process become deeply connected a Russian woman who has been living there. Presented in IMAX® 3D, the scale of the battle contrasts dramatically with the human drama of the Russian soldiers, the few remaining civilians and their invaders into Stalingrad.

Is it possible for a photograph to change the world? Photographs taken by soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison changed the war in Iraq and changed America's image of itself. Yet, a central mystery remains. Did the notorious Abu Ghraib photographs constitute evidence of systematic abuse by the American military, or were they documenting the aberrant behavior of a few "bad apples"? We set out to examine the context of these photographs. Why were they taken? What was happening outside the frame? We talked directly to the soldiers who took the photographs and who were in the photographs. Who are these people? What were they thinking? Over two years of investigation, we amassed a million and a half words of interview transcript, thousands of pages of unredacted reports, and hundreds of photographs. The story of Abu Ghraib is still shrouded in moral ambiguity, but it is clear what happened there. The Abu Ghraib photographs serve as both an expose and a coverup. An expose, because the photographs offer us a glimpse of the horror of Abu Ghraib; and a coverup because they convinced journalists and readers they had seen everything, that there was no need to look further. In recent news reports, we have learned about the destruction of the Abu Zubaydah interrogation tapes. A coverup. It has been front page news. But the coverup at Abu Ghraib involved thousands of prisoners and hundreds of soldiers. We are still learning about the extent of it. Many journalists have asked about "the smoking gun" of Abu Ghraib. It is the wrong question. As Philip Gourevitch has commented, Abu Ghraib is the smoking gun. The underlying question that we still have not resolved, four years after the scandal: how could American values become so compromised that Abu Ghraib-and the subsequent coverup-could happen? (Sony Picture Classics)