Re: Generation Kill 1080p Download Free
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Generation Kill is a 2004 book written by Rolling Stone journalist Evan Wright chronicling his experience as an embedded reporter with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. His account of life with the Marines was originally published as a three-part series in Rolling Stone in the fall of 2003. "The Killer Elite", the first of these articles, went on to win a National Magazine Award for Excellence in Reporting in 2004.[1]
Wright spent two months with the battalion, having persuaded a commander that he could cope with such an assignment. The Marines of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion were initially hostile and suspicious but soon warmed to Wright and treated him as one of their own. He gained their respect through his refusal to quit in the face of combat.[2] Often riding in the lead vehicle, a lightly armored Humvee, Wright was in real danger for much of the time, and at one point carried a weapon, although he did so reluctantly.[3]
Wright encounters members of the battalion from all ranks, but the "main players" can be narrowed down to just six from Bravo Company: Sergeant Brad Colbert, Lance Corporal Harold James Trombley, Sergeant Rudy "Fruity" Reyes, First Lieutenant Nathaniel Fick, Sergeant Antonio Espera, and Corporal Josh Ray Person.
Sergeant Antonio J. Espera claimed he was forced to leave the battalion, and Staff Sergeant Eric Kocher claimed he was disciplined for statements attributed to him in Wright's reporting.[2] Kocher worked as an adviser on the adaptation of Wright's book into a miniseries and stated that Wright earned credibility because he stayed with the Marines for "every firefight."[4]
Wright stated that he felt more fear of combat before he was in it, but as soon as he was being shot at, he focused on survival. He also revealed that prior to becoming a war correspondent he had quit drinking, and as a result, he found there was something "almost nice" about war because it replicated the "emotional chaos of being a heavy drinker".[5]
Wright also has stated he is "haunted" by the deaths of civilians he witnessed during the invasion of Iraq, because the "real rule of war is that the people who suffer the most are civilians". He believes the troops who fight the wars are more attuned to the moral consequences of their actions than the American public whom he accuses of being "alienated from the people who fight their wars for them".[6]
Michael Shoup, an augment Forward Air Controller in the battalion, posted a commentary on the book in which he contrasts the events he witnessed with Wright's descriptions of them. Shoup also states that Wright based his account on one group of enlisted Marines' version of events without including the perspective of others.[7]
Wright replied to this blog post citing his own extensive interview with Shoup that directly contradicts Shoup's later version of events. Wright also cites interviews he conducted with other Marines in the unit that differ from Shoup's account, noting that Shoup's direct superior, Major Eckloff, claimed to have single-handedly killed at least 17 insurgents with a shotgun fired from his truck. Wright states that he reduced that number to 1-2 after other sources contradicted Eckloff. Wright states that his book had to take into consideration interviews from a wide variety of Marines in the battalion, including officers, and could not advance the perspective of just one person.[7]
Hella Nation is a collection of other writings by Wright that includes his reporting on U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division fighting in Afghanistan and a controversial story about a documentary film shot in Iraq by a drug-addled Hollywood producer.[8][9]
Then-lieutenant Nathaniel Fick's memoir, One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer, describes some of the same battles in Iraq as described in Generation Kill, but from his own perspective.[12]
The cable television channel HBO has produced a mini-series based on the book. Filmed in South Africa, Namibia, and Mozambique, the series aired in July 2008 and spans seven 68-minute episodes, starting with the Marine Recon team crossing the berm into Iraq during the opening stage of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The show was directed by Susanna White for 4 episodes and Simon Cellan Jones for 3 episodes. The writers of the mini-series were Ed Burns, David Simon, and Evan Wright.[14] The DVD release includes four bonus features, including a Making of 'Generation Kill' and a video diary. It was produced by David Simon, Ed Burns, Nina K. Noble, George Faber and Charles Pattinson. It starred Alexander Skarsgrd, James Ransone, Stark Sands, Jon Huertas and Lee Tergesen.[15] Rudy Reyes plays himself in the miniseries adaptation, driving the third Humvee.[16]
The series overall was fantastic. Very accurate to the book in both recitation and atmosphere.
Watching Patterson clock Encino Man was one of the more satisfying things ever committed to celluloid.
Another interesting tidbit in the new afterward is how Captain America was promoted to a prestigious posting. Failure upwards seems to be a constant in many organizations.
Wonderful end to the miniseries. But I'm wondering how Wright found out about the fight between Patterson and Encino Man and the one between Person and Reyes, because none of them are mentioned in the book. But what is mentioned in the book is that during a football game a Marine fatally shot another Marine after getting angry or something.
The real-life Sgt. Eric Kocher also showed up in this one, though I haven't noticed him in the other episodes.
I think this was an extremely well-done series, but god, was it depressing. Knowing that it was (more or less) based on actual events, and that the consequences are ongoing even now, made it just gut-wrenching to watch, despite all the great acting and humor. Beneath the banter, and heroes like Colbert and Fick, is a thoroughly bleak, despairing, and disillusioned view of the war, the chain of command, and life's complete lack of fairness, justice or reason... I mean, I don't disagree, really, but damn.
And trying to get my friends to watch Generation Kill has been twice as hard as convincing them to watch the Wire was. It's too bad, because a lot of it was great, but on the other hand, I get it; most people don't want their souls crushed every Sunday night. Fair enough.
Alan, do you think "True Blood" is going to be better than it looks, or can I cancel my HBO now?
But I'm wondering how Wright found out about the fight between Patterson and Encino Man and the one between Person and Reyes, because none of them are mentioned in the book.
Wright stayed in touch with most of the Marines from the book, and Kocher worked as technical advisor on the miniseries.
Great series! I was also happy to see the David Simon tradition of adding a bit of humanity to to the 'bad guys' - God Father and Major Sixta, softening the edges a little and giving them a bit of depth. Also I felt that in proud Wire tradition, the penultimate and final episodes were the best giving an emotional pay off for all that we had seen before - with a montage and music!.
All the writers - and the directors have done a great job in humanising the soldiers without pulling any punches when it comes to the realities of armed conflict and terrible actions that are committed.
Generation Kill was filling a Wire shaped hole in my life quite nicely, now what do I watch??
And for the record, the fight between Patterson and Encino Man was changed up slightly. The way it's mentioned in the book, it came during a race, not a football game, when EM checked some enlisted man. Patterson responded by putting him in a headlock.
Something to go along with the comment about how the series would have been different if Wright had hung with Ferrando...I also would think that the story would have been quite different if he was riding with Encino Man & Casey Kasem...The portrayal of Encino Man, Kasem, and Captain America were all so cartoonish in thier incompetance (Cap & Encino) and asshole-ness (Encino & Kasem), it's hard to digest without looking for another perspective.
I did a little digging and found a rebuttal to the book from the real Casey Kasem (Daniel J. Griego), which he posted on his brother's blog ( -kill-full-rebuttal.html). In his response, he describes several incidents covered in the book from his perspective...obviously the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle of Wright's opinion and Gregio's...but one thing I found interesting was how he basically called Person a sorry excuse for a Marine (Which is probably just as likely to be true as the cartoonish portrayls of the officers). As Gregio says, if the story is basically told from the perspective of the guys who befriended Wright, and one of those is potentially a 'shitbird', the opinion of superiors might be a bit skewed, especially if aren't privy to the overall strategy and orders from your immediate superiors' superiors.
A satisfying end to a miniseries that's as far from traditional dramatic satisfaction as you can get. The Sixta moment was nice as was Godfather's enigmatic talk with the reporter. Encino Man shirtless -- kind of terrifying. The rest, as we expect from these guys, heartbreaking, frustrating, infuriating, and hilarious.
I started reading the book, and a couple differences stood out. One bit of information I would have liked to have had in the miniseries, which we don't get a sense of until the final episode -- this is Godfather's first time in combat. I understand the desire to eschew exposition like that, but it changes my perspective on him. Second, which I'm glad they avoided, Wright explains command's strategy from the get-go, the things the marines don't know. In the book, it's good because it sets up the situation, but being right with the marines and not understanding what's going on made for better drama.