10-02-2025
Netflix adds engrossing documentary telling real story behind Oscar-winning movie
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Netflix has added Surviving Black Hawk Down, an absorbing three-part documentary series that tells the true story of the events that inspired Ridley Scott's blockbuster movie.
Black Hawk Down, released in 2001, followed US soldiers as they were sent into Somalia's capital Mogadishu, to capture a warlord. But things quickly went wrong as a Black Hawk helicopter was shot down and the mission degenerated into a series of shambolic battles with nothing going to plan.
The movie, which boasted an all-star cast including Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor, was acclaimed, winning two Oscars. We commented that Scott "brilliantly captured a sense of terrifying chaos". Now, this documentary aims to tell the complete story by interviewing those on both sides of The Battle of Mogadishu. As Netflix puts it the series blends "raw, immersive storytelling", with first-person interviews.
In October 1993, elite American troops launched a raid on the capital of Somalia. At the time, the US was leading a UN mission to end the civil war and famine in the African country. President Bill Clinton tasked them with capturing the allies of a powerful Somalia warlord, General Mohamed Farrah Aidid, and his allies. However, the raid went disastrously wrong with two US Black Hawk helicopters shot down. In the battle 18 Americans and hundreds of Somalis [the exact number is unknown] were killed.
Countless people involved from both sides. It makes the documentary more interesting that you get both sides as obviously, they have very different perspectives on events. Among those interviewed are three US Army Rangers, who give an insight into how they got into the elite force and how they didn't know what to expect.
US Army Rangers' Randy Ramaglia says in the opening episode: "You know the funny thing when I look back is I was shot in combat before I had my first legal beer." Recalling the events that led up to the battle he remembers playing the board game Risk with some of his fellow troops while enjoying a day off at their base at Mogadishu airport. Suddenly it was yelled out that they had a mission. "I was excited," he says. "I was confident we were the most proficient fighting force in the world. I did think I was invincible. But the reality was you're just kids." Also interviewed are US Army Rangers David Diemer US Army Rangers 'Brad Thomas, who talk about their feelings about arriving in Mogadishu.
Also involved in the operation was Delta Force, a unit specializing in taking high-value targets. Tom Satterly from Delta Force explains: "Nobody really references its Delta Force to keep its secrecy". He added: "Our strategy was to generally go in at night. We had the technology that they didn't have [like night vision devices]. We had the Black Hawks or little birds, we used the helicopters to look down on the whole battlefield to have the advantage above. I thought this is going to be easy. You guys aren't trained, you have old broken AK-47s if you're lucky… I was itching and raring to go.'
Yes, absolutely. The fact that so many people involved are interviewed gives you a real sense of what happened. It also uses archive footage well. Also if you enjoyed the movie, it's fascinating to get a fuller picture of The Battle of Mogadishu.
Surviving Black Hawk Down is on Netflix now globally.
