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On 13, Feb 2007 | No Comments | In Broadcast Featured Theatrical | By admin
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
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Operation Homecoming is a unique documentary that explores the firsthand accounts of American troops through their written words, and offers a profound window into the human side of the war that was being fought in Iraq.
The film evolved out of a National Endowment for the Arts project that gathered the writing of soldiers and their families who have participated in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Interviews and dramatic readings by such actors as Robert Duvall, Josh Lucas, Beau Bridges, Blair Underwood, Justin Kirk, Aaron Eckhart, Chris Gorham and John Krasinski, transform selections from this collection of writing into a deep examination of the experiences of the men and women who are serving in America’s armed forces. At the same time the film provides depth and context to these experiences through a broader look at the universal themes of war literature.
The writing in Operation Homecoming covers the full spectrum – poetry, fiction, memoir, letters, journals, and essays. The stories recounted here are sad, funny, violent, and uplifting. Yet each one displays an honesty and intensity that is rarely seen in explorations of war. Operation homecoming aired on PBS, and a feature length version was released theatrically.
The television version of Operation Homecoming was first broadcast nationally as part of PBS’s America at a Crossroads series on April 16, 2007. A theatrical version has been screened at festivals and in theaters across the country.
- The NEA’s Operation Homecoming initiative has collected more than sixteen hundred pieces of writing from service members and their families. The film takes a handful of this writing and brings the soldiers’ words to the screen using a variety of innovative filmmaking techniques that push the boundaries of traditional documentary. Some stories are told through archival news images of the war. Several use striking visual collages to accompany the words of a poem. A few move even farther a field using illustration or animated still photographs. In all cases the storytelling remains rooted in a reading of the writer’s original words.
Beyond these written words, the film finds a deeper understanding the experiences through interviews with the writers, now returned from the war zone but struggling to find meaning in the incredible extremes they lived through, as well as veterans of other conflicts who have become valuable contributors to the literature of war. Through conversations with established writers like Tim O’Brien, Tobias Wolff, or James Salter, the film reveals that these are universal experiences for men and women in combat.
At the core of the writing in Operation Homecoming is an intense desire by all those who have served in war to come to terms with the experience. Throughout the film the soldiers, young and old, express a profound hope that people will listen to their stories and try to understand what the soldiers have witnessed. As with all of the great war writers, stretching back to The Iliad, the soldier-writers of Operation Homecoming are trying to find meaning in the chaos and brutality. The film is a deeply humanizing look at those who suffer the de-humanization of war.
The film was made possible through the generous support of The Boeing Company, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Independent Television Service. The published anthology of writing from the NEA’s Operation Homecoming was edited by historian Andrew Carroll and published by Random House. The film was made possible through the generous support of The Boeing Company, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Independent Television Service.
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- Joe Haldeman, Author, Vietnam War veteran
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- LT COL Michael Strobl, U.S. Marine Corps, Writer of “Taking Chance”
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- SGT John McCary, U.S. Army, Writer of “To the Fallen”
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- Anthony Swofford, Author, Gulf War veteran
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- Yusef Komunyakaa, Author, Vietnam War veteran
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- SSG Jack Lewis, U.S. Army Reserve, Writer of “Road Work”
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- James Salter, Author, Korean War veteran
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- SGT Brian Turner, U.S. Army, Writer of poems “Here, Bullet,” “What Every Soldier Should Know,” “Ashbah”
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- Tobias Wolff, Author, Vietnam War veteran, sits for interview
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- Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, Jim Keogh
Film focuses on soldiers’ experiences, Nov. 01, 2007
Download PDFNew York Times, Stephen Holden
The Hemingway Effect, From Recent Battlefields, Feb. 09, 2007
Download PDFVariety, Ronnie Scheib
Writing the Wartime Experience, Feb. 08, 2007
Download PDFSalon.com, Andrew O’Hehir
Beyond the Multiplex , Feb. 08, 2007
Download PDFSlant Magazine, Nick Schager
Operation Homecoming, Feb. 01, 2007
Download PDFThe Onion, A.V. Club
Operation Homecoming, Feb. 08, 2007
Download PDFVillage Voice, Ed Gonzalez
Tracking Shots: Operation Homecoming, Feb. 06, 2007
Download PDFTime Out New York, Mark Holcomb
FILM REVIEW: Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, Feb. 08, 2007
Download PDFNY Metro, Dan Dunn
Fighting Words, Feb. 09, 2007
Download PDFHollywood Reporter, Frank Scheck
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, Feb. 23, 2007
Download PDFOrlando Sentinel, Roger Moore
Operation Homecoming (5 Stars Out of 5), Mar. 30, 2007
Download PDFMilwaukee Journal Sentinel, Meg Jones
War Stories Told With Simple Power, Mar. 30, 2007
Download PDFEntertainment Weekly, Owen Gleiberman
Movie Review: Operation Homecoming, Apr. 4, 2007
Download PDFBoston Herald, Chelsea Bain
War Through Soldiers’ Lenses, Apr. 6, 2007
Download PDF - National Endowment for the Arts Initiative
http://www.nea.gov/national/homecoming/index.htmlOperation Homecoming, Edited by Andrew Carroll
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400065622PBS America at a Crossroads
http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/show_operation_homecoming.htmlIndependent Television Service
http://www.itvs.orgCorporation for Public Broadcasting
http://www.cpb.orgWETA
http://www.weta.org/crossroads/Colby Buzzell’s Blog
http://www.cbftw.blogspot.comHere, Bullet a book by SGT Brian Turner
http://www.alicejamesbooks.org/here_bullet.html - Director & Producer, Richard E. Robbins
Executive Producer, Tom Yellin
Editor, Gillian McCarthy
Co-Producers, Adam Hyman, Kristin Lesko
Production Coordinator, Megan Parlen
Associate Producer, Talleah Bridges
Director of Photography, Jason Ellson
Composer, Ben Decter
Visual Effects, Titles & Graphics, Dave Tecson, Edgeworx
Voice performances by:,
Beau Bridges
Robert Duvall
Chris Gorham
Aaron Eckhart
Justin Kirk
Justin Kirk
Josh Lucas
Brian Turner
Blair UnderwoodWritings,
“Distant Thunder” by Denis Prior
“What Every Soldier Should Know” by Brian Turner
“Men in Black” by Colby Buzzell
“Road Work” by Jack Lewis
“Camp Muckamungus” by Parker Gyokeres
“Aftermath” by Sangjoon Han
“Medevac Missions” by Ed Hrivnak
“To the Fallen” by John McCary
“Taking Chance” by Mike Strobl
“Ashbah” by Brian TurnerWith appearances by:,
Richard Currey
Paul Fussell
Joe Haldeman
Yusef Komunyakaa
Tim O’Brien
James Salter
Anthony Swofford
Tobias Wolff
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