8.168 minSeason 1 • Episode 7
LatestHaving reached Baghdad, Bravo Team is shocked at the size of the city; while First Recon begin doing their daily patrols in Baghdad, they find out the obstacles that they and the Iraqis face is much greater than they could ever think of.
The first 40 days of the war in Iraq as seen through the eyes of an elite group of U.S. Marines who spearheaded the invasion along with an embedded Rolling Stone reporter. A vivid account of the soldiers and of the forces that guided them in an often-improvised initiative.
Writing
David Simon dialogue: profane, poetic, politically scalding.
Acting
Skarsgård's thousand-yard stare should be studied.
Direction
Combat chaos shot with documentary intimacy.
Creator
David Simon
Alexander Skarsgård
Brad Colbert
James Ransone
Josh Ray Person
Lee Tergesen
Evan Wright
Jon Huertas
Antonio Espera
Stark Sands
Nathaniel Fick
Owain Yeoman
Eric Kocher
Billy Lush
Harold Trombley
Chance Kelly
Stephen Ferrando
Michael Kelly
Bryan Patterson
Jonah Lotan
Robert Bryan
Eric Nenninger
Dave McGraw
Pawel Szajda
Walt Hasser
Kellan Lutz
Jason Lilley
Neal Jones
John Sixta
Benjamin Busch
Todd Eckloff
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Most actors spent weeks training with actual Force Recon Marines; several real Marines appear as extras, including the guy Rudy was based on.
Evan Wright's original Rolling Stone articles became the book; the series was filmed before The Hurt Locker made Iraq War stories commercially viable, so HBO barely promoted it.
The 'combat jack' conversation in episode two? Lifted almost verbatim from Wright's reporting. The Marines' absurdity was the point.
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