Wartorn 1861-2010 (On DVD 5/17/11)
Must you carry the bloody horror of combat in your heart forever?" - Homer, "The Odyssey"
Civil War doctors called it hysteria, melancholia and insanity. During the First World War it was known as shell-shock. By World War II, it became combat fatigue. Today, it is clinically known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a crippling anxiety that results from exposure to life-threatening situations such as combat.
With suicide rates among active military servicemen and veterans currently on the rise, the HBO special WARTORN 1861-2010 brings urgent attention to the invisible wounds of war. Drawing on personal stories of American soldiers whose lives and psyches were torn asunder by the horrors of battle and PTSD, the documentary chronicles the lingering effects of combat stress and post-traumatic stress on military personnel and their families throughout American history, from the Civil War through today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan
In Stores, Exclusively from HBO Home Entertainment® On May 17, 2011,
Extra Content Includes Panel Discussion with Members of the Military
Executive produced by James Gandolfini (The Sopranos®) and produced by award-winning filmmakers Jon Alpert, Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Matt O'Neill (the same team behind the HBO® Emmy®-nominated Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq), Wartorn 1861-2010 explores combat stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on military personnel and their families throughout recorded American military history, from the Civil War through the present. Available on May 17, 2011, exclusively from HBO Home Entertainment, the DVD includes a panel discussion with physicians and members of the military.
Wartorn 1861-2010 is a "powerful documentary about the lingering effects of military conflict" (Entertainment Weekly) that presents "the facts simply and gracefully, and the result is devastating" (Los Angeles Times). With suicide rates among active military servicemen and veterans currently on the rise, the film brings urgent attention to the invisible wounds of war, sharing stories through soldiers' revealing letters and journals; photographs and combat footage; first-person interviews with veterans of WWII (who are speaking about their PTSD for the first time), the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom; and interviews with family members of soldiers with PTSD.
Also included are insightful conversations between Gandolfini and top U.S. military personnel (General Ray Odierno, commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, and General Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army), enlisted men in Iraq, and medical experts working at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
DVD Extra Content
The Wartorn 1861-2010 DVD features a panel discussion on PTSD that was held after the film's premiere at the Pentagon. The panel was moderated by the Honorable Doug Wilson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, and the Honorable Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs. Panelists included General Peter W. Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff, United States Army; Dr. Kathleen M. Chard, VA CPT Implementation Director, Director, PTSD and Anxiety Disorder Division, Cincinnati VA Medal Center, and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati; Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Gregory E. Harbin, Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom; Mr. Paul W. "Buddy" Bucha, Medal of Honor Recipient, Veteran of the Vietnam War; and Mr. Gregory T. Goldstein, M.P.H., Headquarters Marine Corps Combat and Operational Stress Control Program Manager.
Street Date: May 17, 2011
Order Date: April 12 2010
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: Approx. 97 minutes (with bonus content)
Price: $19.98 DVD SRP
