Thursday Afternoon Diversion: Theatre Of War

By Marcus Gilmer in Miscellaneous on Aug 19, 2010 8:00PM

As the last American combat troops leave Iraq, part of the U.S.'s complete military pull-out, scheduled to be complete next fall, we take a look at this video from photographer Richard Mosse. Says Mosse of the video on his website:

Theatre of War was shot from one of Saddam Hussein's hilltop palaces situated in the mountains overlooking the River Tigris in central Iraq. It is a slow, virtually static video piece redolent of classical history painting. Audio was recorded at the official US military hand-over ceremony at the nearby city of Saniya. A mullah's prayer for unity among Arabs is spoken, after which the pan-Arab national anthem, Mawtini (My Homeland) is played, emphasizing Arab national solidarity and a pan-Arab territory. March 2009.

Cinematography by Trevor Tweeten. Digital Color by Jerome Thelia.

Theatre of War from Richard Mosse on Vimeo.