Black Hawk Down, a masterpiece

Ridley Scott's 2001 epic action-war film Black Hawk Down, directed in 2001, marked a turning point in the war genre thanks to its shocking realism.

Starring an ensemble cast led by Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor, it tells the story of the failed US operation in Somalia in 1993 with cinematic mastery.

The outstanding behind-the-scenes work, with Scott himself at the helm, managed to transport us into the chaos and terror of that ambush as never seen before.

Slawomir Idziak's impeccable cinematography captured the dust and blood of hand-to-hand combat in a brutally visceral way.

But beyond the action and war drama, the great success lay in humanising the protagonists beyond stereotypes.

Both the gunfight sequences and the moments of camaraderie among the Marines conveyed a bone-deep tension.

This realistic historical reconstruction was worthy of 5 well-deserved Oscar nominations, raising the bar for the genre. A masterpiece.

It grossed over $160 million at the box office and remained among the top grossing films in the US for several weeks.