Commenting on the relationship of his film to the notorious photographs, Morris has said his intent was "…not to say that these 'bad apples' were blameless… but… to say that they were scapegoats. It was easy to blame them because, after all, they were in the photographs… Photographs don’t tell us who the real culprits might be… They can also serve as a coverup, they can misdirect us… Photographs reveal and conceal, serve as [both] exposé and coverup".[1]
Synopsis
An examination of the intended consequences of the Iraqi war with a focus on events at Abu Ghraib prison which began to appear in global media in 2004. The prison quickly became notorious for the photos of the abuse of terror suspects, their children, and innocent civilians by military men and women.
The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008. Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club named it the 4th best film of 2008,[2] J.R. Jones of the Chicago Reader named it the 7th best film of 2008,[2] and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times named it the 8th best film of 2008 (in a two-way tie).[2]
During the Berlinale 2008 it received the "Jury Grand Prix – Silver Bear".
Controversy
Morris's practice of compensating his interview subjects has caused controversy, although it is not an unusual practice in documentary filmmaking, according to the producer Diane Weyermann,[3] who also worked on An Inconvenient Truth. In a private interview during the Tribeca Film Festival, Morris said: "If I had not paid them, they would not be interviewed."[4]
Danny Elfman composed the film score for Standard Operating Procedure. The soundtrack is much different from Elfman's other scores as it includes electronics and distortion.[citation needed]
Track listing
"S.O.P. Theme #1: Standard Operating Procedure" – 5:56
