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76
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60
9
17
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37
Amelia
53
Astro Boy
66
Bandslam
45
Box, The
61
Capitalism: A Love Story
55
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43
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
66
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29
Collector, The
23
Couples Retreat
80
District 9
61
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39
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30
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34
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60
Funny People
32
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27
Gamer
41
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39
Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, The
46
Halloween II
73
Hangover, The
78
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55
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66
Informant!, The
69
Inglourious Basterds
58
Invention of Lying, The
47
Jennifer's Body
66
Julie & Julia
34
Law Abiding Citizen
33
Love Happens
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
67
Michael Jackson's This Is It
51
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42
Orphan
28
Pandorum
63
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86
Ponyo![]()
35
Post Grad
48
Proposal, The
30
Saw VI
53
Shorts
24
Sorority Row
83
Star Trek![]()
33
Stepfather, The
45
Surrogates
55
Taking Woodstock
47
Time Traveler's Wife
96
Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D![]()
35
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
28
Ugly Truth, The
88
Up![]()
71
Where the Wild Things Are
67
Whip It
28
Whiteout
73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Now In Theaters
58
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96
35 Shots of Rum![]()
56
Adam
72
Adela
39
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78
Afghan Star
61
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66
Afterschool
xx
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58
American Casino
72
Amreeka
48
Antichrist
73
Araya
62
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55
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76
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86
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13
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70
Beeswax
35
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
71
Big Fan
66
Black Dynamite
51
Blind Date
xx
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76
Bliss
35
Blue Tooth Virgin, The
26
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
57
Boys Are Back, The
45
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
81
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70
Bronson
45
Burning Plain, The
xx
Carriers
55
Casi Divas
57
Chelsea on the Rocks
62
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
69
Cold Souls
59
Collapse
44
Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha
82
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75
Crude
82
Damned United, The![]()
67
Departures
xx
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71
Disgrace
xx
Do Knot Disturb
70
Earth Days
24
Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat
85
Education, An![]()
55
Endgame
xx
Eulogy for a Vampire
xx
Everyone Else
xx
Fatal Promises
56
Fifty Dead Men Walking
62
Five Minutes of Heaven
74
Flame & Citron
49
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80
Food, Inc.
28
Free Style
xx
From Mexico with Love
50
Fuel
25
Gentlemen Broncos
50
Give Me Your Hand
58
Gogol Bordello Non-Stop
72
Good Hair
89
Goodbye Solo![]()
52
Grace
64
Harmony and Me
81
Headless Woman, The![]()
xx
Heretics, The
63
Horse Boy, The
73
House of the Devil, The
xx
How to Seduce Difficult Women
74
Humpday
94
Hurt Locker, The![]()
29
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
16
If One Thing Matters: A Film About Wolfgang Tillmans
75
In Search of Beethoven
83
In the Loop![]()
61
Intimate Enemies
42
Irene in Time
70
It Might Get Loud
46
Killing Kasztner
19
Labor Day
xx
Laila's Birthday
41
Little Ashes
41
Little Traitor, The
66
Liverpool
34
Looking for Palladin
80
Lorna's Silence
83
Maid, The![]()
xx
Ministers, The
59
More Than a Game
67
Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
34
Motherhood
62
My One and Only
xx
Mystery Team
48
New York, I Love You
73
Night and Day
66
No Impact Man
47
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
34
Other Man, The
xx
Painter Sam Francis, The
54
Paper Heart
xx
Paradise
68
Paranormal Activity
68
Paris
44
Peter and Vandy
35
Play the Game
77
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
xx
Pretty Ugly People
65
Providence Effect, The
76
Rembrandt's J'accuse
69
September Issue, The
79
Serious Man, A
40
Shrink
61
Skin
77
Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake, A
xx
Skiptracers
46
Splinterheads
39
St. Trinian's
89
Still Walking![]()
50
Stoning of Soraya M., The
55
Storm
65
Tetro
70
That Evening Sun
72
Thirst
xx
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (re-release)
61
Trucker
xx
Turning Green
83
U2 3D![]()
66
Unmade Beds
66
Unmistaken Child
70
Visual Acoustics
55
Walt & El Grupo
67
Way We Get By, The
69
We Live in Public
64
Wedding Song, The
64
Where is Where?
xx
White on Rice
74
Woman in Berlin, A
69
World's Greatest Dad
70
Yes Men Fix the World
69
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
xx
You, the Living
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
War Zone, The

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 21 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 9 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by: Alexander Stuart (also novel)
Directed by: Tim Roth
Release Date:
Theatrical: December 10, 1999
DVD: September 19, 2000
Running Time: 98 minutes, Color
Origin: UK
Summary
RATING: R for sexual content, some involving molestation, and for nudity, language and a scene of violence
Starring Ray Winstone, Tilda Swinton, Freddie Cunliffe, Lara Belmont, and Colin Farrell
For fifteen-year old Tom (Cunliffe), the war zone is at the heart of his seemingly happy middle-class family. Nothing can prepare him for the terrible secret that binds his father (Winstone) and his seventeen-year-old sister Jessie (Belmont). Isolated, confused and consumed by adolescent anger, Tom is determined to reveal the truth. (Lot 47 Films)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
A masterfully varied set of images, paces and moods.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Brilliant and heartbreaking, takes place in the present but is timeless.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Sellbinding, distressing, and possessed of a dark and terrible beauty.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
In all respects, from choice of material to fullness of execution on every level, The War Zone is an extraordinary piece of work.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Showing as much courage and talent behind the camera as he has while acting in front of it, Roth has crafted for his first film one of the most bluntly graphic and disturbing movies ever done on the subject.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Actor Tim Roth's austere directing debut is one of the most difficult, emotionally wrenching experiences you're likely to have in a movie theater any time soon.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Roth, there's no denying, creates considerable suspense out of our desire to confront the forbidden.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
One of the most impressive actor-to-filmmaker transitions in recent years.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak
Sticks in the mind and simply won't go away.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Amy Taubin
We may not want another film about incest, but there's a necessity about this one that won't be denied.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
A brooding, stunningly realistic portrait of familial self-destruction that raises far more questions than it can possibly answer.
Read Full Review >New York Post Jonathan Foreman
A relentlessly grim, rather heavy-handed drama of family dysfunction.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris
Roth, though, is like a sociopathic arsonist, one enthralled with his ability to start little blazes and one who would even call the fire department, but wouldn't stick around to see whether anyone put them out.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Janet Maslin
The actor Tim Roth makes a fierce, disturbing directorial debut with a film that treats incest as something worse than a terrible secret.
Read Full Review >Film.com Moira Macdonald
Its grimness is so unrelenting that I can only recommend it to filmgoers who need a movie to tell them that incest is bad.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly John Patterson
Roth can obviously direct actors sympathetically, and he paces the movie adroitly.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Eric Harrison
Much of its strength resides in the way it eschews narrative contrivance. The movie observes behavior without explaining or judging it.
Read Full Review >Film.com Ernest Hardy
Wrought with pretension -- and a blind eye to its own exploitation.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
The ultimately uncomplicated view of sexual and emotional violence in a family is only tragic, not insightful.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
A B gave it an8:
Just came back from watching the movie and I was definitely pleased. I was a bit worried that I would be let down after reading some of the early reviews, my suspicious about the reviewers not understanding the character were confirmed though. Stevenson is a brilliant Frank Castle, the guy is a tank in this movie, shredding through his opposition just like a on screen manifestation of the character should. The critics complaining about the gore prove them unfit in being tasked with stepping anywhere near the film with a pencil and paper, doling out stars or thumbs. While Im afraid the film will not get the critical recognition it deservers, with the majority of critics not understanding the character, I as a fan of Castle say I'm thoroughly pleased by the work the entire cast and crew have put forth. While I agree that the movie was loyal to the source material and worth my dollars, there was one main area I think should have been retooled. Jigsaw and Jim's accent is over the top, and in the end took away from the character, especially in the case of Jim. At a glance Pros: Unapologetically Punisher Level Brutality Stevenson is a compelling Frank Castle Movie pacing is great Cons: Cliche accents Could have used some more dialogue from Frank Overall: 8/10 Bottom Line: If you are a punisher fan, you're in for a blast
Jay H. gave it a7:
A sensitive subject is ably handled by Tim Roth, very well directed. The writing is excellent as well. Good cinematography. It is a bit bleak at times. Fine performances all around.
Jonathan F. gave it a9:
This movie is excellent. The topic of this film is a hard one: sexual abuse in the family. I believe that more films on this topic should be made as it is an interesting aspect of society. Be prepared for hard visual acts of sexual abuse. If you come to this movie prepared you may be able to stand the horrible acts you are seeing. However, even if you come prepared, you might go out of this movie, feeling that weird feeling in your stomach. Tim Roth in his debut, is fine director, I would really like to see making more films. 9 of 10.
Kerrie W. gave it a 10:
Extremely powerful.I was rivetted!THIS is what it's REALLY like to experience incest (although mine was an uncle, not father, and I was much younger.) I felt SOMEONE has actually shown how it really is.Wish someone had stabbed my abuser for me-except I wouldn't wish that guilt on aqnyone. Well done Tim!!!
JOHN O S. gave it a 9:
Hard to seperate this and "Nil by mouth" truly great film making Tim lets be having you with another behind camera.
Greg gave it a 10:
Took a firend to see this film when it was released, just for support as i have been there in this situation. I wanted to say to tim and all the cast how much i respected them for the wonderful job they did with such a difficult and disturbing subject. I was hoping to email this personnaly to tim, if any one knows if he has some public email address i would be greatful for the info. I found the ending particularly relevent in that there is usually no happy ending to something like this, or at least on in the immediate term. at 37, i find the meaning in the ownership of the experience, as that is what it is. an experience. if any one would like to email me, my address is nicolson_greg@hotmail.com
Dirk G. gave it a 10:
Incredible movie, just see this one!!
