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  • 2006
  • 1 h 36 m
  • 2006
  • 1 h 36 m
The Cult of the Suicide Bomber

Summary In the groundbreaking and acclaimed documentary, former CIA case office Robert Baer returns to his former center of operations to trace the origins of the modern day bomber from the Iran-Iraq war to the Middle Eastern streets of today.

Directed By: David Batty, Kevin Toolis

Written By: Robert Baer, Kevin Toolis

  • 2006
  • 1 h 36 m
  • 2006
  • 1 h 36 m

The Cult of the Suicide Bomber

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
66
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Summary In the groundbreaking and acclaimed documentary, former CIA case office Robert Baer returns to his former center of operations to trace the origins of the modern day bomber from the Iran-Iraq war to the Middle Eastern streets of today.

Directed By: David Batty, Kevin Toolis

Written By: Robert Baer, Kevin Toolis

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
66
75% Positive
6 Reviews
25% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
66
75% Positive
6 Reviews
25% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
88
Baer asks all the right questions.
By Ken Fox FULL REVIEW
75
Given that fundamentalist faith and sober logic are irreconcilable enemies, though, Baer's analysis inevitably leads to a grim roadblock, at which he can do little more than tally the toll.
By Elizabeth Weitzman FULL REVIEW
75
A fascinating history of how blowing yourself up became a popular hobby in the Muslim world.
FULL REVIEW
70
Thoughtful, incisive, controversial.
By Ronnie Scheib FULL REVIEW
70
This is not the can't-we-get-along Arab-Persian world we see in most liberal nonfiction films, but a broader and helplessly apocalyptic view of an entire region crazed with anger, frustration, and bloodlust into objectifying death as a weapon, a cause for cosmic glory, and little else.
By Michael Atkinson FULL REVIEW
60
Like so many political films of this type made for British television, this documentary contains more information than analysis, not to mention predictably spooky music.
By Manohla Dargis FULL REVIEW
50
Near the end of the journey, chronicling Sunni car bombers in Iraq, he (Baer) talks sorrowfully of Muslims killing Muslims, and he concludes that suicide bombing has lost any coherent political meaning and has taken on an irresistible life of its own as a glamorous cult.
By David Denby FULL REVIEW

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Details

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Production Company Many Rivers Film
Release Date Jun 2, 2006
Duration 1 h 36 m
Genres
Website http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/C/cult_suicide_bomber/index.html
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Awards

News & Documentary Emmy Awards
• 1 Nomination
The Grierson Trust British Documentary Award
• 1 Nomination

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