2004 has been the year of the doc. Fahrenheit 9/11, Super Size Me, Outfoxed, Tarnation and others have brought the previously little seen genre to new prominence. Many of the political films that have been released this year have focused on corruption in this country, how the war in Iraq was built on lies. Most of them have looked within. But what about the other side? Control Room looks at the other side, at the Arab point of view, an important position that has been almost totally unheard of before now.

Satellite news channel Al Jazeera launched in 1996 and quickly became controversial in countries whose regimes were criticized. Al Jazeera is now the most popular channel in the Arab world. George W. Bush has called the channel “the mouthpiece of Osama bin Laden,” while the network’s Arab detractors have called it the mouthpiece of the Zionists for the large number of Israeli politicians who have expressed their opinions on the channel. Early in the film, Al Jazeera producer Hassan Ibrahim says something that may very well be the thesis of the entire film: “You [the U.S.] are the most powerful nation. I agree. You can defeat anyone. I agree. You can crush everyone, but don’t ask me to love it as well.

In this country, Al Jazeera has a reputation for bias. This is interesting because the network has been criticized by Arabs and westerners alike, and often in the same words. Throughout Control Room we see clips of Donald Rumsfeld decrying the channel for their “bias,” and early on we see one of Saddam’s generals calling on Al Jazeera to stop spreading American propaganda. It becomes clear that Al Jazeera does have a bias, a bias towards the truth. They do show dead American soldiers, but they also show dead Arabs, each with the same sense of tragedy and loss. Every death is tragic, and a loss on the American side is no more or less tragic than a loss on the Arab side. Early on we see producer Samir Khader chiding another producer for putting a guest on the air who is not as balanced as he originally claimed.

The producers of Al Jazeera are an interesting group. These are journalists who worked all over the world before coming to Al Jazeera. Khader talks about getting the job by answering an advertisement in the newspaper. The Arab point of view they represent is one that has been filtered by years of working throughout the Middle East and in Europe. They are dedicated to the pursuit of honest journalism, and they all want to be successful in their field. What is commonly represented in this country as Arab propaganda is nothing more than a group of intelligent, informed journalists who want to go as far as they can. “Between you and I,” says Khader, “if I got offered a job at Fox I would take it.”

We get the official American view from the mouth of Captain Josh Rushing, a press officer for the Marines. He is a liaison. Captain Rushing has an interesting view of the media and how it plays into the fighting of a war. He also has the unenviable job of defending a position that so many – in and out of the media – find to be indefensible. Rushing comes off like a company man at first, and it is interesting to watch his perception change slightly as the film goes on.

Control Room follows Captain Rushing and a group of Al Jazeera producers from the start of the war, through to the widespread looting that followed the fall of Baghdad. One of the more eye-opening aspects of the film is to see how these Arab journalists are as critical of Arabs as they are of the West. Producer Deema Khatib says that the war looks like an American movie, that you can almost predict what is going to come next if you have seen any big action picture. But she and the others also talk about how Arabs open themselves up for situations like the one in Iraq by their lack of willingness to stand up for themselves. Most of the Arab regimes are oppressive, she says, not just Iraq, and the Arab people do not do anything for themselves to rise up against it.

Watching the crew of Al Jazeera, one gets a renewed faith in the power and importance of journalism. Its reputation aside, Al Jazeera personifies “fair and balanced” in a way that few other news organizations do. Control Room transcends politics, becoming one of the most important films of the year.

Control Room is presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The picture comes through sharply, and the color levels are perfect. This film was shot on digital video, and the transfer here does it a great justice.

This DVD is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and the presentation is solid. The dispersal is good, and all the sounds come through well, from people talking to the sounds of the war.

Audio Commentary by Jehane Noujaim and Producer Hani Salama: The filmmakers talk about how this project grew out of the emergence of Al Jazeera and the new phenomenon of satellite television in the Arab world.

Audio Commentary with Captain Josh Rushing, Central Command Press Officer: The Marine press officer featured in the film talks about getting the job and his involvement with the film.

Audio Commentary with Al Jazeera Senior Producers Hassan Ibrahim and Samir Khader: In perhaps the most interesting commentary, the two journalists featured in the film talk about how they came to Al Jazeera and how they came to be involved in the film.

Extensive Deleted Scenes: 31 deleted scenes featuring the journalists we saw in the film. These scenes go into greater detail and add to what we saw in the film.

Theatrical Trailer: The original theatrical trailer. This trailer is quite gripping and well edited.