Strip Search (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writer (WGA):

Tom Fontana (written by)

Release Date:

27 April 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Strip Search follows several parallel stories examining personal freedoms vs. national security in the aftermath of 9/11; two main subplots involve an American woman detained in China and an Arab man detained in New York City. |

Plot Keywords:

Forced To Strip | Female Frontal Nudity | Male Frontal Nudity | Female Nudity

Cast

Austin Pendleton	...	James Perley
Tom Guiry	...	Gerry Sykes
Fred Koheler	...	Jimmy Briggs
Zack Manzella	...	High School Boy
Daniel May Wong	...	Arresting Officer
Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Linda Sykes
Ken Leung	...	Liu Tsung-Yuan
Jim Gaffigan	...	Reverend Craig Peterson
Bruno Lastra	...	Sharif Bin Said
Glenn Close	...	Karen Moore
Dean Winters	...	Ned McGrath
Caroline Kava	...	Alvira Sykes
Peter Jacobson	...	John Scanlon
Anahid	...	Aaisha Bin Said
Raymond Anthony Thomas	...	Clerk (as Ray Anthony Thomas)

Runtime:

USA:120 min | 56 min (re-cut) | Germany:86 min

Country:

USA

Certification:

Australia:M | Germany:12 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:13

Company:

HBO Films

Why is HBO hiding this movie?

I saw a piece of this film last week, yet it appears nowhere on HBO's website now, except a mention in HBO on demand. The part I saw was shocking, and thought provoking.

I researched it on IMDB and that is where I found most of my information. I also saw reports from others here that HBO had canceled showings. I think I saw "Strip Search" mid-morning on May 1st. It seemed on at an odd time considering the subject matter and nudity. I was hoping to see it again in it's entirety.

However, in light of recent news events, I feel it is an important film. CBS withheld it's coverage of Iraqi prisoner mistreatment, by their own admission, until the story broke through international news agencies.

The little bit I saw convinced me that once again HBO had the courage to make a movie about a controversial subject, to do it with artistic integrity, without being afraid to "shock the monkey" and to hire a first rate cast of actors who are also willing to be risk takers.

With writing by Tom Fontana, direction by Sidney Lumet, and a cast including Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ellen Barkin, Glenn Close, Patti Lupone, Josh Mostel, Estelle Parsons and Oliver Platt... this is not a venture that was undertaken lightly.

I am shocked that it is nowhere to be seen.

How are the artists involved in this project responding to what seems to be censorship at its worst?

Why has this happened? I've come to expect more of HBO. I hope that this is not a sign that HBO is caving under the political powers that be.

Let the audience decide. Not the voices of the few and first and loudest. Most of my friends never even heard about this movie. When I took them to the HBO website, they were as shocked as I am to find it mysteriously missing.

Janice L. Gass