I'm afraid I had this in my shelf for 2 years before I saw it, and that us a travesty in it's self. This is the best photographer-film I ever saw, and it's even a true story. Journalism is of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and photographers have to be even closer to the horrific events which occur around in the world. They are obliged to refer and make proof of what's happening.

Directed by the South African Steven Silver, this Canadian/South African film is based in a book, "The bang-bang club", a true story about four journalists working in South Africa, photographing civilian war there, during Apartheid. It's a film which tells a story, gives out the dilemmas, and moral issues in a well played movie. Biggest star, Ryan Phillippe, does once again a great main role. He has no problems carrying this on his shoulders.

This film deserves a bigger audience than it's had. Casting Ryan Phillippe is a smart thing her, giving the film some of it's international audience. And I hope it'll continue. Because this is a very good a realistically told movie. Way better than a Hollywood production would have told it, though I would have been seen of tenfolds more.

As a teacher in media, I would recommend this as a fine media film. Not only about photographing and journalism in dangerous situations around the world, but also as a film showing the dilemma, moral questions involved as well as a good told filmed story. It basically tells that this kind of journalism and photographing is not for everyone.

Photo technically th film learns you some, but it tells more about editing and the media's use of photographers and pictures, even when they don't dare to tell the truth, and when they compete, and try to take credit, even when they where too afraid to use the material early on. Also the very difficult dilemma if a journalist should interfere in a situation or not when able to do so.

The film overall works well. It loses a little tension from time to time, seen as a thriller, but then it is a drama. Maybe a tiny little too much focus on a love story, but for some this will add to the story what they need to enjoy the film fully. It's sometime brutal, but it tells the truth. Brutally honest.

Th rating here on IMDb is too low. In my opinion this should have has a rating of 7,2-7,5 compared to other films in this landscape. I, go myself, think it's a clear 8/10. Recommended!

This was a pretty good movie that should have been great. Somehow though it just missed capturing the real spirit of the combat photographers, so that I was left feeling kind of meh about the whole experience. Its been based on the true story of four photojournalists who put their lives on the line to capture the fall of apartheid in the late 1990's.

I think the true character of the men just got overshadowed here by the horrors they were shooting and some random, thrown in love scenes. Ryan Phillippe's accent left something to be desired too.

The cinematography is amazing though, violent and vibrant and really made me wonder how they got some of the shots they did. Carter's (Taylor Kitsch) photo of the vulture and the starving child ...Wow! That's not something I'm going to forget anytime soon. 07.13

It is possible that my score of 9 might be a bit inflated because I am headed to South Africa in a few weeks and the timeliness of this film made me more inclined to like it. However, despite my enjoyment at learning about recent South African history, I still can't see this film being rated any lower than 8--it's THAT good.

"The Bang Bang Club" is a movie that you might assume is mostly fictional. After all, the characters seem so incredibly brave as well as foolhardy. However, to my surprise, all of these folks are based on real people! It's the story about a small group of insane photojournalists--guys who frequently brave death by going into the battle zone of Soweto, South Africa during the very tumultuous time as apartheid was ending (the early 1990s). Within this township, folks from the Inkatha Freedom Party (made up of Zulus) waged battle with members of the African National Congress--as well as anyone who happened to get trapped in the middle. Apart from killing thousands, the battles also tended to strengthen the notion by many white South Africans that mob rule would occur if these blacks were given the right to vote and become full citizens. Fortunately, time has proved this to be wrong.

Now these fights were NOT simple affairs involving spears or knives. While these were sometimes used, automatic weapons and the like were also employed--making the idea of folks going into the township to document the violence seem crazy. And, as the film progresses, you wonder how long these guys will be able to do this work until some of them start to die. But in spite of this danger, Pulitzer Prizes and great fame came to these men--as well as the moniker 'Bang Bang Club' due to their exploits.

The film is very tense, well-paced, interesting and, in an odd way, quite enjoyable. My only complaint is that at times (especially at the beginning) the film tries too hard to 'sex up' the group--using way too many cover model sorts to make this seem very realistic. They are simply too hip and too beautiful to be believable. This is especially apparent if you watch the excellent 'making of' documentary on the DVD, as you see two of these folks in real life and they do NOT look like GQ models. You don't see their girlfriends and wives, but I cannot imagine they looked as sexy as the ladies in this one! But, underneath it all, the film still is quite compelling--and unnerving. Well worth seeing--even if you aren't planning on going to South Africa or Soweto (where I will go--but in a heavily sanitized tour bus!!).