With exacting detail, the film re-creates the American siege of the Somalian city of Mogadishu in October 1993, when a 45-minute mission turned into a 16-hour ordeal of bloody urban warfare. Helicopter-borne U.S. Rangers were assigned to capture key lieutenants of Somali warlord Muhammad Farrah Aidid, but when two Black Hawk choppers were felled by rocket-propelled grenades, the U.S. soldiers were forced to fend for themselves in the battle-torn streets of Mogadishu, attacked from all sides by armed Aidid supporters.

MPAA rating: R.

Optional French dialogue; optional French, Chinese and Thai subtitles.

Originally produced as a motion picture in 2001.

Based on the book by Mark Bowden.

Special features: "Black hawk down: on the set" featurette; theatrical trailers; filmographies; production notes.

Cinematography, Slawomir Idziak ; editor, Pietro Scalia ; music, Hans Zimmer.

Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Ewen Bremner, Sam Shepard.

DVD format, Dolby digital 5.1.

Academy Award, 2000: Best Film Editing (Pietro Scalia); Best Sound (Michael Minkler, Chris Munro, Myron Nettinga).