Standard Operating Procedure (2008)

79% of critics liked it
(97 reviews)
78% of users liked it
(2,525 ratings)

Filmmaker Errol Morris (Gates of Heaven, The Thin Blue Line) takes an unflinching look at the Abu Ghraib prison scandal while meditating on the frightening side effects of the War on Terror in a thought-provoking documentary from Participant Productions (An Inconvenient Truth). ~ Jason Buchanan,… More Filmmaker Errol Morris (Gates of Heaven, The Thin Blue Line) takes an unflinching look at the Abu Ghraib prison scandal while meditating on the frightening side effects of the War on Terror in a thought-provoking documentary from Participant Productions (An Inconvenient Truth). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 56 min.
Directed By: Errol Morris
Genres: Documentary, Special Interest

In Theaters: Apr 25, 2008 Limited
On DVD: Oct 14, 2008
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Critic Reviews

Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com
Morris offers valuable new perspectives on Abu Ghraib, but the paying customers may not care to go there again.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Standard Operating Procedure feels like a historical work in progress, brilliant, thought-provoking but incomplete.
Tom Long, Detroit News
Truth is a matter of perspective in director Errol Morris' Standard Operating Procedure, a piercing look at the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison and the aftermath of their discovery.
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle
The result is a devastating film, and an important one.
, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Probes deeper than any other Iraq war documentary.
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
Standard Operating Procedure encourages us not to judge but to try to understand. Or, barring that impossibility, it prods us like the finest documentaries to watch and listen.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A bore and a real pain to sit through.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
Blu-ray-only extras are extensive.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
Fascinating and horrifying, especially if you take a step back and view it thinking about what it tells us about the society in which these abuses took place.
Jeffrey Chen, Window to the Movies
Examines both the mystery of primitive human instincts and the nature and power of photography.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
For American military personnel to descend to Saddam's level was one of the worst moments in US history, and Morris's film reveals the truth: the poisonous Abu Ghraib pictures were not merely an American scandal but a human catastrophe.
David D'Arcy, Screen International
Morris's distillation of long talks with young ex-soldiers and the female general who commanded prisons all over Iraq is among the best documentaries on the Iraq war.
Jean Lowerison, San Diego Metropolitan
Morris never gets close to the administrative attitude that apparently sanctioned, perhaps even encouraged the goings-on, despite Karpinski's contention that 'none of this produced useful intelligence.'
Susan Tavernetti, Palo Alto Weekly
Haunting photographs and video seemingly point a finger at the low-ranking indicted soldiers. Equally haunting is the notion that journalists and the public assumed they had seen everything.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
A worthwhile... meticulously reported film, splashed with [Morris'] own, unique style.
Sal Cinquemani, Slant Magazine
Another doc surrounding the U.S. military's embarrassing use of torture, another beautifully photographed film given justice on DVD.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Engaging, well-made documentary that will provoke outrage, shock and horror in equal measure.
Victor Olliver, Teletext
As shocking are the prisoner treatments permitted as "standard operating procedure". A disturbing, dispassionate investigation.
Evan Williams, The Australian
Standard Operating Procedure is a brilliantly, almost self-consciously, stylish film.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...at times it veers dangerously close to being just another solipsistic horror show, another magic trick in which absolution is achieved through ordinariness.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Curtis L

Errol Morris tries a different style in this one. The interviewees don't look straight into the camera (his signature shot), but it's also not a film about backwoods hillbillies or pet cemeteries. The subject matter is intriguing, and it's cool to get testimonies of… More
Errol Morris tries a different style in this one. The interviewees don't look straight into the camera (his signature shot), but it's also not a film about backwoods hillbillies or pet cemeteries. The subject matter is intriguing, and it's cool to get testimonies of the prison guards in trouble. Yes, I believe they got set up for failure, and as brainwashed military they were just doing what they were told to do. However, could they be any more STUPID to take all those pictures? I think not. Hmmm...let's give a thumbs up and smile while standing over the dead body of a guy we killed. Real classy.
Walter M

"The fact that a person acted to pursuant to order of his government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him." - Nuremburg Principle IV "Military intelligence is a… More
"The fact that a person acted to pursuant to order of his government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him." - Nuremburg Principle IV "Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms." - Groucho Marx Errol Morris turns his eyes from the top of the military command with Robert McNamara(currently burning in hell) in "The Fog of War" to those at the bottom with the riveting documentary "Standard Operating Procedure" about the documented abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in 2003. Per his usual style, he allows his subjects to tell their own story and possibly explain what they were thinking when they took the infamous photographs of abuses. My personal theory is that they were meant as souvenirs much in the same way that hunters would take photos of themselves with animals they killed. While expressing doubts in letters back home, Sabrina Harman said she took the photos as evidence while also appearing smiling in some of them. On one level, there was the standard operating procedure which consisted of bringing in Iraqi men of military age at random and softening them up for interrogation which included sleep deprivation.(The photograph of the prisoner standing on a box with his arms outstretched was part of procedure.) Even these procedures turned out to be useless in gathering useful intelligence. Then, there were actions which even the authorities thought went beyond this which included ritual sexual humiliation. A lot of this has to do with power, as the poorly trained and unsupervised soldiers as part of a herd mentality used it against those who could not defend themselves. The fact that they tried to hide what they did from their superiors proves that they thought they were doing something wrong. My only question: is how did the photographs get out? And one minor point: "Standard Operating Procedure" was distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. At one point, in the documentary two of the cameras are identified as being Sony. Since this might not have been necessary, there is a hint of product placement.
Alec B

Not easy to watch, but it is still one of the most important films of 2008. The film is tremendously engaging and educational. We only got a fraction of the story in the media, and Errol Morris' choice of just letting the soldiers that he could get to interview simply speak about… More
Not easy to watch, but it is still one of the most important films of 2008. The film is tremendously engaging and educational. We only got a fraction of the story in the media, and Errol Morris' choice of just letting the soldiers that he could get to interview simply speak about their experiences in the prison gives it a whole new perspective. Morris, doesn't really take a stand about what happened other that the fact that the line between a "criminal act" or a "standard operating procedure" is not clear at all. Also, to say that this event was isolated to a few soldiers is a complete lie. There certainly were high ranking military officials responsible, whether directly or indirectly, and they have yet to answer for it.
William G

Morris uses surprisingly candid interviews to construct an essay on the painfully abstract nature of truth and intentions, the best and worst of which came to light in Abu Ghraib.
Keith M

The great thing about Errol Morris documentaries is the simplicity of them. He relies on the story to inform and entertain. Here he goes deep to find out the story behind the Abu Ghraib prison. I know this wasn't spose to be a comedy, but fuck I was laughing a lot. These fuck… More
The great thing about Errol Morris documentaries is the simplicity of them. He relies on the story to inform and entertain. Here he goes deep to find out the story behind the Abu Ghraib prison. I know this wasn't spose to be a comedy, but fuck I was laughing a lot. These fuck soldiers were just a bunch of fucking morons. Why would I feel sorry for them? These guys were like bad characters from a Happy Madison film. Rob Scheinder and Kevin James are "Soliders". It would make millions. Overall though it was great to know the whole story behind the photographs and how everything just got so fucked up there.
cody f

Stylish and interesting doc about a bunch of retard soldiers and how they got themselves caught torturing prisoners. Errol Morris always has great style and all of his docs are interesting and this one is no different.You try to feel sorry for the soldiers, but they are so dumb and… More
Stylish and interesting doc about a bunch of retard soldiers and how they got themselves caught torturing prisoners. Errol Morris always has great style and all of his docs are interesting and this one is no different.You try to feel sorry for the soldiers, but they are so dumb and bitter that your glad they got caught. The military doing bad shit and blaming the little guy is not a new story, but these dip shits dug their own graves buy filming it. DUH!!!
Grifty G

One of those films that fills in the gaps of what you know about something that was all over the news. At first I thought it might be trying to sympathize with the prison guards, but as it goes on you realize that its more about how these people were idiots for what they did, but… More
One of those films that fills in the gaps of what you know about something that was all over the news. At first I thought it might be trying to sympathize with the prison guards, but as it goes on you realize that its more about how these people were idiots for what they did, but ended up taking all the blame for things that were much more widespread and went much higher up in the military. It also shows once again that the military and intelligence branches are run by morons.