March 28, 2003 6:42 AM

Dictators Gone Wild- Spring Break edition

Satirical Saddam Documentary Gets U.S. DVD Release

Well, if we can't kill him, we might as well laugh at him, eh? Besides, how many times can you watch that "Girls Gone Wild" video??

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A satirical documentary that portrays Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) as a personal hygiene fanatic who likes to fish with grenades is getting a timely first time DVD release in the United States next week.

"Uncle Saddam," made by French freelance journalist Joel Soler in 2000, received critical acclaim at international film festivals two years ago and resulted in death threats against Soler at his Los Angeles area home.

Distributors Xenon Pictures say the timing of the April 2 DVD release during the U.S.-led war raging in Iraq (news - web sites), is mere coincidence, but hope the documentary will give Americans "a candid look at the enigmatic Iraqi tyrant."

The DVD package includes an interview with Soler, a "100 percent anti-Saddam" sticker and a pack of "dictators of the world" trading cards....

Soler's film was compiled from footage he smuggled out of Iraq during a visit there on the pretext of chronicling the nation's suffering under U.N. sanctions.

He won rare access to Saddam and the film includes shots of the Iraqi president being kissed on his armpit, showing off his vast collection of hats and fishing at a country lake by throwing hand grenades into the water.

Sometimes real life can be much funnier than satire. This is especially true, I suppose, when the subject is a murderous bundle of neuroses like Saddam. It would be tough to make this stuff up.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on March 28, 2003 6:42 AM.

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