I had the opportunity to read the script before the film was released, and I was always a little shocked that more wasn’t made of the film’s impact (and the story’s legacy) when it reached theaters

I just finally watched Charlie Wilson’s War on DVD. Now I know why. THEY REMOVED ALL THE BALLS FROM THE SCREENPLAY.

I’m a huge Aaron Sorkin fan. I geeked out on West Wing like people geek out on Lost. I read the script like I had been handed an undiscovered last work of Shakespeare. Sorkin + Politics + True Story + Connect The Dots To 9/11 = Pure Gold in my book. Not to mention Mike Nichols, and an all-star cast.

Off the top of my head, I can remember three scenes that gave the script such power – power that was lost in the neutered release.

1. In the scene where the CIA team was briefing Charlie about a new group of Freedom Fighters, the script named Osama Bin Laden. The film named a less known (if real) leader
2. Just before Doc Long’s trip to Afghanistan, Charlie crashes his car while drunk-driving for a very tense moment in the script. Cut from the film.
3. The final shot in the script, is a flash forward to 9/11 as Charlie is drinking coffee and hears the plane hit the Pentagon. He reflects on the events that preceded. Fade to black. The film ends at an award ceremony that wasn’t in the script.

What a shame. Brilliant filmmakers get the chance to tell a story that America might learn from, and someone along the way blows it. Perhaps a movie about how America props up its future enemies wasn’t testing well in Monrovia.