In June 1982, a 20-year-old Israeli tank gunner called Samuel Maoz killed a man for the first time in his life. It was the start of the first Lebanon War and what was to follow left the young man deeply scarred emotionally long after the war had ended.

Twenty five years later the same Samuel Maoz wrote and then went on to direct ‘Lebanon’, a film based on his horrific experiences inside that tank in 1982.

The result is a compelling and highly personal movie that was acclaimed by the critics when it was released theatrically earlier this year, has won a clutch of awards including the Golden Lion at
the 2009 Venice Film Festival and which is to be released on DVD by Metrodome on August 23.

In ‘Lebanon’ the movie, Shmuel is the tank’s gunner, Assi the commander, Herzl the loader and Yigal the driver … four boys aged 20 plus who operate a huge and ferocious killing machine.

They are dispatched to search a hostile town that has already been bombed by the Israeli Air Force but what seems on the face of it to be a simple and straightforward mission gets gradually out of control, eventually becoming a hellish nightmare as their tank becomes a potential death trap.

These boys are not fighters eager for battle, conquest or self-sacrifice. They’re brave kids losing their innocence in the most brutal way possible while being mentally destroyed.

A raw basic instinct will push them to the limits as they struggle hard to survive in a situation they cannot contain anymore while at the same time desperately trying not to lose their humanity amid the chaos of war.

‘Lebanon’ is an intense, explosive, exhilarating and ultimately redemptive film about survival against the most overwhelming odds in which the conflict between their basic instincts to stay alive and their human conscience inevitably claims its victims.

‘Lebanon’ is out on DVD on 23 August and has a running time of approx 90 minutes, a TBC certificate and an RRP of £15.99

BONUS FEATURES

• Commentary from director Samuel Maoz upon whose real life experiences the film is based
• History of the first Lebanon War (text document)
• ‘LEBANON’: the background story to the film (text document)