Participant
Playtone
Relativity Media
Universal Pictures
Not part of a collection.
Charlie Wilson's War
A stiff drink. A little mascara. A lot of nerve. Who said they couldn't bring down the Soviet empire.
A Texas congressman sets a series of events in motion when he conspires with a CIA operative to aid Afghan mujahideen rebels fighting the Soviets.
- Original title
- Charlie Wilson's War
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $75,000,000
- Revenue
- $119,483,446
CinemaSerf
Aug 27, 2026 · via TMDB
Mike Nichols has assembled quite an A-list cast here, but with the possible exception of Philip Seymour Hoffman it really doesn't deliver as well as I'd hoped. Tom Hanks is the eponymous Texas congressmen who enjoys his time on Capitol Hill, attending it's parties and indulging in whatever is offered - legal or otherwise. He's an uncontentious individual so sits on numerous committees - largely on the understanding that he doesn't do anything! Unfortunately for him, one of his major donors (Julia Roberts) has been appalled by the treatment of the civilian population of Afghanistan at the hands of the Soviets. She wants something done to help them, and he is the man she expects to deliver. He does manage to get the CIA's meagre budget for the area doubled, but when assured that won't make much difference and then egged on by agency expert Gust Avrakotos (Hoffman), he engages in a rather complex mission with Pakistan and Israel - determined foes - to supply the Mujahaddin with weaponry capable of evening up the odds against invaders with complete air supremancy and little interest in where their missiles actually land. Of course, whilst he is now fully galvanised by the task in hand, he doesn't quite appreciate that his is but one part of a complex and lengthy strategy and that even with the budget now running at a billion dollars, there are no easy wins - for anyone. Meantime, he has to do a little firefighting with the media at home who have shown a little interest in his extra-curricular activities - all the more apposite as he is fighting to obtain freedom for a population who are no strangers to opiates. Hanks isn't maybe the best actor for this role - I'd have loved to see Gene Hackman do it, but he works well enough with the pithy Sorkin script and the on-form Hoffman as they scheme their way to an unlikely alliance that illustrates well just how much of a jigsaw puzzle their task was, and was always going to remain. I also thought this rather potently spotlighted the failings of long term American foreign policy and of it's reliance on local allies whose agenda could quite literally change on the turn of a card and whose information was often as incorrect as it was unreliable. It's an enjoyable film that might encourage further investigation into it's pretty harrowing topics whilst reminding us that many of our elected representatives are little better than useless.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Fandango At Home
Tom Hanks
Charlie Wilson
Julia Roberts
Joanne Herring
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Gust Avrakotos
Amy Adams
Bonnie Bach
Emily Blunt
Jane Liddle
Om Puri
President Zia
Shiri Appleby
Jailbait - Charlie's Angels
Rachel Nichols
Suzanne - Charlie's Angels
Wynn Everett
Receptionist - Charlie's Angel
Jud Tylor
Crystal Lee
John Slattery
Cravely
Erick Avari
Avi Perlman
Cyia Batten
Stacey
Denis O'Hare
Harold Holt
Ned Beatty
Doc Long
Ken Stott
Zvi
Daniel Eric Gold
Donnelly
Harry S. Murphy
Congressional Committee
Enayat Delawary
Doc Long's Translator
Peter Gerety
Larry Liddle
Navid Negahban
Refugee Camp Translator
P.J. Byrne
Jim Van Wagenen
Mozhan Navabi
Refugee Camp Translator #2
Russell Edge
Agent Wells
Christopher Denham
Mike Vickers
Ron Fassler
Mario
Nazanin Boniadi
Afghan Refugee Woman (uncredited)
Rizwan Manji
Colonel Mahmood
Tracy Phillips
Belly dancer
Ali Olomi
Injured Mujahadeen Soldier (uncredited)
Mary-Bonner Baker
Marla - Charlie's Angels
Hilary Angelo
Kelly
Terry Bozeman
CIA Award Presenter
Brian Markinson
Paul Brown
Kirby Mitchell
Stoned Guy
Ed Regine
Limo Driver
Thomas Crawford
Maintenance Man
Patrika Darbo
Auctioneer
Carly Reeves
Slave Girl
Faran Tahir
Brigadier Rashid
Michelle Arthur
Refugee Camp Nurse
Shila Ommi
Refugee Mother
Michael Haley
Embassy Official
Joseph Sikora
Chess Player
Gabriel Tigerman
Chess Player
Aharon Ipalé
Egyptian Defense Minister
Nancy Linehan Charles
Mrs. Long
Daston Kalili
Mujahideen Translator
Pasha D. Lychnikoff
Russian Helicopter Pilot
Ilia Volok
Russian Helicopter Pilot
Sammy Sheik
Stinger Mujahideen
Jim Jansen
Congressional Committee
Spencer Garrett
Congressional Committee
Kevin Cooney
Congressional Committee
Erick Avari
Ari Goldman (uncredited)
Yousuf Azami
Work Relief Guy (uncredited)
Anthony Azizi
Orderly (uncredited)
Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Las Vegas Showgirl / Charlie's Party Guest (uncredited)
François Duhamel
French Photographer (uncredited)
David M. Edelstien
Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Matthew Herington
Afghan Refugee (uncredited)
Jody Jaress
VIP Party Guest (uncredited)
Alexander Kanellakos
Texas Millionaire (uncredited)
Igor Korošec
USSR Gunner 2 (uncredited)
Daniel Lench
Party Goer #1 (uncredited)
J. Patrick McCormack
Senator (uncredited)
Kazu Nagahama
Japanese Tourist (uncredited)
Mara New
Extra (uncredited)
Tom Ohmer
Party Guest (uncredited)
Ron Ostrow
Congressional Committee #5 (uncredited)
Dan Rather
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jackie Swanson
Texas Socialite (uncredited)
Shaun Toub
Hassan (uncredited)
Kyle Vogt
Male Party Guest #4 (uncredited)
Kurt Yaeger
Afghani Refugee (uncredited)
Nancy Haigh
Set Decoration
Stephen Goldblatt
Director of Photography
François Duhamel
Still Photographer
Albert Wolsky
Costume Design
Luisa Abel
Makeup Department Head
Andy Clement
Prosthetic Makeup Artist
Gary Archer
Prosthetics
Rick Avery
Stunt Coordinator
Eliza Coleman
Stunts
Joanna Shelmidine
Stunts
Mike Nichols
Director
Michael Haley
First Assistant Director
Rick Avery
Second Unit Director
Ryan Biegel
Accounting Clerk Assistant
Terri Taylor
Additional Casting
Ellen Lewis
Casting
Michael Haley
Co-Producer
Celia D. Costas
Executive Producer
Jeff Skoll
Executive Producer
Ryan Kavanaugh
Executive Producer
Gary Goetzman
Producer
Tom Hanks
Producer
Cristen Carr Strubbe
Unit Production Manager
James Newton Howard
Original Music Composer
Petur Hliddal
Production Sound Mixer
Lee Dichter
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Richard Edlund
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Aaron Sorkin
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Adele Spitzeder
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