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Championship photojournalism

The art of photography begins with shedding light on cinema as an art of photography, as it deals with the preparation of films in progress here with the movie UNDER FIRE

One of the most important films that deals with the world of photography - journalistic mainly within the theme of the film, as it deals with the importance of live photography with three American journalists who found themselves in the midst of the human drama of one of the Latin American revolutions. (Under fire) Or, Hell • A film directed by Roger Spottiswoode that tells about changes that take place quietly and gently at times, and with explosive violence at times. They are changes that make history and turn people's lives upside down.

The story of the film begins with a love relationship between: Alex Grazier. Played by Gene Hackman and Claire Stryder, played by Joanna Cassidy, the two work in the press, and at a time when Alex is ready to accept a new job with a television network in New York, Claire receives a job order to go to Nicaragua to cover events The war is there, and this is what puts their relationship on the verge of an end, had it not been for Alex deciding to give up his job and follow his sweetheart to Central America.

Russell Price. His role is played by actor Nick Nolte, who is also a photojournalist who previously covered the events of one of the African wars and got out of it unscathed. He is now also on his way to Nicaragua. He is pursuing Claire from a distance without declaring his love for her in appreciation of his friendship with Alex. .

And meet the three - Claire, Alex and Price - inside a hotel in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, where many other journalists are staying, and the three find themselves involved in a relationship with the Sandinista revolutionaries who are working to eliminate the rule of - the dictator Anastasia Somoza - - played by actor Rene Enriquez - who can Claire «from obtaining a private interview with him, but the three insist on remaining in a neutral position between the combatants, given that their main goal is merely to obtain pictures of the current events. where extreme poverty.

And following a dangerous and dramatic incident that came after more repression carried out by Somoza's apparatus, the administration of US President Jimmy Carter withdraws its support for the Nicaraguan regime, which tipped the revolutionaries' hand and led to the victory of the Sandees over Somoza.

The space of the photographs taken by Price is large in the film, as his lens simply reflects the events. Director Roger Spotswood considers that the changes in Price's photographs are an affirmation of the self-development of the personality itself, which ultimately leads him, influenced by the images he works to capture throughout the events, to confront his responsibilities and take the appropriate position as a result of the events surrounding him.

Filming the movie itself took ten weeks of intense work with

A large group of photographers that Spotswood used during the filming period, which was completed entirely in Mexico, but with photographers from North America, Mexico, London and Madrid.

As for the main photographer, who is credited with translating the creative imagination of both the director and writer, John Alcott, an Academy Award-winning cinematographer in this field, did an astounding job as he mastered the advantages and energies of natural light and employed them to secure an amazing vitality and depth for the film.
And after a lengthy study of the types of raw films with the nature of the region in which filming takes place, and relying mainly on reflectors, John Alcott gave tremendous results by exploiting simple lighting that was an element of comfort and relaxation for the actors, in addition to its good results in terms of the nature and colors of the film.

The author of the story is Clay Frohman, a native of Chicago. He is a well-known writer who dealt at length with war correspondents and battle photographers, and from the movie. As for the script, it was prepared by Ronald Shelton. The director hired photojournalist Matthew Knightons, a brilliant doctor. Here is his source of inspiration for this story, in addition to his high talents in the field of photography.
Which he used in his work as a reference and technical advisor for the film, and it is known that Knightons is a business owner
Photographs published in the largest international newspapers, including:
Time, Life, Stern, Paris Match, Figaro, Newsweek, The New York Times, and others.

In addition to its coverage of many events in the world, Knights previously covered the development of the revolutionary movement in Nicaragua between the years 77 and 79 for the benefit of Al-Naim magazine, and this is what contributed to this film, which revolves in its entirety around the movement of the Sandinista revolutionaries, which the photographer closely accompanied throughout its inception until it came to power in Confirmation of his selection as a consultant.
It remains to be mentioned that the film includes a group of actors headed by the well-known French actor Jean-Louis Trintignan, Ed Harris and actress Alma Martins.