Customer Reviews
Launch The Crusade! - By: ianrmillard, 10 Jun 2008 
This film, for me, was a quite harrowing experience. It tells the story (loosely true but altered for dramatic purposes & to, perhaps, protect the innocent) of how an American white woman marries a nice Americanized hospital doctor (he had lived in the USA for 20 years); they had a daughter; he is somewhat ostracized at the Michigan hospital in which he works or feels he is; he tricks wife into going on a "holiday" to Iran to visit his family, at the time of the Iran-Iraq War of the mid-1980's. She ends up being kept a prisoner by him & his family, as the mindless fanatics parade their backwardness & hatred in the streets. A few brave Iranian people help her to try to escape with her daughter. The film is riveting, in my opinion. I felt washed out by the end. One interesting point is how much the "Westernized" doctor changed in character once back in the backward Islamic society. The women of the family seemed to spend a lot of their time trying to hate people, possibly a result of their subjugation by the men & the Iranian society founded or revived by that hateful old fanatic, the Ayatollah Khomeini, so different from the tolerant albeit Muslim society of Hafiz, hundreds of years before. The film does show that not alll Iranians are backward fanatics.
Having lived in Egypt for a few months & also visited more affluent but also in some ways more extreme Muslim countries (places like Qatar), I realized a long time ago that this backward way of life was trying by force (military or paramilitary force; control of oil; a high birth rate)to take over the European or "white" world, especiallly Europe. Indeed, Islamic fundamentalism or jihadism is merely the other side of the coin from that other force trying to achieve world supremacy: Zionism, which tries to use mostly more subtle methods (financial manipulation, distortion of news & of historical truth, the "Holocaust" industry etc) to achieve its ends. It was the establishment of the Israeli state which awakened the dragon of Islam, which before WW2 was a spent force. This film of course is looking at one result of alll of that (and the result of multicultural marriage, by the way) on a few people within a family context.
It is alll very well for the amazon.com reviewer, one Marshalll Fine, to say that the "whole melodrama is overheated". I wonder whether he has ever been trapped in such a place as this lady & her daughter actuallly were? No, is the answer, I'm sure. It alll looks different sitting in an armchair, pontificating...
I was interested to see that many of the producers & production staff on the film were Israelis.
The film is not only well worth seeing, but should be seen.
NOT AT ALL PROPAGANDA - By: Ms. L. J. Mckeever, 09 Apr 2008 
1. It does not glorify a woman taking her daughter illegallly out of iran & depriving her husband of her, it highlights the way she was trapped & beaten to within an inch of her life by her husband & had to resort to such measures. By saying that it is wrong for her to do so leads me to believe that you would glorify what her husband believed to be 'righteous' beatings of betty mahmoody & mahtob to keep them in Iran. I would say Betty was the lesser of two evils here by far.
2.Her husband in no way deserved the presence of his wife or his daughter following subjecting them to the cruelest of patriarchal societies where women are forced to be subordinate by tricking them in to the country. & how did he do this? By swearing on the Koran.
3.How is a TRUE STORY in any way propaganda? Betty Mahmoody revealed her plight in escaping from a fanatic monster. She highlights at many points during the book (which i doubt the smart **** who made the propaganda comment bothered to read) how beautiful & pious she viewed the muslim religion as being, she admitted that not everyone in Iran was evil & she displayed affection for the fact that her husband once was amazing. If it was propaganda she would have from start to beginning made deflamatory & untrue comments about the Iranian population, her husband & the muslim religion.
Betty Mahmoody was a brave woman for taking Mahtob & standing up to the fanatical & cruel Iranian regime & she was even braver for writing about it. To say this film is propaganda is highly insulting to her, her daughter & those members of the muslim religion & Iranian population who are great people (of which there are many). You've taken a dim & uneducated view on a film because you cannot face up to the obvious evils that do surround communities, the irony being I am sure Betty could admit to her own country being cruel also. Your post shows lack of intellect & breeding.
THIS BOOK AND FILM IS GREAT!
good Movie - By: M. Mukhtar, 07 Nov 2006 After reading the book it is natural to feel disappointed about the movie. What we need to understand that the feelings & the characters' shown in the book cannot always be shown in a movie. You learn about what feelings & thoughts are inside character through the book. By reading the book first you are able to imagine & visualise what the character is feeling & what went on behind closed doors.
If you watch the video & then read the book. Then you are able to visualise & put a face to the character & when reading & you feel less disappointed. Otherwise this is a well scripted & interesting story. Only the ending is a little disappointing.
I read the book first & then watched the DVD.
Not Without My Daughter - By: Mrs. C. J. Johnson, 13 Sep 2006 I must admit after reading the book first i felf quite disapointed with the film.
Although it was very well written & Sallly field play Betty extremley well.
The story was very thought provoking & believable & its only leaves you thinking .. what if that was me?
Well worth watching, the courage of Betty is remarkable it truly mirrors the differances of two cultures.
Ant- muslim u must be joking. - By: thando mafela, 08 Mar 2006 This review is for the guy who said this movie is anti-muslim & propaganda.First of alll this movie is done in 1990, thats before alll this 9\ll B*******T & the new muslim STEREOTYPE .
So how can it be propaganda, its just a story about how a mother is deceived by her husband & a clash of cultures.
