User Reviews

Before I saw this film I heard it would be leaning to supporting the Turkish army. Then I saw the website and thought just the opposite. Now I know that the filmmakers are just letting over 40 of the key players tell their stories, often contradicting each other, weaving a complicated account of the 4 coups which occurred for very different reasons - really enlightening, original, breathtaking work. Great job!

Without the burden of ideological narration, this documentary provides an in depth look at the military takeover history of modern Turkey. It provides a fair and unprejudiced look at the events since the interviews are not manipulated but rather are edited together with excellent flow, with a good balance of academia, politicians, journalists and military figures involved. We get the "facts" from different points of view and it only proves that everything including the "facts" are relative when it comes to history and politics.

This is such an antidote to the Ken Burns documentary which spoon-feeds the viewer with music and letters and simulated footage and does the thinking for the viewer. The filmmakers of Coup have told the stories of 4 different military coups which occurred for very different reasons, and not everyone agrees why - and they weave dozens of interviews together with people from the hard left to the far right, politicians and generals - and miraculously, a thread emerges, without any narrator. SEE THIS FILM if you want to learn about what's going on in this moderate Islamic republic, and if you want to see how great a documentary can really be.

This video is excellent, if not only for the fact that documenting anything that has happened in Turkey is a giant step. The Turkish state has been notorious (as in most states) for keeping information internal and tightly controlling information. IN the case of the military COUPS, even more so because of CIA/US controls and strategies regarding Turkey.

This film has helped in opening discussions regarding Turkey with my Turkish and Kurdish friends in the US. Many, of course, have been fed historical events through the Turkish state-controlled news media and television, or by their local leadership who have political positions that may necessitate keeping multiple perspectives out of what is told.

This video has been great for my Turkish and Kurdish friends, also, because they see the faces and expressions and hear the touching stories of the politicians, activists, and journalists, who they have only heard about through others in a one-sided way. This video also interviews these people away from the glaring Turkish government eyes, so there is a 'humanity' that they have never seen. This adds to the tenor of how my friends see the video.

Of course, if one just wants to be 'right' then nobody changes their mind to mature. But most of my Turkish and Kurdish friends were somewhat disturbed and later reflective and maturing in thought regarding their country's history.

I am so glad this video was made. It is a rarity. Underneath what information the US and Turkish governments want the public to know, is the small pictures of complex events that give new light to history--which always should teach us to improve ourselves.

Thank you to the directors and researchers and producers!!

"Coup" is an excellent example of movie making, it makes politicians, activists and academics to do the 'relating' of the Turkish officers' activist past. These people 'speak' of their experiences and they come from all sides of the political spectrum. In that sense alone Elif Savas accomplishes something of a great value. That political history is subject to interpretation, and that ideological presuppositions hinder our understanding of the past. I congratulate Elif Savas for letting us hear the multitude of voices, which allow the viewer to get closer to the complexity of politics, power and economic development in Turkey. The conclusion is brilliant and unnerving. Get your copy today!

Wow!These guys are crazy.This subject's hot. I couldn't believe that how they touched it.I watched it and I saw that they handled it very well.

There're so many things in the movie which come from the USA but there isn't anybody's name. May be these courageous people will make a second part of the movie as great as this one.And may be this time American people who are interested in this bloody history or who created it will speak.

This extra ordinary work of art became the best part of my library.It must be kept, not just seen!

To call `Coup' a great documentary doesn't start to do it justice. Rather, this oral history redefines how documentaries should be.

`Coup' doesn't lead you by the nose. There's no all-knowing narrator or easy answers. Instead, there's remarkable candor, intelligence and insight from eyewitnesses and makers of history – and the history is flat-out fascinating.

`Coup' is not for the faint of attention. This is an involved and thorough story, and oral history is less effective when you are reading through subtitles, rather than listening. (I only speak and read English.) But this is compelling and gripping nonetheless, and a remarkable achievement.

Who should see `Coup'? The fast answer is anyone interested in Turkish history, or anyone who enjoys breathtaking documentaries. But the more accurate response is everyone intrigued by the very nature of democracy. Get your copy today!

This film is a must see for anyone with any interest in 20th century political history. Documentaries are usually not thought of as riveting, absorbing, or terrifying but this one is all three and more.