The Hurt Locker is a screenplay by Mark Boal. The official book tie-in to the critically acclaimed, original war thriller, directed by Kathryn Bigelow (K-19: The Widowmaker, Near Dark, Strange Days, Point Break) and written by Mark Boal (In the Valley of Elah), portraying the nerve-wracking missions of a military bomb squad in Baghdad, with only 38 days left in their tour.

One of the most highly touted war films in recent memory, The Hurt Locker is a riveting, extraordinary story of courage and survival on the Baghdad bomb squad, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, from a script by journalist and screenwriter Mark Boal, who researched the material by traveling to the war in Iraq where he was embedded with the U.S. Army bomb squad in 2004. Boal's screenplay, a fictional tale inspired by real events, follows the layered, complex relationship between three soldiers who are thrown together in the crucible of combat, and stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, and Evangeline Lilly, with Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes and David Morse.

The Hurt Locker includes an exclusive introduction by Kathyrn Bigelow, a facsimile of the complete shooting script, a 16-page colour photo section, production notes, storyboards, and complete cast and crew credits.

What people say:

"This is one of the great war films and our own Medal of Honor winner." — Time Magazine

"A classic of tension, fear, and bravery that will be studied twenty years from now." — The New Yorker

"The Hurt Locker is a great movie, period. Mark Boal delivers a taut, evocative, pulse-poundingly suspenseful screenplay, which exemplifies great screenwriting." — The Washington Post

"The Hurt Locker is a remarkable accomplishment... It distills the psychological essence and moral complications of modern warfare." — The New York Times

"Mark Boal's screenplay manages to be many things at once--a first-rate action thriller, a vivid evocation of urban warfare in Iraq, and a penetrating study of heroism. Most of all, the film is an instant classic." — The Wall Street Journal

About the Screenwriter:

Mark Boal is a journalist, screenwriter, and producer. He has written for Rolling Stone, Village Voice, and Playboy, and his piece Death and Dishonor, became the basis for the film In the Valley of Elah, for which he shared a screen story credit with Paul Haggis.