ON October 3, 1993, American Army Rangers and members of the elite Delta Force took part in a covert operation in Mogadishu, Somalia, that went horribly wrong.

Sent to abduct two lieutenants of a vicious Somali warlord, the soldiers found themselves surrounded by hostile militia. Two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down and many men lost their lives.

Mark Bowden, of the Philadelphia Inquirer, told the story of the battle in his exhaustively researched, critically acclaimed book, Black Hawk Down, and now director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Ken Nolan have brought the dramatic story to the screen.

The outstanding cast includes Josh Hartnett as a competent but nervous Ranger sergeant leading his first mission, Ewan McGregor as a "desk jockey" who excels when sent into combat, Eric Bana as a cocky and enigmatic Delta, and Ron Eldard as a shotdown Black Hawk pilot.

Ridley Scott's camerawork takes us into the bloody heart of the conflict, ducking and diving as bullets fly and missiles pound the barren earth.

Enemy gunfire shreds US soldiers and you can almost feel the ground shake as helicopter gunships unleash their full arsenal on crowds of heavily armed Somalians, reducing narrow sidestreets to rubble.

Like Bowden's book, the film does not examine the context of the conflict, but gives a detailed and intense blow-by-blow account of the fighting.

Black Hawk Down will possibly turn out to be one of the most unintentionally topical films ever made and it's already proved to be a huge talking point because of its timing.

The £50m block-buster was completed a month before the September 11 attacks in America.

And the same Ranger regiment - the 75th - whose men fought in the Battle of Mogadishu, and who assisted in the making of the movie, are now fighting the war against terrorism in Afghanistan.

Following the September 11 attacks, there was some speculation that the movie might have to be withdrawn.

But far from being put off by the subject matter, American audiences have been flocking to see the film, which is now being mooted as an Oscar contender.