Photo Courtesy of Columbia Pictures Josh Hartnett plays the role of Matt Eversmann in the war film "Black Hawk Down," which opens in theaters today.

As special forces troops prowl the streets of Kandahar, Americans are watching Somalia fall to pieces around the U.S. Army of the '90s.

"Black Hawk Down," which opens tonight, is giving audiences a picture of just what goes on behind CNN's headlines.

The 144-minute collaboration of director Ridley Scott ("Gladiator") and producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Pearl Harbor") tells the story of a company of U.S. Army Rangers, which suffered heavy casualties attempting to escape Mogadishu after a botched mission to capture hostile clan leaders in October 1993. The film is based on a book by Mark Boden, which draws much of its prose from interviews with survivors of the battle.

"Black Hawk Down" follows several American soldiers as they struggle to rescue the survivors of a downed helicopter, losing more than a dozen men in the process as throngs of armed, enraged Somalis attack them from all sides.

Two Rangers who experienced the story firsthand attended Wednesday night's advanced screening.

Vinny Errico and Eric Spalding were both in Mogadishu and were honored by the sneak preview audience before the film.

"It was pretty accurate," said Errico, a University of Arizona management information systems senior. "A little Hollywood here and there."

The difficulty of adapting a screenplay from a book, much less a true event, lies in translating the emotional feel of a story as well as its details. While "Black Hawk Down" may not perfectly imitate reality, it gives a strong sense of what the experience of modern combat is like.

"It was pretty good, emotionally, at least for regular people to understand what we went through," Errico said.

While the film entertains the morality of a soldier in several of its characters - ranging from Josh Hartnett's idealistic and humanitarian Staff Sgt. Matt Eversmann to the 18-year old Pfc. Todd Blackburn, who simply says "I'm here to kick some ass," - Errico and Spalding quickly dismissed those complications.

"What makes you cross the streets under fire is that you've got a responsibility to the guy next to you," Spalding said, "and nothing else."

As Americans become increasingly restless about the role of the military overseas, a film like "Black Hawk Down" can serve to remind audiences what the political application of force really means to the soldiers on the ground.

"We want people to think back on what they heard when that incident happened and compare it to what they see in this film," Spalding said. "Despite all the blood and gore you see in the film, it's still the sanitary version."

"Black Hawk Down" asserts fairly clearly that the casualties of the real battle could have been avoided if not for the Pentagon's withholding of proper armament.

Spalding said he hoped the film would help people understand that the military needs to be allowed to use as much firepower as necessary when operating in hostile areas.

"Most Americans don't care about the military," Errico said in response to military activity in Afghanistan. Then he corrected himself: "Well, right now they do."