Courage Under Fire (1996)

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writer (WGA):

Patrick Sheane Duncan (written by)

Release Date:

12 July 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War | Mystery

Tagline:

In wartime, the first casualty is always truth.

Plot:

A US Army officer, despondent about a deadly mistake he made, investigates a female chopper commander's worthiness for the Medal of Honor.

Plot Keywords:

Women | Family Member | Miscarriage Of Justice | Friendship | Investigation

Awards:

9 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Denzel Washington	...	Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Serling
Meg Ryan	...	Captain Karen Emma Walden
Lou Diamond Phillips	...	Staff Sergeant John Monfriez
Michael Moriarty	...	Brigadier General Hershberg
Matt Damon	...	Specialist Ilario
Bronson Pinchot	...	Bruno
Seth Gilliam	...	Altameyer
Regina Taylor	...	Meredith Serling
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Ben Banacek
Scott Glenn	...	Tony Gartner, Washington Post
Tim Guinee	...	Rady
Tim Ransom	...	Boylar
Sean Astin	...	Patella
Armand Darrius	...	Robins
Ned Vaughn	...	Lieutenant Chelli

MPAA:

Rated R for war violence and language.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Philippines:PG-13 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | USA:R (certificate #34505) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 (w) | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

In some of the background scenes in the training camp, cadets from Texas A&M University were used as extras.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During one of the scenes of firefight, you can hear Captain Walden say, "Gimme the goddamn M16," but you can see that her mouth does not say "M16."

Quotes:

[after leading his troops in a prayer]
Nathaniel Serling: Now let's kill 'em all.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Naked Movie (2002)

Soundtrack:

Angel from Montgomery

Denzel Washington At His Best

"Courage Under Fire" is perhaps the best illustration of how flexible and adaptive actors like Denzel Washington are. What makes "Courage Under Fire" impressive is not so much its plot or storyline (which is somewhat inconsistent), but its portrayal of a lone officer torn between personal conscience and duty. Denzel's overweight build and alcoholic demeanor create the highly credible image of a man barely attached to his life. Basically the story of a budding Army officer re-assigned to administrative duties following a Desert Storm friendly fire incident, "Courage Under Fire" submerges the viewer into pure emotional hell as it progresses. The stunning emotional catharisis portrayed at the film's end is incredibly dramatic and almost entirely unmatched. Anyone who has ever been under the extreme pressures of stress or suffered cognitive dissonance following a bad judgement will definitely connect with this film. A great psychological thriller and a tour-de-force drama. Definitely one of the best films...if only it would be released on DVD!!