Courage Under Fire (1996)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writer (WGA):

Patrick Sheane Duncan (written by)

Release Date:

12 July 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Mystery | War

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:

Medal Of Honor | Honor | Captain | Desert Storm | Helicopter

Awards:

9 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Denzel Washington	...	Nat Serling
Meg Ryan	...	Karen Walden
Lou Diamond Phillips	...	Monfriez
Michael Moriarty	...	General Hershberg
Matt Damon	...	Ilario
Bronson Pinchot	...	Bruno
Seth Gilliam	...	Altameyer
Regina Taylor	...	Meredith Serling
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Banacek
Scott Glenn	...	Gartner
Tim Guinee	...	Rady
Tim Ransom	...	Boylar
Sean Astin	...	Patella
Armand Darrius	...	Robins
Mark Adair-Rios	...	Bobcat 5 (as Mark Adair-Riós)

MPAA:

Rated R for war violence and language.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #34505) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:M | 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:

Denzel Washington visited with B 1-12 CAV at Fort Hood to prepare for his role LTC Nate Serling. The dip he puts in while giving his OPORD in the opening sequence is a tribute to the time he spent with B 1-12.

Goofs:

Continuity: Just after the Huey is hit, Ilario is seen hanging out of the left side of the helicopter. In the very next shot from inside the helicopter, Ilario is still inside the helicopter, then falls back as the helicopter spins out of control.

Quotes:

Nathaniel Serling: Will there be a public statement of the facts when the Al Bathra investigation is over sir?
General Hershberg: There's been a decision not to release any of these findings until every case has been thoroughly reviewed.
Nathaniel Serling: [pause] Well how long do you imagine that will be sir? I mean the next time I see Lieutenant Boylar's parents, I'd like to be able to tell them the whole truth.
General Hershberg: Do you want to know how many grieving parents I had to deal with during Vietnam?
Nathaniel Serling: With all do respect sir, this is not Vietnam. Lieutenant Boylar's tank was hit by uranium-depleted shells. We're the only country in the world that uses them. We got these reporters from the Washington Post sniffing around his parents, looking for the truth, and the only person that knows the truth is not allowed to say it because these investigators are dragging their backsides. Someone has got to be accountable for this.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Game K N B: (2007-03-03)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Angel from Montgomery

Great

Courage Under Fire is a movie that will stay with me for a while. Denzel Washington continues to be one of the finest actors today and proves it in this movie. The premise was interesting and was entertaining. I was disappointed with Meg Ryan's performance. I usually like her but she got annoying with her constant shouting. Yet that didn't keep the movie down. It was extremely dramatic and my two favorite scenes are the scene with Lou Diamond Phillips in the car and when it shows what really happened. A great film and terrific acting by Denzel Washington.