Courage Under Fire (1996)

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

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writer:

Patrick Sheane Duncan

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips

9 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

The pilot of a rescue copter, Captain Karen Walden, died shortly before her helicopter crew was rescued after it crashed in Desert Storm. It first appears that she made a spectacular rescue of a downed helicopter crew, then held her own crew together to fight off the Iraqis after her copter crashed. Lt. Colonel Serling, who is struggling with his own demons from Desert Storm is assigned to investigate and award her the Medal of Honor. But some conflicting accounts, from her crew and soldiers in the area, cause him to question whether she deserves it.

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Plot Keywords:

honor | medal of honor | helicopter | desert storm | captain | 

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Taglines:

In wartime, the first casualty is always truth.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for war violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mut zur Wahrheit

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$46,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

ITL 469,204,000 (Italy) (31 January 1997)

Gross:

ITL 1,070,954,000 (Italy) (14 February 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

In the photo of Ilario with Walden and other crew members, he looks very thin, as he is in the later parts of the film, but until Walden's death he was normal weight.

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Quotes

Monfriez: Sir, if you get a hangfire on your weapon, what do you do? You wait, with your weapon pointed in a safe direction, 'cause sometimes the primer bursts, and if you open the chamber it blows up in your face. Leave this round in the chamber, sir.

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Connections

Features Larry King Live (1985)

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Soundtracks

"Angel from Montgomery"
Written by John Prine

User Reviews

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!!